Sag Harbor Village Government will see more turnover than just James Larocca replacing Kathleen Mulcahy as mayor next month.
Tim McGuire, the chairman of the village Zoning Board of Appeals, and Dean Gomolka, the chairman of the Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review, have both said they would step down when their terms expire at the end of June.
Both men said their decisions were not based on the election’s outcome.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months, and I decided to put it off until after the election,” said Mr. McGuire. “I’ve been doing this for eight years, and nobody said I was supposed to be chairman for life.”
Mr. McGuire played a key role in the committee established by Mayor Mulcahy to propose changes to the zoning code to control development along the waterfront. Mr. Larocca has said he would scrap many of the proposals a team of planning consultants have put forth, but Mr. McGuire said that was not why he was resigning.
“It just got old, and it wasn’t satisfying anymore,” he said of the work on the ZBA.
“Tim has been a huge supporter of and great value to this village,” said Mayor Mulcahy. “His knowledge and leadership will be terribly missed.”
Mr. Gomolka also said there was not a lot to read into his decision other than the fact that he had served six years as a member and chairman and was ready to move on.
“He was passionate about what he did and gave lots of effort,” said Ms. Mulcahy.
Mr. Larocca, who has been tight lipped about who he would appoint to his seat on the Village Board, said it was too early to say who he would pick to replace Mr. McGuire and Mr. Gomolka, but he said he had asked both men to stay on temporarily until replacements could be named and both had agreed to that request.
“I don’t think people appreciate how big of a chore these voluntary positions can be, especially in a time of unprecedented activity like this,” he said.
Stephen J. Kotz on Jun 23, 2021