More Turnover on Southampton Village Ethics Board; New Dispatcher Hired

At its work session on Tuesday night, the Southampton Village Board announced a new member to its Board of Ethics, which has seen a decent amount of turnover in recent weeks.

In a walk-on resolution, Mayor Bill Manger appointed Ed Corrigan to the board to replace Roy L. Wines III. Wines had been appointed very recently, to replace Teresa Melhado, who had resigned from the board late last year. Manger said that Wines resigned from the board, effective January 19, because he hadn’t fully realized what serving on the board would entail, and he would not be able to make the required meetings. Wines had only been appointed to the board in December of last year.

Corrigan is a 35-year member of the Southampton Fire Department and has served on the Planning Commission in years past. He was at the meeting and said he was “honored” to be considered for the appointment and was looking forward to serving the village.

His appointment, which was unanimously approved by the board, is for a term expiring on June 20, 2025, the date when Melhado’s term was set to expire.

The Village Board also unanimously approved the hiring of a new public safety dispatcher at the meeting, restoring that department to full strength. Thomas Kreymborg was appointed to the job at a salary of $56,357.35, replacing Alfie Callahan III, who stepped down from the position at the end of last year. Kreymborg had been working for Southampton Town’s dispatch department before coming to the village. He’s also a member of the North Sea Fire Department.

The board also unanimously approved giving the green light for purchasing a new Class A fire engine, which will replace its current 20-year-old engine. The board said it will use money that has been set aside in its capital budget to fund the $1,275,109.35 purchase. By making two separate payments of $500,000 in advance — one in June of this year and another in June of next year — the village will be able to realize a savings of $141,289.60 on the engine.

At the end of the meeting, both Manger and Deputy Mayor Len Zinnanti provided a few important updates for residents of the village. Zinnanti said he and other board members, including the mayor, have been continuing to meet with traffic consultants from the village’s consultant, VHB, to try to address the safety concerns and problems of cut-through traffic on residential streets off Hill Street during rush hour.

“It’s definitely a work-in-progress,” Zinnanti said, adding that they expect to hear back from the consultants with ideas in “the very near future.”

Manger provided another key update in terms of resolving traffic issues, letting the public know that he will be meeting with newly elected State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni and State Senator Anthony Palumbo at the beginning of February, when he and Village Attorney Eileen Powers and Village Clerk Cathy Sweeney are in Albany for the annual Mayors Conference, to discuss having legislation introduced that would allow the village to install traffic cameras to help with enforcement of speeding and stopping at stop signs. Manger said he was hopeful that the legislation would be approved and that the governor would sign it in to law during the legislative session. The village cannot use traffic cameras without that legislation.

Manger also announced that he met with officials from PSEG recently and that the utility will be doing work in the village starting in roughly a year to bring another major line on the grid from its substation at the corner of West Prospect and North Sea Road. The work will cause considerable disruption to that area in 2026, he said.