SILVER CREEK — With the Bay Creek Joint Fire District now in place, the village has officially abolished the Silver Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

At a special meeting shortly before the new year, the Village Board voted to abolish the department and transfer its fire equipment, including its apparatus and ambulance, to the Bay Creek Joint Fire District. The department recently received its ambulance after more than two years of waiting for it to arrive, at a cost of roughly $340,000. The Bay Creek Joint Fire District is made up of the coverage area of the Silver Creek and Sunset Bay Fire Departments.

While the department is no longer owned by the Village, it will remain housed at the current fire hall for the next two years. The Village Board and the Bay Creek Fire District agreed to a two-year lease of the space, through 2027, with an option for the District to extend for another two years upon expiration of the lease, if the District wishes to continue. The cost to rent the facilities for the first year of the agreement is $24,000.

The Silver Creek Fire Department and Emergency Squad was busy in 2025, with a total of 303 EMS calls and 469 calls overall for the year. The department received more than 20 EMS calls and more than 30 calls overall in each month of 2025.

Andy Allaire, Rich Brennan, Colleen Griewisch, Janet Harmon, and Shawn Smith were all elected as Fire Commissioners of the new Joint Fire District. The Silver Creek Emergency Squad elected Jeff Griewisch as President, with Jim Tytka Jr. as Vice President, and Colleen Griewisch as Secretary/Treasurer.

The Village Board officially swore in its members at the organizational meeting of 2026. Kathy Tampio takes over as Mayor of Silver Creek, while former Jeff Hornburg will now serve as a Village Trustee. Sandra Lindstrom was also sworn in after being re-elected as a Village Trustee.

Also at the meeting, the Silver Creek Kiwanis Club was authorized to hold its annual drive-through Chiavetta’s Chicken BBQ on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Village Square.

The Board accepted the resignation of Village employee Ben Wassell, effective Jan. 2, and hired Jonathan Valenti as a Utility Worker II, effective Jan. 12, with a six month probation period. The Board also authorized Village Clerk Tom Postle to sign the annual preventative maintenance agreement with Key Power Systems, Inc., for the municipal building generator, effective Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2027 at a cost of $600.

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, Jan. 27, 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 and welcomes all volunteers.

The next regular Silver Creek Village Board meeting is yet to be determined, as the regular meeting would have fallen on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Village will announce at a later date whether the meeting will be held the next night, Tuesday, Jan. 20, or be cancelled with the next meeting to be held in February.