Four Southold Town officials honored at final meeting after decades of service

After 31 years on the Southold Town Board, Louisa Evans received a round of applause at her final meeting Tuesday. She is one of four elected officials honored before leaving their posts at the end of the year.

Kevin Webster, the Tax Assessor’s office chairman, along with Town Trustee Elizabeth Peeples and Councilman Greg Doroski, join Ms. Evans in heading for new pastures after a combined 59 years served. The four were given a proclamation for their service by Supervisor Al Krupski.

“I will miss the people who are here and will miss a lot of people that are no longer here,” Ms. Evans said at the Dec. 16 meeting, which drew about 30 people.

The Town Board member, who serves dual role as Fishers Island Town Justice, decided not to run for a ninth term. Democrat Kate Stevens, a political newcomer, won her seat in November’s election and will begin serving Friday, Jan. 2, when all Southold officials are sworn in.

Throughout the year, fellow council members have commented on their disbelief that Ms. Evans would be leaving her post and expressed their appreciation for her time on the board.

Mr. Krupski paid tribute at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I’ve worked with Louisa for quite a few years and it’s always been a pleasure,” he said. “I can’t believe that next year you won’t be here.”

Mr. Webster, who served as town assessor since first being elected in 2005, has worked to keep the town’s inventory of 18,000 parcels up to date and educate residents on their tax assessments ever since. 

In 2019, he was named The Suffolk Times’ 2019 Public Servant of the Year for his efforts going above and beyond in the community as a play-by-play high school sports broadcaster. Mr. Webster had never expected to become an assessor, but said some “really great people” approached him 20 years ago to run for the position. 

“It’s been rewarding helping the people of the town — the people that live here full time and the people that come out and vacation,” he said.

He has made hundreds of house visits to help local seniors obtain tax exemptions they qualify for throughout his elected tenure. 

“We run a pretty tight ship over there, but we are kind of the engine of our 18,000 parcels that we have to make sure everything is smooth,” Mr. Webster added.

Republican Ken Poliwoda and Democrat Leah Tillman Sullivan will join the tax assessors’ office after winning in November. Republican Charles Sanders lost his reelection bid.

Ms. Peeples, who was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2021 and decided not to run for reelection, expressed her gratitude to the community for giving her the opportunity to serve.

“I will miss this a lot,” Ms. Peeples said. “This is the close of one chapter but the possibilities of the future are great, and there’s lots of opportunity for public service in the future.”

Democrat Joe Finora won his fellow Democrat’s seat.

Mr. Doroski is headed for the Suffolk County Legislature in January, after defeating incumbent Republican Catherine Stark.

“I look forward to serving this community and our broader region on the Suffolk County Legislature,” Mr. Doroski said. 

He called his departure from Southold Town Board “a little bit bittersweet.”

Reflecting on his four years in office, Mr. Doroski said he was disappointed that some initiatives like the town’s comprehensive zoning update fell short of the finish line before the end of his term. He noted that he was proud of many things the board was able to accomplish.

He went on to thank support staff for their vital behind-the-scenes contributions.

“It’s easy to look at the Town Board members who are there making the decisions as the ones who are doing the work, but we’re not,” Mr. Doroski said. “It really is the town employees who are there everyday supporting the Town Board, just doing the regular work of operating the town.”