OBSERVER File Photo Former Dunkirk Mayor Richard Frey passed away Wednesday.

Richard Frey, former Dunkirk mayor, died Wednesday morning in Brooks Memorial Hospital.

The 10-year leader was one of the city’s biggest boosters while serving in office — and was key to a number of development initiative, including the Boardwalk, the Chadwick Bay Lofts and the Tim Hortons location near the waterfront. He also was the mayor who helped begin the now-famous Music on the Pier and festival events.

In an article looking back on his years in the city, Richard Frey talked about his accomplishments and his love for the job.

“We’re pretty proud of what’s going on at the waterfront,” he told the OBSERVER on Jan. 1, 2012. “There’s a lot of potential at the waterfront.”

Frey was interviewed by Gib Snyder for the article, which was published on the day former Mayor A.J. Dolce officially took office.

“I used to drive by the waterfront. I drove by the marina and if you can remember back prior to my time coming in, it was all dead bushes all the way around there,” he said. “It used to just drive me nuts when I looked at that.

“You’ve got to package yourself to sell and I think this was my goal, to try and repackage Dunkirk in our appearance and that’s a goal we worked on. I think we’ve done a pretty good job on it.”

County Legislator Kevin Muldowney served as Second Ward councilman for the same 10 years Frey was in office.

“He loved the city and I always refer to him as ‘the mayor that woke up the city.’ I think he’ll be really missed, but there are projects all over the city that have his stamp on them,” he said. “… Talking with Maclain Nichols, the former development director, and if we came up with an idea he would never say ‘that wont work,’ or ‘don’t do that,’ he’d always give us the leadership to run with it and encourage it. He was really a true leader and a great friend and I’m going to miss him.”

Through Frey’s successes in leading the city, there also was plenty of controversy. Often outspoken, Frey spearheaded renovation efforts for Memorial Park that often took criticism for residents — and this newspaper — regarding costs to the city. He also got in a squabble with local veterans, a group he cherished, over the placement of a Peace Pole at that same park. It was later removed.

Frey also was at the helm during one of the city’s greatest catastrophes in recent years: the fire at the former Masonic Temple building on Central Avenue. The next day, following the blaze, Frey told the OBSERVER as he drove by the location, “That building is coming down.”

Demolition would take place later that summer.

Current Mayor Wilfred Rosas remembered Frey greeting everyone with a handshake and a smile.

“Being Mayor of a city such as Dunkirk is not an easy task, and to be elected for three terms says a lot about the individual. While not everyone may agree, service to one’s country, state or city requires courage and dedication, and that is what Richard Frey exhibited every day that he was in office. He will be missed by friends and family alike. My prayers go out to his wife, Pat and their children and grandchildren during this difficult time,” he said.

The flags at city hall were lowered to half mast in Frey’s memory.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the McGraw-Kowal Funeral Home.