SILVER CREEK — The Village of Silver Creek plans to raise water rates, but it will not come as a surprise to most residents.

In addition to giving plenty of notice before the increase is implemented, the Village Board plans to hold a public hearing to justify the increase to village residents. The hearing will be scheduled prior to the increase taking effect, which is anticipated in November. No official date has been set because the Village Board is still discussing multiple options for an increase with Bahgat & Laurito-Bahgat.

“We want to get the public in here to explain to them why we’re doing what we’re doing,” said Mayor Jeff Hornburg.

Hornburg has consistently stated that an increase is needed after water rates across multiple counties have increased in recent years. Silver Creek has not increased its rates in over two years.

In other water related issues, a water main break recently occurred on the corner of Burgess Street and Central Avenue. An 8-inch water main broke and was deemed to be beyond what the Village’s employees could handle on their own. S. St. George Enterprises assisted with a crew to replace approximately 14 feet of the water line.

After further discussion, the Village Board has elected to expand its open container boundaries during the Festival of Grapes to include the Village Square, as well as the Village Ballpark, for the hours that the Beer Tent is open, beginning Friday, Sept. 12. Merritt Winery will provide five security guards for the event, while the Village and the Festival of Grapes will provide an additional three security guards. Chautauqua County Sheriff’s and the State Police are both aware of the situation, as well.

“I don’t expect it to be a problem. I hope it’s not a problem. I think we have adequate coverage,” Hornburg said.

The Silver Creek Fire Police has received its recently purchased vehicle as approved by the Village Board earlier this summer. The vehicle will soon be operational. “They’re happy, I’m happy for them, and I want to commend the Board for stepping up to the plate and approving the funds for it,” Hornburg said.

The Village Board also transferred $6,000 in funds to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Staffing Account to compensate the Emergency Squad for their response to calls, as outlined in the recently approved contract with the Village. The account is funded by the revenue generated from EMS billing. The month of June had 36 EMS calls and July had 35 EMS calls in Silver Creek.

Resident Anna Frederickson also reiterated her concerns with code enforcement in the village. Silver Creek contracts with the town of Hanover for 10 hours of code enforcement services per week. Frederickson urged the village to be persistent with the ongoing issues.

“There’s so many of these properties that need to be addressed,” Frederickson said. “It’s not just in the village. If you go out into the town, that’s a nightmare. I hope they get some of these things in the village taken care of.”

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 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 Village appreciates the influx of volunteers in recent months, including Wayne Hotelling at the last event.

The next meeting of the Village Board will be Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m., moved from its regular first Monday of the month because of Labor Day.