East Hampton Search for Town Manager Takes Unexpected Twist

The East Hampton Town Council emerged late Tuesday night from executive session with no new town manager and a search that will continue.

The town had entered into negotiations with Candidate A, or the first choice by the council though by only a 4-3 vote on April 30, only to end those negotiations for reasons that have not been made public. The motion to discontinue negotiations was made by Kyle Dostaler and it passed unanimously.

"Unfortunately, the process has taken longer than we all anticipated or wished, but we have to do what is best for the community," town council member Ted Hintz said. "If that means discontinuing negotiations with a candidate and continuing our search, then that's what we need to do."

The executive session lasted nearly two and a half hours, ending just before 11 p.m. The council will continue the interview process from its pool of candidates.

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East Hampton has been without a permanent town manager since September of 2010, when Jeffrey O'Keefe resigned during his attempted removal of Police Chief Matt Reimondo and the elimination of the police chief position altogether. Reimondo was reinstated after the issue went to referendum in November of that year. Since O'Keefe's departure, the town has had four people step in to fill the void, most recently Finance Director Jeff Jylkka.

"Hopefully this will take us in a new direction that will be positive for the town and it will be wrapped up in the near future," Hintz said.

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