OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen The Village of Brocton and the Town of Portland are in need of a new Code Enforcement Officer.

BROCTON — Finding a qualified Code Enforcement Officer is no easy task. The Town of Portland and the Village of Brocton will now need to do just that, as Code Enforcement Officer Wendy Spinuzza has retired from the role that was shared between the two communities.

“We will miss her,” Brocton Mayor Craig Miller said.

The position is now open for applications from qualified candidates through the Chautauqua County Civil Service hiring process. As of the day before Spinuzza’s retirement, only one qualified candidate had applied, while one other had some level of interest, according to Town of Portland Supervisor Rich Lewis.

Through the Civil Service hiring process, the candidates that are County certified will be interviewed before the position could be posted for outside applicants. Any outside applicant would need to meet minimum qualifications to be eligible for a provisional appointment.

Code Enforcement has been a topic of conversation at recent Brocton Village Board meetings, as several properties around the village are in disrepair. Village Attorney Peter Clark is in legal proceedings with properties that have ignored orders to comply with the Village Code.

The Village is also in the process of updating an engineering report for the Village Reservoir. The report was started by CPL: Architecture-Engineering-Planning in 2022. To date, roughly $47,000 of the $62,500 total cost has already been paid. The report is required by the State Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate the capabilities and conditions of the reservoir.

The Village Board approved several repairs at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, including a pump at a cost of $14,851.58. Rich Lewis, who also serves as Wastewater Treatment Supervisor, stated a full replacement of the pump would cost between $45,000 and $50,000. Lewis said the repair comes with a warranty and he expects the repair to last many years, after the current pump lasted more than 20 years before it failed.

The Village Board also passed a resolution in support of Congressman Nick Langworthy’s Energy Choice Act and in opposition to government-mandated natural gas bans. The Town of Dunkirk, the Town of Sheridan, and the Village of Silver Creek are among many other municipalities that passed a similar resolution in recent months.

The next Brocton Village Board meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.