The Dunkirk Common Council unanimously authorized the sale of the fire-damaged Stegelske Avenue pumping station to the company that owns the former factory buildings it used to serve.

Atwater Capital, LLC, which owns the former True Temper and Great Lakes Printing buildings and now rents parts of them to Refresco, bought the pump station, which Refresco will take over.

In the workshop prior to Tuesday’s council meeting, Councilman-at-large Paul VanDenVouver asked Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury, “Is this a good idea to sell this?”

Woodbury replied, “Absolutely, and if (Fire Chief Mike Edwards) were here, he’d agree also. We’ve had discussions with him, there’s no other place in the city where the city provides a pump station for their fire protection system. So having them do it themselves is gonna be much better from here on out. We’ve been working with them.

“It’s kind of an oddball that the city ever owned this thing,” Woodbury noted. “It’s really a town (of Dunkirk) function. The town has maintained it all this time. Back when the fire was there (in December) it was handled by the town of Dunkirk fire department and not the city.”

VanDenVouver said he wanted to make sure everyone in the council, Mayor Wilfred Rosas, and City Attorney Richard Morrisroe were on board with the sale. No one said that they weren’t.

“So basically this washes our hands of it?” Council member Nancy Nichols asked. Several city officials replied that she was correct.

The city was sued in March by Atwater Capital over the condition of the Stegelske Avenue pump station after the fire. The station is supposed to supply Refresco’s fire protection station in the area with water, and the suit sought to compel the city to make repairs.

The station was originally built in the 1980s to supply Great Lakes Printing Co. and True Temper. Those businesses closed down and some of their former factory space is now used by Refresco for storage.