MAYVILLE – Special state legislation will be needed for the money that was part of the former Mayville Village Fire Department to be released to the new department protecting the village.

Mayville created a Fire and Rescue Equipment Reserve Fund back in 2018, which was established to contribute toward the purchase of firefighting and rescue apparatus and was funded through Mayville village taxpayers. It has a current balance of $569,773.

The village’s Ambulance Reserve Fund was established in February, 2024 to contribute toward the replacement cost of an ambulance. It has a current balance of $58,262.

In September, 2024, the Mayville Fire Department merged with the Hartfield and Dewittville fire districts, which created the North Lake Fire District, which serves the village of Mayville as well as the hamlets of Hartfield and Dewittville.

Mayville Mayor Rick Syper said the state does not permit the village to give that money to the district on its own, since villages cannot give away taxpayer money.

Syper said he has spoken with both state Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor about the issue.

During the Mayville Village Board meeting, board members passed a resolution requesting the state legislature pass a special law to authorize the transfer of the two funds to the newly formed North Lake Fire District Reserve Accounts to be used for the same purposes as they were originally created.

Syper said he was told by the state representatives that the state legislature probably won’t take up the legislation until the end of their session, which is in June.

In other business, the village accepted $39,726 as part of the settlement with Dupont for the village having its water affected by “forever chemicals.”

In 2024, Dupont and its spinoffs agreed to a $1.185 billion nationwide settlement with public water systems for PFAS contamination.

In December 2020, perfluorononanoic acid was discovered in Mayville’s three wells. Over a three-week period, the village got a new well up and running and eventually had to create a Granular Activated Carbon filter system for one of the wells.

Mayville has previously received around $190,000 from 3M, from a different class action lawsuit settlement.

Like the money from 3M, the village deposited the settlement money from Dupont to its GAC Equipment and Reserve Fund.

The village is also looking to build another GAC building, which is expected to cost $2 million. With that cost, officials noted the settlement funds won’t come close to paying for what will be spent addressing the PFAS in the village water.