OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford James Sedota, seated, goes over an item with Trustee Doug Essek before Tuesday night’s Fredonia Village Board meeting. Sedota, the village’s deputy treasurer until Tuesday, was hired as treasurer at the meeting. Trustee Michael Barris stands at left.

The Fredonia Village Board hired James Sedota as village treasurer at its regular meeting Monday.

Sedota’s annual salary will be $72,800 and he will also receive a health insurance stipend. He was hired by the Village Board Aug. 27 as a temporary deputy treasurer, at $35 an hour up to 30 hours a week, without benefits.

He was also retained by the board earlier in August on two separate occasions to keep an eye on village finances as officials moved to fill a void left by the resignation of Village Administrator Richard St. George in July. Sedota is a longtime former Fredonia administrator himself, retiring from that job in 2006 after 29 years in the position.

Fredonia Mayor Athanasia Landis said the village needs a full-time treasurer because it has big projects coming up, including a wastewater treatment and water filtration plant work. “We need a treasurer to make some specific accounts, to be accountable for getting the money in and money out. … That cannot be done by a deputy treasurer and it certainly can’t be done by me,” Landis said.

In other business Tuesday:

¯ During her mayor’s report, Landis said she had spoken recently with Brad Bentley, director of Chautauqua County’s Department of Public Facilities, about the Water Street bridge which has snagged debris and caused flooding over the years. She said Bentley ruled out a new bridge as it is considered to be in excellent condition. Landis said she explained the problem with debris snagging on the bridge’s center support, and that in Bentley’s opinion, removing the center pier won’t stop floods because the other supports would have to be widened, thus causing new blockage problems.

According to the mayor, Bentley thinks the best course of action is to secure cleanup assistance grants for people who own creekbed property. Local Soil and Water Conservation District Manager Dave Spann is trying to secure such grants.

The mayor concluded that she would like to talk to Bentley further about possible solutions to the problem and perhaps even have him give a report on it at a future Village Board meeting.

The Village Board rejected in October a proposal to mandate cleanup of creekbeds by property owners.

¯ Landis announced that the steps in front of Village Hall have been finished. A. Carapella Masonry of Fredonia did the job for $19,950.

“I want to apologize to the village. It took more than 18 months,” Landis said. She said that village officials were originally led to believe the project would cost much more than it did and that no local contractors would do the project.

¯ Nate Aldrich, a Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation employee working with the village on various projects involving state grant money, updated the board on the progress of the work.

¯ Trustee James Lynden used his report to slam the OBSERVER for a Nov. 4 editorial in which it stated, “Trustee James Lynden will never oppose anything the mayor says. During his three years on the board he is nothing but a parrot.” The editorial was referring to his vote for the Landis-supported creek cleanup proposal in October.

“I find (the editorial) offensive and inaccurate,” Lynden said. “I pride myself on working with this mayor, not for this mayor.” Stating that they do influence each other, he added, “Often we disagree, sometimes we agree.”

Lynden concluded, “When I vote, I have done great research, and I vote appropriately on that research.”