Longtime Churchville mayor decides to step down

Churchville Mayor Don Ehrmentraut. Photograph by Walter Horylev

Don Ehrmentraut is retiring after serving the Village of Churchville as a trustee for five years and as mayor for the past 20 years. He is especially proud of keeping taxes in control, having once gone eight years in a row without a tax increase and without lessening services. His fondest memory: “Working with people, listening to them and trying to solve their problems.” He had originally planned to stay as mayor for eight years but surprised himself and stayed to serve several more terms. Photograph by Walter Horylev.

Longtime Churchville mayor decides to step down
After two decades, Don Ehrmentraut won't seek re-election

For more than 25 years, Don Ehrmentraut has been a pillar in the Village of Churchville community where he has served as its mayor for 20 of those years. "When I began my career with the village I had the firm foundation that was laid down before me by my predecessors," he said.

The ballot in the village will not bear Ehrmentraut's name when voters come to the voting booth this March. He has decided it was time to call it a career. "I've been married (to Maureen) for 20 years and have been on the board for 25. I decided I wanted to spend more time with her and more time in our home in Florida," he said of his decision to not seek re-election this term. "It was just the right time to step aside."

For a man who was born and raised in the village and who has served it for so long, Ehrmentraut said it was going to be "tough" to not be involved in the day-to-day operations. "I gave my wife a Christmas card this year and in it I told her I wasn't running - it was my gift to her, to us," he said. "She did tell me I could take it back if I wanted to but I am sticking with my decision. It's time."

Ehrmentraut has been spending so much time flying from Churchville to Florida on a weekly basis that he joked the flight attendants and airport security know him by name.

More than a quarter century ago, a sense of community involvement drew him to seek a position on the Churchville Village Board of Trustees. "I saw some things that needed addressing, so I ran for the board," he said. Prior to being on the board, he was a very active fireman and he said he had to scale back that commitment when the running of the village took more of his time.

Ehrmentraut's former business, A Touch of Country Class, contributed to the village's economic life as well as its name recognition as shoppers came from around the area to purchase gifts and distinctive flower arrangements. He sold the Main Street shop in 2004.

Ehrmentraut has never had opposition on the ballot during his terms as mayor. "I think the things we as a board did for the community were the reasons I ran unopposed - people liked what we did, they like that we kept the taxes down. We had eight years of steady tax rates," he said. He said that boards today though, need to raise taxes as a way to build in a bit of a cushion in the face of every-increasing expenses. "We have always kept the taxes in line and have been fiscally responsible to the constituents while still providing the amenities they requested."

Trustee Nancy Steedman has worked with Ehrmentraut for eight years and said, "Don will truly be missed by the residents of the village and our surrounding communities. It was through his leadership and vision that Churchville has become what it is today, a community that we all are proud to live in. He has strived to make and keep Churchville the place that we love and call home."

His greatest attribute, Steedman said, was that he always took the time to talk and listen to the residents of the village. "Their concerns are his concerns," she said.

Among his greatest achievements Ehrmentraut counts the 1993 reconstruction of the village's business district as one of the highlights. "It was an $8 million project," he said. During his tenure the village also saw the decommissioning of its waste treatment plant and the construction of the new village office complex. "This campus is the centerpiece for the community and with the village's having purchased this property (by the creek) access to the water was opened up to the community," he said.

A partnership with Monroe County helped the village gain community parkland, areas for skating and gave the village more available green space.

A project still in the works is the joint comprehensive plan that the village has been working on with Town of Riga officials. "We are still in negotiations with that. I'd love to see it wrapped up before I leave office," he said.

Ehrmentraut has been involved with the committee that has undertaken the Charrette. "This committee has focused its attention on the village's downtown area," he said.

The village also saw its water delivery system change to Monroe County Water Authority and the village also supplies its own electric to consumers.

"It is going to be hard to make the separation from this office. I love the community and its people," he said. "The people in Churchville make the community. I consider Churchville a living, breathing entity. We all share sadness at a loss and rejoice in the happiness of the residents."

Steedman, who has tossed her hat into the ring as the next village mayor said, "I wish Don the best in his retirement. Serving on the village board and working with Don on so many exciting and diverse projects has been a wonderful experience - I will truly miss him."

Note: Elections in the village are March 20.