Louis Pelletter

Louis Pelletter is a lifelong residence of the town of Hanover. He graduated from Silver Creek Central School in 1970, Monroe Community College in 1972 and Buffalo State College in 1974 with a Bachelors of Science in criminal justice.

He married the former Layna Breznak, a retired speech-language pathologist with the Fredonia Central Schools. The Pelletters have been married for 43 years and have two children, Peter (Mary Valvo) Pelletter and Andrea (Gary) Spengler. They have five grandchildren. The Pelletters resided in the village of Silver Creek for most of their married life until moving to their property on Hopper Road, Forestville in 2010, to establish a self-reliant homestead.

Pelletter joined the Hanover Police Department in 1975 and in 1978 transferred to the Silver Creek Police Department and was promoted to Sergeant in 1981. He retired from the village of Silver Creek as Chief of Police in 2008, having been appointed to that position in 1995. Currently, he is working security, part time, at Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo.

Pelletter has attended numerous training seminars, including accident investigation courses, advanced police photography, law enforcement executive development, police supervision, police chief management training, instructor development seminar, major case/evidence seminar, sex offender management training, sexual assault awareness, domestic violence education for police officers, crime victim training, financial investigation training, local government law and municipal litigation, rehabilitation of second floors of historic buildings, right to know and freedom of information law and the National Incident Command Seminars as part of Homeland Security, attended train the trainer seminar on sexual harassment as well as land and zoning use seminars.

Pelletter has been involved in many area organizations including; the Festival of Grapes, Silver Creek/Irving Chamber of Commerce, Senior and Lawman Together, Community Coalition on Domestic Violence, Silver Creek Historical Society, Hanover Historical Society, Silver Creek Planning Board, Silver Creek Revitalization Committee, Silver Creek 150th Anniversary committee, Silver Creek’s Old Home Days Committee and Silver Creek-Hanover-Forestville Youth Recreation.

Pelletter is a member of the Chautauqua County Police Chief Association, a life member of New York Police Chief Association, a former member of the Western NY PBA, Police Conference of New York, the Silver Creek Disaster Team, the Stop DWI committee, the Allegheny Council for Occupational Safety and Health, is a life member of the NRA, served as the Silver Creek Village Court Officer and was the secretary/treasurer and president of the Silver Creek Police Benevolent Association.

Pelletter also received a community service award from the Silver Creek Village Board in 1984, Friends of the Festival of Grapes 1988, Community Service Award-AMICA 1989 and Festival of Grapes Year around Community Service 1991, Silver Creek/Irving Chamber of Commerce Community Enrichment Award, 1992 and the Northern Chautauqua Chamber Community Service Award 1992.

In 1999, Pelletter applied for and received two grants from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation for new globes for the historic lights in the village park as well as state historic markers for the Skew Arch, Silver Creek’s first settlers and the Erie shipwreck. He also acquired a state grant that year, to restore the village ball park; adding a 32 X40 foot pavilion, two new tennis courts, a 2-5 year old playground, a 6-12 year old playground, a new 1/8 mile track, new lighting and plumbing.

He is currently the Silver Creek village historian and curator of the Silver Creek Historical Center. He organized and raised funds to build the Silver Creek bandstand in 1984. He set up the funding for original concerts and Christmas in the Park. He restored the historic park benches and light poles in the park and sponsored Collins Correctional Facility work crews to do concrete projects, including the sidewalks in the village park and the Babcock Street playground. In 1991, he acquired a historic Ward-Dickinson Dining Car and raised funds to restore it to its original condition,; work was completed and it was dedicated in 1998 as a museum.

Pelletter was appointed in July of 1999 to fill a vacant town Hanover councilmen position and was then elected to a four-year term in November 1999. He was endorsed at that time by the Republican, Democrat and Conservative parties; he was re-elected Hanover Councilperson in November 2015 and is currently deputy supervisor.

Some of his projects while on the town board include: the repair of the highway department’s salt storage building; roof repair, new gutters and mold removal in Hanover Town Hall; remodeling of the zoning and assessor offices; a new vehicle for the building inspector; installation of a security camera system and panic buttons in the town hall; had the town designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority through the installation of an electric charge station, as well as the future conversion of the town’s lighting districts to LED lights and added numerous new pieces of equipment to upgrade the highway department; he restarted and reorganized the 1989 501C Youth Recreation Corp into the current Silver Creek-Hanover- Forestville Youth Recreation Corp. that coordinates activities for the youth of the town of Hanover; he attended Forestville Board meetings to make the dissolution of the village of Forestville run smoothly, which included closing out the water grant project. Currently he is working on the $100,000 reimbursement of state grants that the Town assumed after the Dissolution of Forestville. He has been promoting development on Routes 5 and 20, by proposing the building of a hotel, replacing the 1934 water line to encourage other business development. He is also involved in redeveloping the site of the old Hideaway Restaurant property on the lake and redeveloping the Silver Creek harbor, as it was in earlier days in Silver Creek.

He would like to see the Main Street School restored and offered as a retail and/or residential site. He would like to have the Silver Creek Historical room moved to that location for public access. Also, he would like to have the second floor of the municipal building have public access with the gym and commercial kitchen being restored to the way it was when it was built in 1930.

In addition to the above mentioned projects, he is working towards having community centers to be located in both Forestville and Silver Creek; the restoration of the tennis and basketball courts in Forestville; repairing the Ward-Dickinson Dining Car after flood damage; and expanding the Silver Creek Pavilion for youth recreation activities. He proposed property tax exemptions for veterans and senior citizens that were passed.

Currently, as village historian, he provides historical information, with regards to the restoration of the Silver Creek fountain and created a Facebook page called “Silver Creek Historical Center,” where he posts information and photos from Silver Creek past. He is working on a replica sign of the town of Hanover’s World War II veterans, called the “Roll of Honor,” to be placed at the VFW in Silver Creek. Also on his agenda is a memorial stone or memorial park for veterans of the town of Hanover that were killed in the line of duty from all wars, plans to have Route 20 designated as a historical roadway in the town of Hanover, and a number of historic plaques for first settlements of Fayette and Silver Creek Harbor and the Washington shipwreck.

Pelletter offers to the voters of Hanover, 44 years of involvement in village and town governments and community service, as well as knowledge of the law and the legal system. He has extensive budgeting and financial planning experience as well as having procured funding for local projects through state and federal grants.

Pelletter has been endorsed by the Republican, Independence, Conservative and Libertarian parties.