FORESTVILLE - A new person is officially in charge in Forestville.
During a special meeting Wednesday morning, the Forestville Village Board officially accepted the resignation of Charles Brewster from the position of mayor and appointed Deputy Mayor Beth Bowker to the vacant position.
The village board also hired a new employee on a part-time temporary basis, appointed a committee to interview candidates for the streets and water supervisor position, and decided not to appoint another trustee to fill the vacancy on the board.
Article Photos
OBSERVER Photo by Diane R. Chodan
The Forestville Village Board listens to interested parties during the public comment section of its meeting Wednesday. Left to right: Trustees Linda Aures, Kimberly Stott, Acting Mayor Beth Bowker and Trustee Carol Woodward.
The only action that was not unanimous was the appointment of Bowker. During discussion, Trustee Linda Aures said, "There is no harm keeping her as deputy mayor and it is a little bit of a cost saving."
Kimberly Stott said if Bowker wasn't appointed mayor, "There's a lot of things it's going to hold up."
When the vote was taken, Trustees Carol Woodward and Stott voted for the appointment. Aures said, "Nay, absolutely nay. It is foolish to do anything before the audit is complete."
The emergency hire was Ben Gibson. He is to work for no more than 30 hours per week for a maximum of 31 days at $8 per hour.
The committee to interview for the position of streets and water supervisor consists of Stott and Aures. They are to conduct the interviews together and narrow the candidates down to five or six. Concerning the appointment of a trustee, Bowker said she could make the appointment, but did not want to do so without the board's approval. Board members decided not to appoint but wait until March elections and let the people decide.
After business was conducted, the board took time for community input.
During community input, resident Ron Lineman questioned why the public was not properly notified about the special meeting. Bowker replied that there were signs put up in public places.
"Three signs were taken down, and I don't appreciate that. I put them back up," she said.
She also explained she had notified the OBSERVER through an email, which ran in Wednesday's edition.
Marge Workoff questioned why the meeting was held in the morning, saying that the meetings should be at night so more people can come.
Joyce Lineman felt that more information about meetings should be available prior to the meetings in keeping with section "103-e" of the open meetings law.
Longtime resident of Forestville Mike Valvo shook his head. He said, "The mayor and officers are supposed to operate this place and make sure it's done properly. I am really disgusted. I like everyone on the board you got to get your act together."
