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Home My WebLink About09/14/2026 Southold EDC Meeting Summary - September 14, 2026 1. Chair transition • Jack Malley, current chair, announced that he is stepping down as Chair after nearly 10 years. • He emphasized that he is not leaving the Economic Development Committee and intends to remain involved. • The committee discussed potential successors, including the current co- chair and other members. • The Town Board ultimately appoints/approves the chair, so the committee itself will recommend a candidate to the Board. • The outgoing chair will submit a formal letter regarding his resignation as chair. • The committee discussed recognizing his years of service at a future Town Board meeting. • Historical committee materials will be organized and shared with the incoming leadership. Most records are already available through the Town's Laserfiche public-records system. 2. 2026 Economic Development Survey The survey was identified as one of the committee's most important current projects. • The committee has incorporated feedback from the Town Board and EDC members into a final draft. • The Town Board has expressed support for conducting the survey. • The committee discussed conducting the survey annually, using a consistent core set of questions while adding or modifying some questions each year. This would allow the Town to track changes in the local business environment over time. • The statistical discussion indicated that approximately 231 completed responses would provide a meaningful sample for the roughly 800+ businesses identified in the existing database. 3. Building a comprehensive business contact list The committee wants to combine multiple existing sources into one working database. Sources discussed include: • Southold Town Comprehensive Plan business list • Existing private/business databases • North Fork Chamber of Commerce — approximately 180 listings • Mattituck/Manitou-related chamber listings — approximately 40 • Suffolk County Consumer Affairs licensed-contractor database — approximately 240 businesses • Agricultural organizations and Farm Bureau • Other professional and trade organizations • Bed-and-breakfasts and hospitality businesses • Businesses that operate from homes or have very small operations • Arts and other organizations that may not appear on conventional business lists The committee recognized that many existing lists are old or contain duplicate/inactive businesses. One member has already converted the Consumer Affairs information into Excel and used it to identify and remove duplicates. Next step: Create a shared Google Sheet combining the various lists, allowing members to add businesses, email addresses and other information while retaining the source of each entry. 4. Reaching businesses that are difficult to identify A major concern was reaching businesses that don't appear on traditional business directories, including: • Home-based businesses • Handymen • Landscapers • Plumbers and contractors • Small professional businesses • Arts organizations • Agricultural businesses • Microbusinesses • Businesses located outside Southold Town but doing substantial business within the Town The committee agreed that marketing and outreach will be essential, rather than relying solely on email lists. 5. Survey distribution The preferred approach is to host the survey directly on the Town website rather than using SurveyMonkey or another outside platform. Planned tools include: • Survey embedded on the Town website • QR code • Posters • Social media • Town website promotion • Town push-notification system • Email distribution • Chambers of Commerce • Civic organizations • Local newspapers/media The website team can prepare the survey, QR code and promotional materials before the survey is officially released. The committee also discussed using local newspapers, potentially including the Suffolk Times, for an interview/article explaining the importance of the survey. 6. Changes to the survey Several changes were identified: • Require a physical business location/address so responses can be geographically analyzed. • Do not rely on a PO Box for the business location. • Review questions that are currently mandatory and make sure respondents have an "Other" or equivalent option when none of the listed categories applies. • Make sure hospitality businesses, including hotels and B&Bs, are appropriately represented. The revised survey will be redistributed to committee members before it is placed on the website. 7. Potential business directory The committee discussed using the information being collected to eventually create an official Southold Town business directory on the Town website. However, the consensus was that the committee should first discuss the concept with the Town Board before investing substantial effort in developing the directory. The survey itself could eventually provide a significant amount of the information needed for such a directory. 8. EDC Business Guide The previously drafted EDC Business Guide was revisited. • Members have not yet provided substantial feedback. • The document will be circulated again. • Members will review it for additions and deletions. • There was discussion that the survey results may identify additional information that should be incorporated into the guide. • A more substantial review may therefore make sense after the survey produces results. 9. WinterFest WinterFest remains unresolved, with the committee trying to determine who will take over management of the event. The discussion established an important distinction: The EDC wants WinterFest to continue supporting the Town's economic- development mission, but does not want the EDC itself to remain the event's long-term event planner/operator. Potential organizational models discussed included: CAST • Has a physical presence in the village. • Has volunteers and an established event infrastructure. • Already operates other major fundraising events. • Could potentially provide an organizational home for WinterFest. Old Town Arts Guild / Bob Kuhn • Bob Kuhn was identified as someone with extensive experience running festivals. • He reportedly organizes approximately 12 festivals a year and has experience dealing with vendors, police, the Town and event logistics. • The committee sees potential value in having him discuss taking a management role in WinterFest. Chambers of Commerce • The Chambers have previously indicated a willingness to provide financial support, although they apparently did not want to assume full responsibility for running the event. The committee discussed potentially having an experienced outside organization/person take over operations while maintaining involvement from existing WinterFest organizers during a transition year. There was also discussion of seeking tourism-related funding, including possible funding through regional tourism organizations. 10. Don Jayamaha — prospective EDC member The committee interviewed/discussed Don Jayamaha who attended the meeting as a prospective committee member. Members noted his broad background, including: • Business ownership/management • Assisting with his wife's business • Tax department experience • Auditing • Investment/financial experience Don expressed interest in helping the committee and said he now has considerable time available following retirement. 11. Don's economic-development ideas Don described several ideas he is interested in pursuing, including: • Installing EV fast chargers in the Orient area. • Exploring the future potential of autonomous robotaxis, particularly as transportation for seniors. • Converting garages into ADUs as vehicle ownership potentially declines. • Developing ADU concepts in Orient and elsewhere on the North Fork. • Preserving and redeveloping historic properties. • Exploring modular construction and other approaches to creating housing. • Bringing new businesses and investment to the Town while emphasizing benefits to the community. He also described previous involvement in revitalizing properties and historic buildings. Overall takeaway The meeting's focus was moving the 2026 Economic Development Survey from development into implementation. The committee now has a draft survey, a strategy for building a much broader business database, and a plan to host the survey on the Town website. The larger goal is to establish a repeatable annual survey and eventually use the resulting information to strengthen the Town's business resources and potentially create a public business directory. The other major issue was transitioning WinterFest away from being an EDC-operated event while finding an organization or experienced event manager capable of keeping it going. NEXT MEETING RESCHEDULED TO - 10/19/2026