Churchville appoints fire marshal

Churchville village trustees welcome new Fire Marshal/Inspector Scott Flagler at their September 10 village board meeting: (l to r) Trustee Diane Pusateri, Deputy Mayor Don Suter, Mayor Nancy Steedman, Fire Marshal/Inspector Scott Flagler, Trustee John Hartman and Trustee Scott Cullen. Photograph by Kristina Gabalski.

Churchville appoints fire marshal

Scott Flagler is the new Fire Marshal/Inspector for the Village of Churchville. Village Mayor Nancy Steedman made the appointment during the September 10 meeting of the village board of trustees. In making the appointment Steedman said she was very happy to have Flagler agree to take the post, "... this pleased me to a great extent and he is ready to go to work."

The village had been contracting with Bergen for Tom Williamson who also acts as Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector for the Village of Churchville. "With increased activity in the village, we felt that it was time to break out some of these responsibilities and were fortunate that Scott Flagler has completed his training in this area. As a long-time resident of Churchville and former fire chief of the Churchville Volunteer Fire Department, he brings a wealth of experience and skills to the position. Tom Williamson will continue as Churchville's Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer," Steedman said.

Steedman said the part-time position pays $14/hour and the work week may not exceed twenty hours.

Flagler, who also serves as the fire marshal/inspector for the Town of Riga, said he finds the work very interesting. "I will do fire inspections of commercial buildings and will respond if needed to the fire department," he said.

The board was also given a presentation on the proposed multi-use Westshore Trail. Fran Reese, a project consultant with Lu Engineers, discussed trail issues of specific interest to the village. Reese said she needs input from trustees by October 1 when the design process will begin. "I will take your input and work with our design staff and hopefully please everybody and put the west side of town on the map," Reese said.

Reese explained that most of the trail alignment is publicly owned, but there are three parcels in the village that are not: The Star of the West Milling Co. property, the former Hurwitz property on North Street and the Churchville Tire property. "There is no room to put a trail around Star of the West," Reese said, "we will need to find a sidewalk alternative."

Reese also recommended acquisition of a portion of the former Hurwitz property either by purchasing it or by easement.

"I am concerned if this property comes up for development, you need to reserve this area somehow ... something needs to happen soon," she said. The Churchville Tire property may have environmental contamination, Reese said. She explained use of that property would involve the cost of remediation. "The village could become responsible, a municipal entity has access to funding that a private owner does not."

Reese explained on-road alternatives to the trail at these points and asked the board for input in several areas. "Where should on-road alternatives be? Where or how should access be restricted? Where should trail head parking be located? Action is needed to preserve the original right-of-way," Reese said. Trail head options include municipal parking lots near Black Creek or west of the central business district along West Buffalo Road. She also showed trustees how the trail could fit in with the recently completed Village Charrette, and encouraged trustees to form an advocacy group for the trail. "You also need an entity for implementation," Reese said, "it could be the village board, the planning board or private citizens."

Steedman said, "You showed us a lot of different alternatives, a lot of different things to think about. Our community needs to have an opportunity to learn more about it."