On Thursday, January 15, Westhampton Beach residents, business owners, elected officials and others gathered at Fauna in the village for the latest edition of the Express Sessions series “Local Matters,” providing those in attendance with a chance to discuss and debate the most pressing issues facing the community.

The afternoon conversation ranged from new regulations that will require beachfront communities like Westhampton Beach to start paying a portion of federal beach replenishment costs, to the continued vacancy of prominent storefronts, and challenges related to the sewer district expansion, parking and more. Several options and ideas were explored, with input not only from those living and working in the immediate village area, but also from stakeholders in surrounding villages like Quogue and West Hampton Dunes.

The panel included Westhampton Beach Village Mayor Ralph Urban and Deputy Mayor Kimberly Monsour; West Hampton Dunes Village Mayor Irwin Krasnow; Quogue Village Mayor Robert Treuhold; Jennifer Sperber, owner of Mixology and a member of the Westhampton Beach Chamber of Commerce; Larry Jones, a preservation consultant and trustee of the Westhampton Beach History Museum; and Aram Terchunian, a coastal geologist and president of First Coastal Consulting.