The Falconer village board during its Jan. 13, 2020 meeting, the first with new mayor Jim Jarosynski.

FALCONER – The Village of Falconer will have to find a fourth member of the village board of trustee.

The village board held its first meeting of the year with new mayor James Jaroszynski, who said that the write-in winner from last year’s election – Phil Ribaudo – has decided not to take the position.

“He has elected to not take the position. He’s informed me officially he’s not going to take it, so by election law you have 30 days before Jan. 1 or 30 days after Jan. 1 to take the oath. So we have to wait until Jan. 30 and then I’ll be seeking people that want to serve on the village board. They can contact me directly or through the village clerk’s office.”

Once all potential candidates have come forward, Jaroszynski will then bring his recommendation to the full board for a vote.

Also during Monday’s meeting the village approved the 2020 officers for the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department, which includes a new fire chief.

New chief Bryce Webster will replace Fire Chief Charles Piazza. Piazza was initially voted by the fire department members to be the cheif for 2020 but the village board raised concerns due to his residency being outside of the fire district. As a result, Piazza opted to withdraw his name and a new vote took place with Webster being selected as chief.

Jaroszynski said there were several challenges facing the village in 2020.

“We’ve certainly worked together fine as a team and with the addition of [new trustee] Gustafson I can only see that continuing. So we definitely have some challenges ahead of us. It’s no secret with the annexation issue. We’re also negotiation our water agreement with the Board of Public Utilities and we have the recent news regarding Truck Lite, so we definitely have a lot on our plate to do and think about,” Jaroszynski said.

Jarosynski added that he looks forward to another meeting Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and others to see if there is an alternative solution to the annexation issue involving the Dow Street Substation – although no specific date has been set.

In the village of Celoron, incumbent Mayor Scott Schrecongost (R) is being challenged by newcomer Jacob Feldt, who is running under the conservative party.  Feldt is one of several residents in the village who’s been dealing with water issues the past several years. Due to what he believes was a delayed effort by the village to address the water problems in his neighborhood, Feldt has decided to run for office and challenge the current mayor.

There’s also a contested race for Town Supervisor in the Town of Carroll, along with several other offices.

In the race for supervisor, Demorat Todd Ekstrom is squaring off against Republican Laura Greenwood. There is also a contested race for Town Council, as well as Town Clerk.

Other local races of Note include two contested races in the Town of Ellicott.

Ellicott Ward 3 (Falconer – West Side)
– David Dunn (D)
– Katy Whitmore (R)

Ellicott Ward 4 (Falconer – East Side)
– Daniel Heitzenrater (R)
– Bryce Webster (D)

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.

For more information on Election Day 2017, visit www.VoteChautauqua.com.