By Bill Petzold
Staff Writer
MAYVILLE — The Village of Mayville will ring in the new year with a new trustee, a search for a new treasurer and a new squad car for the police department.
Council gave Mayville Police Department chief Dave Forystek its blessing Tuesday to proceed with the purchase of a new police car. Council voted last month to implement Forystek’s plan to reorganize the police department, a move that provides 40 more hours of police coverage per month and is projected to reduce the department’s budget by approximately $33,000. Forystek’s plan calls for reducing the chief’s position to part-time, while adding two additional part-time officers.
The part-time officer jobs have been posted, and Forystek said he was accepting appllications through 4 p.m. December 21. He said Tuesday he was pleased with the response.
“I currently have 14 applications as of my visit to the post office today, a wide variety. I’ve got people that have never done anything — just out of the academy — all the way up to people with 25 years of experience, and we’ve got fairly local applicants, which is good. A couple of them are pretty good applicants, so that’s a good thing.”
Forystek said that the hiring process is on schedule, and that he hopes to have the two applicants he selects attend the January village council meeting so the council and village residents can meet the officers and ask questions.
Forystek’s proposal also provided for the purchase of a new squad car. In keeping with the rest of his proposal, Forystek found a way to save the village thousands of dollars by purchasing an undriven late-model vehicle and not a 2013 model.
“I’ve been working with the Chevy dealership in Millington, with Jason Bellor who’s a village resident. … He’s done a search nationwide, and what I was told is there are some 2011s out there with zero miles on them and they have not changed the car one bit,” Forystek said, noting the 2011, 2012 and 2013 models are the same. “They’re the identical car, they give you the full warranty, there is no difference in buying one car or the other.”
Council approved the purchase of a vehicle for $23,392, with an additional estimated $2,000 to have Department of Public Works superintendent Andy Hecht outfit the vehicle for police use.
Mayville Fire Department plays Santa
Mayville Fire Department chief Robert Hiiter said that the department had raised $1,200 to help families in need have a better holiday.
“We’re hosting five families this year, with a total of 12 children that we will be taking shopping (Wednesday) night at Walmart,” Hiiter said. “Each one of the children will get a $100 gift card. The department kicked in, and some community members kicked in and some churches and stuff have given money.”
The Mayville Fire Department also provided the families with food for their Christmas dinners, and held a pizza party for the families at the fire hall before taking the children Christmas shopping. Hiiter said the fire department also sends out five Santas each Christmas Eve, and that every village resident would get a bag of peanuts and candy.
Council voted Tuesday to appoint Hiiter as fire chief for next year.
Council adds new trustee
The village council added a new trustee Tuesday to replace its most recent departing trustee. Council voted 6-0 to accept the resignation of trustee Bruce McGhee.
“For personal and professional reasons, I respectfully submit my resignation as a village council trustee,” village president Clare Fryers read from McGhee’s resignation letter.
Fryers said that council had received an application letter for the vacated trustee seat.
“We have one applicant for the job, that is William Barkowska …,” Fryers said. “He’s the one that applied for the job, do we have a motion to accept him?”
Trustee Wanda Topham made a motion to accept Barkowska’s application, seconded by trustee Sue Marlow. Council voted 6-0 to appoint Barkowska, and Barkowska took his seat at the council table.
Barkowska volunteered for his first council duty Tuesday, as he and trustees Cecilia Kapcia and Susan Atkinson were appointed to the hiring committee for a new treasurer. The committee will interview applicants as well as determine wages and hours for the position.
Plans discussed included an immediate search for a treasurer with interim clerk Jim Welke continuing in his role. Once a treasurer is hired and has been trained in, the village will proceed with hiring a new clerk so that the treasurer can assist customers. It was suggested that the village office remained closed while the treasurer learns the job to eliminate the constant interruptions of assisting customers.
Bill Petzold is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. He can be reached at petzold@tcadvertiser.com.
