UPDATE: New town attorney represented the owner of The Chequit and Jack’s Marine

Supervisor Gerry Siller said Monday afternoon that the Town had advertised and conducted “numerous interviews” before settling on Stephen Kiely as the new town attorney, replacing Bob DeStefano Jr.

He also said that Mr. Kiely will not represent his client, Stacey Soloviev of the Soloviev Group, owner of the Chequit and Jack’s Marine, if she or her group has any business on Shelter Island. If  Ms. Soloviev or any company she’s associated with has any other business on the Island, Mr. Kiely will “recuse himself,” Mr. Siller said.

Mr. Kiely, as town attorney, will be the attorney for the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as well.

As for the raise in salary for Mr. Kiely from what Mr. DeStefano was making, the supervisor said that other town officials have also received raises. “We realized that to take care of what we need, we have to get the people we need,” Mr. Siller said.

Below is the original story.

The newly-named town attorney, Stephen Kiely of Mattituck, replacing Bob DeStefano Jr., is the attorney for Stacey Soloviev of the Soloviev Group.

Mr. Kiely represented Ms. Soloviev before the  Island’s Zoning Board of Appeals last August on an application dealing with The Chequit.

Mr. DeStefano will stay on until the end of February, when Mr. Kiely assumes his full duties as town attorney at an annual salary of $140,000. Mr. DeStefano made $83,640 last year, and his salary in the Town budget for this year was slated to be $85,312.

As reported earlier, the news that Mr. DeStefano was out came just before the Jan. 28 Town Board meeting. Asked before the meeting the reason for the replacement, Mr. DeStefano told the Reporter, “It wasn’t my decision,” and “I’m not really sure why,” he was asked to leave.

He was just told by Supervisor Gerry Siller that the Town Board wanted to “go in a different direction,” he said.

At the Board meeting, before voting on the resolution to hire Mr. Kiely, Mr. Siller said he and his colleagues wanted to thank Mr. DeStefano for his service; they were “extremely grateful” to him and to his “commitment to Shelter Island.”

Mr. Kiely was selected after an “exhaustive search,” Mr. Siller said, and selecting him was the result of “casting a wide net.”

Mr. DeStefano was appointed to the town attorney post by Supervisor Gary Gerth when he assumed office in January 2018. Mr. DeStefano had managed Mr. Gerth’s successful run for supervisor on the Republican ticket.

When Mr. Siller assumed office in January 2020, he retained Mr. DeStefano as town attorney, and made no mention of replacing him during his successful campaign of 2021.

This is a developing story and the Reporter will publish more information when it becomes available.