During Tuesday’s Mayville Village Board meeting, village officials passed a resolution officially abolishing the Mayville Fire Department starting Sept. 3. Then on Wednesday, the Chautauqua Town Board passed a resolution, officially abolishing the Dewittville and Hartfield fire departments, also to take effect Sept. 3.

On that date, the Hartfield, Dewittville and Mayville fire departments will officially become the North Lake Fire District.

The Chautauqua Volunteer Fire Department, which serves Chautauqua Institution and other residents in that area of the town, is not part of the merger.

The idea of merging the departments has been discussed for several years, but there was never any real action.

OBSERVER File Photos by Gregory Bacon The Dewittville, Hartfield, and Mayville fire departments will become the North Lake Fire District effective Sept. 3.

Then in February, the Mayville Village Board rejected a request for the village fire department to buy its own engine truck, with a price tag of $1.2 million. After that rejection, representatives with Mayville, Dewittville, Hartfield and Chautauqua fire departments met to discuss the possibility of merging into one department.

Pretty quickly the Chautauqua Volunteer Fire Department declined, but the other three departments continued to explore the issue. They hired a lawyer from Syracuse, who specializes in fire department mergers, to explain the process and discuss the possibilities.

Town Councilman Tom Carlson said he’s heard talk about merging since 1990 when he first became a volunteer firefighter. The difference this time, he believes, is due to them bringing in attorney Brad Pinsky.

Councilman Scott Cummings agreed.

“That’s what it took – somebody from the outside with a fresh set of eyes, who was an expert in fire departments,” he said.

OBSERVER File Photos by Gregory Bacon The Dewittville, Hartfield, and Mayville fire departments will become the North Lake Fire District effective Sept. 3.

In late May, a public hearing took place on the merger proposal. No objections were made at that meeting.

Since that public hearing, enough time has passed where no permissive referendums were filed, allowing the village and town boards to finalize dissolving their respective departments and having them become a single department.

Town Supervisor Don Emhardt, who is the outgoing chief of the Dewittville Fire Department, said at this time all three fire halls will still be used.

Mayville is going to charge the new fire district $25,648 a year to rent the building. Mayor Rick Syper said they came up with that figure following a rental study as well as through “negotiations” with the new district.

Trustee Mark Perry said he is glad to see the new district be formed.

“It’s all about community and the area. Everybody wins on this. It’s going to be stronger. The response has been overwhelming,” he said.

Fire department leaders noted previously that they believe the merged department will help them both financially as well as energizing the departments by having a larger pool of volunteers.

Pinsky is charging the new district $40,000 for his services. He said during public meetings that there is grant money available to not only cover his costs, but to help with the new merged department move ahead to buy things like matching turnout gear or paint existing vehicles.

Emhardt said as far as he knows, the new department is still in the process of applying for the grant funds and has not been awarded anything yet.