Larocca Appointed to Village Board

Sandra Schroeder, the newly elected mayor of the Village of Sag Harbor, took office on Monday afternoon, taking the helm from Brian Gilbride, who did not seek re-election after 21 years on the board. The new mayor quickly got to work.

Her first order of business was appointing someone to serve out the next year of her term on the board. She chose James L. Larocca. Mr. Larocca, who had been on the village planning board, has a long resume that the mayor called “mind-boggling.” He is a former dean of Southampton College and retired as the commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission in 2013 after a long career in state government.

“He seems a perfect fit. He’s intelligent. He has a very calm demeanor. He has been involved in everything from soup to nuts. . . . He’s considerate. He’s everything you want in a board member,” Mayor Schroeder said.

She said she had the full support of the board — “I meant it when I said the power shouldn’t be in one hand,” she said of making good on a campaign promise. “I’m just looking forward to working with everyone for the village.”

In that same vein, the board agreed on her appointment of Janine M. Rayano as the acting justice for a one-year term. Ms. Rayano was the recommendation of Justice Andrea Schiavoni, who did not seek re-election for another term. Justice Lisa R. Rana, who also serves in East Hampton Town Justice Court, had been the acting justice but was elected in a three-way race for the top position last month.

Ms. Rayano is an attorney and senior partner with Rayano & Garabedian and has an office on Division Street. While she has no judicial experience, she has a strong background in zoning law, the mayor said. She also serves on the board of Mashashimuet Park.

Robby Stein, who was Ms. Schroeder’s opponent in the mayoral race last month, has a new title of deputy mayor, a position Ms. Schroeder held for the past year under Mr. Gilbride.

The mayor also made some changes on the advisory boards, which are getting some new and old faces. Replacing Mr. Larocca on the planning board is Neil Slevin, who was once its chairman. He will serve the rest of Mr. Larocca’s term until July 2019. Michelle Cottrell was made an alternate member. Gregory Ferraris, a former village mayor, was reappointed as the planning board’s chairman.

Perhaps the biggest shake-up was on the board of historic preservation and architectural review, which works to retain the village’s historic character in the face of booming development. Anthony Brandt, who was the chairman of the board when it was first formed in the mid-1980s, and Christopher Leonard, also a former chairman, were both asked to come out of retirement. Mr. Brandt, whom the mayor called “a guiding light,” will be the chairman, replacing Cee Scott Brown, a longtime member, who has stepped down.

“We’re stacking the deck and bringing back what worked, pretty much,” Mayor Schroeder said. While Mr. Brandt was given a three-year term, Mr. Leonard will fill the unexpired term of Penni Ludwig through July 2017.

Joining them will be a newcomer, Dean Gomolka, a landscape architect. Bethany Deyermond, the wife of Ed Deyermond, a village board member, has been on the board for six years and will be back for another three-year term. Christine Patrick’s term doesn’t end until 2017.

Mayor Schroeder also brought back a historic consultant for the A.R.B. to call upon, a practice that had gone by the wayside over the years, she said — Zachary N. Studenroth, an architectural historian and museum professional who is the Southampton Town historian and a consultant for the Village of Southampton.

When it comes to the harbor committee, John Shaka, who was appointed to the committee after an unsuccessful run for village board, is its new chairman, as Stephen L. Clarke Jr. is getting ready to move out of the village. Mr. Clarke will remain on the board until he moves.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Peters, a longtime member who had remained on the harbor committee as a holdover despite Mayor Gilbride’s declining to officially reappoint him two years ago, was given a three-year term retroactively. He will continue to serve until July 2016. Jerry Bramwell was appointed as an alternate member. They join Joe Tremblay and Mary Ann Eddy.

The zoning board of appeals got a new chairman in Tim McGuire, who had been its vice chairman. Anthony Hagen, a former chairman, will remain on the board. Jennifer Ponzini and Scott Baker were reappointed to five-year terms, and Brendan Skislock remains a member.

All of the boards’ chairmanship appointments are one-year terms.

Also, Beth M. Kamper was given a two-year term as the clerk-administrator. Fred W. Thiele Jr. will again serve as the village attorney, and the Law Office of Denise R. Schoen will act as the attorney for the advisory boards and a village prosecutor, along with Tarbet & Lester. William D. Yardley Jr. was reappointed as the superintendent of public works.

Mr. Deyermond and Ken O’Donnell, who were re-elected to the village board after running unopposed last month, were sworn in for two-year terms after Mayor Schroeder took her oath of office. Mr. Larocca was also sworn in Monday.

The mayor designated each board member as liaison to various village departments. The mayor will work directly with the Police and Fire Departments. Mr. O’Donnell will be the liaison to Public Works and Harbor and Docks, and Mr. Larocca will work with the ambulance corps. Mr. Stein, the deputy mayor, will oversee village grants, special projects, and act as liaison to the park board.

Mr. Deyermond will look after the Building, Code Enforcement, and Sewer departments. (He had been the liaison to fire and ambulance services, but he gave that up because of his new position as the clerk of North Haven Village, which contracts for those services.)