OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Brocton Village Trustee Ed Bellando, left, questioned whether Mayor Craig Miller, right, should be allowed to vote on Fire Department matters as a member of the Fire Department.

BROCTON — Fire Departments and local governments share a problem: not many people are willing to step up and do the job. In the village of Brocton, two members of the Village Board see that issue from both sides as, as Mayor Craig Miller and Deputy Mayor Bryan Woleben are volunteer members of the Brocton Fire Department.

At a recent Village Board meeting, the five-person Board was short two members, as Drew Ransom and Kari Doino were both absent. That left only Miller, Woleben, and Ed Bellando able to vote on any matters of Village business.

When matters that involved the Fire Department came up on the agenda, Bellando took issue with the legality of what could be considered a conflict of interest.

The Village was presented with a three-year agreement with Chautauqua County for ALS-BLS Joint Pre-Hospital Services, an extension from the previous agreement. Before making a decision on the contract, Bellando pressed Village Attorney Peter Clark to make a declaration under the article of necessity to allow for Miller and Woleben to be allowed to vote, even as members of the Fire Department.

“If they feel they have a conflict, they can say so. If not, they can vote on it,” Clark said.

Without Miller or Woleben voting, Bellando would have been the only member of the Board who could vote. He refused to vote until it was deemed a necessity by Clark.

“It’s not legal the way we did that before,” Bellando said. “… Let’s do it legally instead of half-hearted, the wrong way.”

Clark responded, “I think it is a necessity that they both vote.”

After discussion on the matter concluded, the agreement unanimously passed.

Later in the meeting, Mark Furman was approved as a new member of the Brocton Volunteer Fire Department under the same declaration of necessity. The Fire Department responded to 28 calls in the month of October.

Bellando pressed the other members of the Board on another matter on the agenda, as Mitch Magierski, formerly of Chadwick Bay Intermunicipal Water Works (CBI), was appointed by the Brocton Village Board as the new Water Maintenance Worker through the joint Brocton-Portland Water System. Of the several applicants for the position, Magierski was the only applicant that met all of the requirements for the job.

Brocton and Portland each made the decision to leave an agreement with CBI because of various issues, but the Village and Town believe Magierski will bring experience and a positive working relationship to the new joint venture.

“He’s extremely intelligent and knows water,” Miller said. “He is not a CBI problem.”

Bellando questioned if Magierski would bring any “bad habits” from CBI to the new position. Highway Superintendent Ken Becker playfully joked, “If he does, he won’t for long.”

The Village is still evaluating options regarding the buildings around the reservoir. The grounds surrounding the reservoir have been addressed with a new mower recently purchased by the Village. Becker stated the new equipment is “a very nice asset to the Village of Brocton.”

The Village also allocated $2,845 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to replace the windows of the Village Hall through Miller and Sons, of Brocton, the lowest of four bids received by the Village.

Later in the meeting, the Village exhausted the remaining $27,503.69 of ARPA funds at its disposal with the purchase of a new service vehicle for the Electric Department. The remaining balance left over for the purchase — a total of $16,111.65 — came from the Electric Department reserve funds.

In the month of October, there were five permit applications in the Village, along with several violations in what the Board characterized as a busy month.

The next meeting of the Brocton Village Board is set for Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Village Hall.