Jay Irwin, Sherman wastewater treatment plant chief operator, along with Paul Fisher, former chief operator, were the recipients of the Operator Ingenuity Contest Award.

SHERMAN — Village Board members accepted the recommendation of the Steering Committee in the selection of five buildings to be included in the Main Street Feasibility Study at their regular meeting this month.

The Clinton Brown Company Architecture will study the following downtown buildings under the New York Main Street-Technical Assistance Grant: 133 W. Main St., owned by David Conrad; 124 W. Main St., owned by Duane Woods: 104 W. Main St., owned by Donald Wagner; 121-123 W. Main St., owned by the village; and 111 and 113 W. Main St., which are the Feeling Saucy Pizza store and the bookstore.

Sherman Mayor Colleen Meeder said the projected budget amount for the study is $23,500. Trustees also approved an addendum to the Main Street Feasibility Study to include the properties of 130 W. Main St. and 106 E. Main St.

In other business, the village was awarded a rebate of $217,200 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation in order to construct two electrical vehicle charging stations. The stations will be located on the upper parking lot of 104 Church St. The award is the first part of a two-part rebate program with the DEC and National Grid, Meeder said.

The area that was purchased for the electric charging stations encompasses a section of the upper parking lot above Graham’s Market. The section is a little over half of the entire lot, Meeder said.

Village trustees approved the agreement with the owners of Graham’s Market after pursuing a recommendation from Chautauqua County to investigate the installation of electric vehicle charging stations.

New York state has launched an aggressive program to phase out gas-powered vehicles. According to a report issued by electrive.com in October, 2020, “the state of New York is considering joining California by launching their own phase-out of gas-fueled vehicles by 2035.”

In her mayoral address, Meeder expressed appreciation for the work that village clerk and treasurer Jeanette Ramm did in coordinating a full page of Sherman businesses for the Chautauqua County Travel Guide. The county prints 150,000 copies of the guide, Meeder said.

“She (Ramm) literally put Sherman on the map,” Meeder said, referring to the map enclosed in the travel guide.

Meeder also said she was pleased to see how businesses in the village are combining their efforts to build each other up.

“Businesses build other businesses,” she said.

She also noted that Bill Piazza and Kelly Jo Becker are opening their third business, Sweet Meadows Shoppe, on the north side of West Main Street and Triple E Manufacturing is considering expanding its operations that would double the size of their building.

In another matter, the board commended chief wastewater operator Jay Irwin and former chief wastewater operator Paul Fisher for receiving the Operator Ingenuity Contest Award for 2021. According to Weftec, which confers the award, “The 2021 Operator Ingenuity contest celebrates simple and creative solutions to common challenges developed by water and wastewater professionals.”

In his report, Irwin noted that the work on First and Edmund streets have been completed, and a new electric panel was installed on the south side of West Main Street. It will be used for Christmas lights and the lamps lighting the sidewalk under the awning , he said.

The Beautification Committee reported that it has chosen white flowering pear trees to be planted on Route 76, Osborne and Franklin Street. Those trees are salt tolerant and are low enough to not interfere with electric lines, the committee reported.

In other business, trustees set trick-or-treat hours for 5 pm to 7 pm on Sunday.