William Hilton resigns from Patchogue village board

Longtime Patchogue Village Board member William Hilton has resigned and moved away from the village.

Hilton, who in a Thursday interview said he was elected to the board in 2004, has bought a home in Mastic where he and his wife of one year plan to reside.

Elected Patchogue officials are required to live in the village.

“It’s a done deal,” said Hilton, 63. “My years as a public servant are over. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I don’t plan to be involved anymore.”

He submitted his resignation, which officials have accepted, on Nov. 30.

Hilton had been Patchogue’s commissioner of parks and has served the village 28 years, starting as an alternate on the planning board and later being named permanently to that board. He has also been a member of the zoning board.

“I’m going to miss it a lot,” said Hilton, who touts his involvement in redesigning the village pool about five years ago as one of his accomplishments.

Hilton also developed the village’s sailing program, which teaches residents how to sail. “It’s a great program,” he said.

Trustee Lori Devlin said she learned a lot from Hilton.

“He’s somebody I really like because he thinks outside of the box and I think that way. He’s very dedicated and very principled,” Devlin said. “He’s going to be missed.”

Mayor Paul Pontieri has appointed Susan Henke Brinkman as Hilton’s replacement.

She is a lifelong village resident who has served on the zoning board of appeals and the planning board. Brinkman is a library media specialist in the Bayport-Blue Point School District.

She has worked for elected officials in the New York State Assembly, Suffolk County Legislature and Brookhaven Town, village officials said.

Pontieri said, “I hate to lose him. He was a tremendous asset to the board. He always made decisions based on what was best for the village.”