Recap of December 11, 2023, Inc. Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees Meeting – Press Release

Recap of December 11, 2023, Inc. Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees Meeting

Highlights:

Board Reschedules Vote on Ethics Code Revisions and Agrees to Reopen Public Comment Period
Arts Council Proclaims Dickens Festival a Resounding Success
Country Club General Manager Reports on TPG Contract Audit and Reinstatement of the BOG
Building and Planning Department is now open to the public on Wednesdays

Board Votes to Reopen and Extend Public Comment Period for Ethics Code Revisions

At the December 11, 2023, Board of Trustees Meeting, Mayor Sheprow announced that the Board had decided not to Vote on the Ethics Code revisions tonight, but to reschedule it for the next consent agenda meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. Citing the “fruitful discussions” regarding the drafted updates to the Ethics Code at the Dec. 6 Board of Trustees work session, the Mayor said they still had questions and some Trustees wanted to do more research. She then proposed extending the Public Comment period to Jan. 31, to also allow residents more time to weigh in. Anyone with questions or comments about the Ethics Code revisions can write to the Village Clerk, spirillo@portjeff.com.

27th Annual Dickens Festival Declared a Success

Arts Council President Allan Varela and Program Director Amy Tuttle proclaimed the Dickens Festival a resounding success. This was the first year the Council had complete autonomy over the event, a fresh approach made possible by the Mayor. The Council embraced its fundraising responsibility, welcoming major sponsors that included Mather/Northwell Health, Stony Brook Medicine and Stony Brook University, Stacey Sgroi/Statefarm Insurance brokerage, and appreciated the freedom to expand the festival in ways that were previously not possible. “You guys are professionals at running the Village,” Varela told the Board. “We’re professionals at running events.”

Santa’s Workshop in the Village Center was converted to Santa’s Elves’ Workshop, and, Tuttle said, “Santa Clause Central”, was relocated to the First United Methodist Church where it successfully expanded the Festival to the South area of the downtown area creating a calm, welcoming environment that allowed them to efficiently manage vast lines of children while still affording the families plenty of quality time to interact with Santa. Varela added that he had heard from several Village employees that this was the “smoothest run festival” they’ve ever seen. He then summed up the entire experience as “a seminal moment in building community.”

Port Jefferson Country Club Report

General Manager Tom Natola reported on the recent review of Village’s licensing agreement with TPG, the organization that manages the food and beverage concessions at the Country Club-based facilities. During a walk through with TPG representatives, a punch list of needed repairs to the facilities was created and which are now being promptly addressed by TPG. Natola also reported that TPG acknowledged a “lack of services,” when it came to the food and beverage agreement and committed to a 20% value add on all member minimums, as well as hosting an end-of-season membership event and a season-opening membership event in 2024.

Natola also updated the Board on the re-establishment of the Golf Board of Governors at the PJCC. Upon taking office, and in response to member feedback, the Mayor took the initiative to bring back the BOG, so Natola facilitated a nomination and election process that (subsequently to this BOT meeting) took place at the season-ending event on Dec. 13. Nominees introduced themselves and seven candidates were selected (out of 11 nominees) in a robust vote by more than 170 members. The new board includes (in alphabetical order) Chris Fiordalisi, Hal Fox, Gwen Gnadt, Michael Lomelo, David McGilvray, Robert Woods, and Gary Zamek.

Building and Planning Department Now Open to the Public on Wednesdays

Earlier in the evening, the Board passed a resolution to hire a student part time to assist the Building and Planning Department in scanning the voluminous amount of documents the department has to manage. This news prompted resident (and Planning Board member) Barbara Sabatino to ask the Board if the department would now be open on Wednesdays, since the reason they closed that day was to keep up with the scanning. “Breaking News!” said the Mayor, “The Building and Planning Department is now open on Wednesdays.” Delivering the welcome news (to which Ms. Sabatino replied: “Hooray!”), the Mayor added that this change was the result of the new leadership (recently appointed Director Andrew Freleng) at Building and Planning.

To view the December 11, 2023 BOT Meeting in its entirety, visit https://www.youtube.com/IncVillageofPortJeffersonOfficial

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be a work session, on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 5PM in the second floor courtroom in Village Hall. It will be live-streamed on the Village YouTube channel; the agenda can be found here.

Editor’s note: For more information, contact spirillo@portjeff.com