Key Actions & Decisions

• ◆ • Feb. 28, 2024: Village Board adopted Resolution 2024-12, citing Town Law Section 189-a, to call a joint meeting of the Village of Albion, Town of Albion and Town of Gaines on forming the Albion Joint Fire District (AJFD)
• ◆ • March 27, 2024: the three governments met at Gaines Town Hall and approved the AJFD proposal, with the village board voting 3-0 (trustees Chris Barry and Tim McMurray absent) after modifying the draft lease to zero rent for five years, with the district covering all building operating costs; set an April 24, 2024 public hearing at Albion High School's Large Group Instruction (LGI) room
• ◆ • Aug. 6, 2024: special election in Gaines and Albion approved forming AJFD; district established Aug. 12, 2024, with a five-member commission (the village's David Buczek, plus two members each from the Town of Albion and Town of Gaines) holding its organizational meeting Aug. 20, 2024
• ◆ • Oct. 9, 2024: Village Board's only public hearing on dissolving its own fire department opened and closed within two minutes, with no comment recorded
• ◆ • Oct. 14, 2024: Board adopted Resolution 2024-27 under Village Law Section 10-1020, abolishing the Village of Albion Fire Department effective Dec. 31, 2024, at 11:59 p.m., with department money and apparatus "free and clear of any lien" to go to AJFD within 10 days of notice
• ◆ • A "FIRE DEPARTMENT OUTSTANDING DEBT" table reviewed Jan. 10, 2024 showed $70,000.00 principal/$3,262.50 interest due in 2025 and $75,000.00/$1,687.50 due in 2026 on a fire truck, plus $60,000.00/$1,380.00 due in 2025 on a roof replacement; no later minutes say which government absorbed that debt
• ◆ • Sept. 25, 2024: Board voted to offer AJFD a triple-net lease at 108 S Platt St for two years with an option to extend to 10, splitting roof (50%), generator (33%) and chimney (50%) repair costs; a finalized lease agreement was approved unanimously, among four trustees present, Nov. 13, 2024
• ◆ • Dec. 11, 2024: Board took up a resolution to end its separate fire-protection service contracts with the Town of Albion (running since 2022, set to expire 2026) and Town of Gaines (since 2023, set to expire 2027) since AJFD made them unnecessary; the excerpt does not include the resolution's final adopted text or a roll-call vote
• ◆ • April 14, 2025: Board declined to separate the fire department's electric meter and generator, which also serve the village clerk's office and police department, citing the cost of buying two replacement generators
• ◆ • Dec. 17, 2025 and May 27, 2026 minutes show village officials still addressing AJFD concerns over parking spaces and the lease, and "Fire Department requests" still listed as an open discussion item, with no resolution recorded