by Kristina Gabalski
The Village of Brockport will not be hiring a part-time building inspector at this time.
Mayor Connie Castaneda told trustees during the January 22 regular meeting of the Village Board that the search committee is “waiting to find the right fit – we will advertise the vacancy (again) sometime in the future.”
The mayor said she and the search committee had reviewed resumes and interviewed candidates but the right person to fill the position has not yet been found. She said the position has been vacant for some time and that the village should be able to continue a while longer without a part-time building inspector.
During her report, Trustee Carol Hannan apologized to village residents for, “failing to improve code enforcement with the selection of a part-time code enforcer. We have tried many, many avenues and it always comes up short,” she said.
The remedy, Trustee Hannan added, “may come with the next election cycle.”
She said she agreed that it is important to have the right person in the position.
In other business, the village board unanimously approved an updated Emergency
Operations Plan (EOP) – the original version was adopted in 2002.
Also unanimously approved was the amended Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Brockport Fire District regarding snowplowing of district properties in the village.
Trustees had expressed concerns over wording in the original MOU regarding village use of district meeting facilities and a district van in exchange for the snowplowing. That wording has been removed and the Fire District has agreed to pay the village $1,000 for the service this year.
“All our concerns have been removed,” Trustee Kent Blair said.
During his report, Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti explained that he would not have wanted his officers to engage in the original MOU “with that many liabilities.”
He reported to the Village Board that he had discussed the situation with Fire Department/ District officials and that as first responders, both agencies are always available to help each other out when the need arises.
“I’m not concerned with acquiring a vehicle,” Chief Varrenti said of the MOU, “I was concerned with liabilities in the (original) MOU.”
Finally, the village board unanimously approved a motion to designate all eight village parks/playgrounds as “smoke-free zones.”
Trustee Kent Blair brought the motion forward as a first step in acquiring grant money to help with purchasing new “smoke-free” signage for the parks.
