Alison Wahl will be the new chief operator at Fredonia’s water treatment plant.

The village Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to hire her. Wahl’s first day on the job will be Sunday. She is set to make $52,000 a year, with a $5,000 raise upon passing the state civil service exam for water treatment plant chief operators. Her appointment is provisional, meaning the Board of Trustees will have to name her the permanent chief at a later date.

Wahl takes over for Chris Surma, who is retiring. She takes over a treatment plant that has seen millions of dollars in upgrades recently. However, some of the infrastructure is still old, and there are recurring concerns surrounding the Fredonia Reservoir and its dam.

Surma’s retirement letter was read at Wednesday’s meeting by Village Clerk AnneMarie Johnston.

“I am resigning from my position … effective December 18, 2021. I’ve held the position both privately as a contractor and publicly as a village employee for almost nine years,” he wrote. “That, along with my 30 years working for the city of Dunkirk, has me at the point where it’s time to retire from the civil service and continue to pursue other goals and ambitions.

See OPERATOR, Page A6

“I’ve been honored to supervise and manage the village’s water filtration system and watershed, and have dedicated my life to it and the citizens all along the journey. I have respected the challenges of operating and maintaining the aged system and traversing the many personalities involved, from employees to politicians to (Department of Health) sanitarians.

“It has taken its toll on my patience, and it’s time to retire. I am proud to have trained three of the current employees from their first days on the job, and feel confident that they are ready to move on without me as their supervisor. I am also confident that they will appreciate the tasks at hand as I have, and know that they will continue the legacy of responsible stewardship that I have worked to uphold.

“Thank you for all your support and know that I will still be operating my company locally, and will certainly be available to assist the village any way that I can,” Surma concluded.

Mayor Douglas Essek and all four trustees thanked Surma for his service.