Kathleen Mulcahy was sworn in as mayor of Sag Harbor Village at the village board’s organizational meeting on Monday.
Ms. Mulcahy pulled off a major upset in the June 18 election when she defeated Sandra Schroeder, the two-term incumbent, with 489 votes to Ms. Schroeder’s 197.
Aidan Corish, who won a second term on the board, Robert Plumb, a newcomer elected to the board, and Thomas Gardella, a trustee who will now serve as deputy mayor, were also sworn in.
The meeting’s agenda included resolutions that addressed Ms. Mulcahy’s campaign pledges to increase public participation in government, institute a monthly work session, and set up a new environmental committee. The resolutions were passed.
Ms. Schroeder had changed the format of the monthly board meetings, which traditionally began with a public session. Ms. Mulcahy had promised to reinstate a 15-minute comment period, and when she read the resolution that would make it official, a cheer erupted from those in attendance.
Residents would be given up to three minutes each to speak, said Ms. Mulcahy, and a clock will be used to enforce the time limit.
The new monthly work sessions, she said, will be held on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 5 p.m.
As for the environmental committee, Ms. Mulcahy said it would be a board made up of volunteers, and it would be charged with taking a holistic look at the village’s environmental concerns, including everything from water and air quality to waste management and the clear-cutting of trees.
April Gornik, the head of the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center’s board of directors, who attended the meeting, praised Ms. Mulcahy’s decision to bring back the public discussion and to establish the environmental commission. She also had kind words for the village’s former mayor.
“I think Sandra did a great job during her mayoralty,” she said, citing the work Ms. Schroeder had done on behalf of the cinema, and to pave the way for the creation of Steinbeck Park.
Nada Barry, an owner of the Wharf Shop on the village’s Main Street and a frequent presence at board meetings, said she was “excited and pleased” about Ms. Mulcahy’s election. She called the environmental board “an initiative that we need,” and said improved communication with the government was a necessity.
“It’s the most vital thing to communicate with your constituency; having the first 15 minutes for public comments is essential,” she said.