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Depew trustees approve $1.35 million sewer contract, demolition order and 10 other routine measures
Summary
At its June 23 meeting the Village of Depew Board of Trustees awarded a $1,347,685 contract for sanitary sewer work, approved demolition of an unsafe house at 163 Keefer Avenue, authorized a public hearing on acquiring 0 Broadway from Erie County and passed 10 other routine resolutions including tote-rate increases and seasonal appointments.
The Village of Depew Board of Trustees on June 23 approved a $1,347,685 contract for 2025 sanitary sewer improvements, ordered demolition of an unsafe house at 163 Keefer Avenue and passed 10 other routine resolutions, the board recorded during its regular meeting.
The sewer contract was awarded to National Water Main Cleaning Co. following a June 12 bid opening. The resolution as read into the record identified the bid amount as $1,347,685.00 and directed staff to proceed with the award based on the village engineer’s recommendation. The trustees took a roll-call vote and the motion carried.
The board also adopted a demolition order for 163 Keefer Avenue after code enforcement inspections and an order to remedy were not complied with. The record shows code enforcement inspected the property in 2022 and again in April 2025, issued an order to remedy, and found the items listed were not corrected; the board cited chapter 81 of the Depew Village Code and Village Law sections invoked in the demolition notice. The resolution directs that demolition expenses be charged to the property and assessed to the land.
Other actions approved at the meeting included:
- Authorizing the administrator to advertise for bids for the 2025 Lancaster Sidewalk project (bid opening set for July 23, 2025).
- Accepting the resignations of Christopher Peters, senior van driver (effective June 20, 2025), and police officer Scott Backerink (effective June 18, 2025).
- Appointing seasonal recreational staff (lifeguards Clara Devine, Louisa Pick, Mia Cana, William Dunning and Benjamin Wittig).
- Appointing Kenneth Pick as part-time superintendent of the Department of Public Works, effective June 23, 2025, at roughly 15 hours per week, with the appointee expected to attend one board meeting per month and to assist with DPW operations during the transition.
- Granting the DPW authority to mow specified vacant or foreclosed properties when owners fail to comply with orders to remedy and to place the mowing costs onto the property tax bill (addresses listed in the resolution).
- Increasing replacement rates for garbage and recycling totes and lids: the 95-gallon tote to $95, the 65-gallon tote to $80, and lids to $25 (the board said lid replacements had previously been done without charge).
- Granting permission to the Depew Volunteer Fire Department to participate in live fire training at the county fire academy and to provide apparatus for July 4 events in Lancaster, and authorizing building-department staff to attend an AIA accessibility update training at Highmark Stadium (no village vehicle required).
- Authorizing the administrator to advertise a public hearing on a proposed acquisition of 0 Broadway from Erie County; the board described the parcel as approximately 17.2 acres near an existing solar farm and noted the county would handle DEC-required remediation before transfer, and that the village could determine whether to lease or sell the property once remediated.
The finance committee’s claims and accounts report was approved; the board recorded totals in the meeting record (general fund $1,005,212; community development/sewer $1,259; capital projects $9,230; total $1,015,701 as read into the record).
Votes at a glance: all 12 resolutions on the agenda were approved by roll call (the record shows unanimous "yes" responses from trustees present).
