Southampton Mayor Has Ambitious New Year's Resolutions

Patch recently inquired with Mark Epley, the mayor of Southampton Village, about his New Year's resolutions.

Epley laid out an extensive list of ambitious plans and goals for 2011 for the village as well as professional and personal goals he plans to meet over the next 12 months.

"2010 was a busy year, and 2011 going to be a busy year too," he said.

Foremost, for the village, Epley said he wants to finalize who the next occupant of the  building will be. The museum intends to move to a new facility that is under contruction in Water Mill in 2012, leaving the village-owned building on Jobs Lane without a tenant. He said he wants to make sure the organization that replaces the Parrish will draw as many visitors to the village.

Epley said he also wants to have a well organized Arts Harvest Festival in 2011, following an inaugural year in which the event received poor reviews. "It will be in a different format," he said.

The mayor is aiming to see new zoning regulations and architectural guidelines established in the new year. "We'll be taking the next step on our master planning process," he said. The village planning commission had hired a planning consultant to outline a vision for the village's future, and the village board signed off on the master plan. Now, to implement the plan, the board must adopt the new regulations.

Perhaps Epley's most ambitious plan for 2011 is to , a group of local municipalities that self-insure their employees and offer health care under a patient-centered medical home model. Under the model, doctors would be paid more in exchange for spending more time with patients and monitoring their health closer, resulting in better health outcomes and ultimately, reduced costs.

First, municipalities will need to agree to a feasibility and cost study, and the state will need to approve the founding of a cooperative.

"In 2011, I'd like to see all the municipalities on board with that, have the study completed and the application at the state," Epley said.

The mayor said he looks forward to the completion of the 's new  in 2011. The new facility will be compliant with occupational safety regulations and be able to accomodate larger fire equipment.

Epley also pointed out that the  union has been working without a contract since May 2010. He said he wanted to hold a special meeting of the village board before year end to approve a contract, but he was not able to pull it together in time.

In his other role, as the executive director of the Seafield Center in Westhampton Beach, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, Epley said he will be looking at different opportunities to grow the business in 2011.

And personally, Epley resolved to take his wife, Marianne, on a nice vacation, like he did in 2010.

"We went to Hawaii for 10 days; it was phenominal," he said. "She deserves it for putting up with me."

Epley is also looking to drop weight in the new year. He said he lost 23 pounds in 2010 and wants to keep going. "I'd like to lose probably another 10 or 15 pounds," he said.

He took part in "bootcamp" at and he said he has been exercising a lot more. He is also aiming to bring down his triglycerides and to get his HDL and LDL cholesteral levels where they should be — "So that way my doctor doesn't yell at me."