OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Pictured is the site of the now demolished Main Street School in Silver Creek.

SILVER CREEK — The final minute of a recent Silver Creek Village Board meeting featured four words Mayor Jeff Hornburg has been waiting nearly a decade to speak. “The school is down.”

The old Main Street School building has been fully demolished. After standing in disrepair for many years, demolition of the building began in early May. Now all that remains is a large pile of debris – and plenty of snakes that called the building home, according to the Village Board and social media posts from residents.

Once everything is cleaned up, Southern Tier Environments for Living, Inc. (STEL) plans to construct new 54-unit apartment senior living community, for residents ages 62 years and older, at the site of the former school following its demolition. The new building will be comprised of 51 single-bedroom units and 3 two-bedroom units.

Speaking of cleaning things up, village resident Anna Frederickson addressed the Village Board again regarding properties in the village that do not comply with the Village Code. This time, however, she credited one resident up the road from her who helped a neighbor discard of unwanted materials from their property. Frederickson was pleased with the collaboration between residents to make the appearance of the village improve.

“We do have people that will take care of properties,” Frederickson said. “… It just goes to show you that people can put away their things without having the village look like a construction site.”

Also of note, the Village Board adopted amended job descriptions and benefits for the Village Clerk and Village Treasurer. The change most significantly impacts health insurance benefits to the non-union positions on the Village payroll. Deputy Mayor Kathy Tampio said that after discussion, the Board “agreed that it is fair” to provide the same benefits that other Village employees receive.

“Our Clerk and our Treasurer devote a lot of their time to making sure that we do things correctly and efficiently. We appreciate all your efforts,” Tampio said.

The Village Board approved a payment of $1,000 to sponsor the annual Festival of Grapes this upcoming fall. The Board also increased its budget by $2,000 for fireworks displays in the village.

Music in the Park continues on Tuesday with the annual tradition of a First Responders Night at the Village Ballpark. Midnight Recovery performs from 6-9 p.m.

First responders in Silver Creek have been busy this year, as the month of May held true to the trend of more than a call per day in the village. The Silver Creek Fire Department responded to 36 calls in May, including 21 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls and five motor vehicle accidents. There have been more than 20 EMS calls in each month of 2025, and at least three motor vehicle accidents each month so far this year.

The next Mobile Food Pantry event, sponsored by the Silver Creek Food Pantry, the Village of Silver Creek, and Feedmore WNY, will be on Tuesday, June 24, from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., at the village municipal parking lot. The event is free of charge to residents of Silver Creek and other nearby communities.

The next meeting of the Silver Creek Village Board is Monday, July 7.