Bolivar Fire lieutenant hired as new Strasburg chief
STRASBURG (WJER) (Aug. 8, 2024) – The village almost went two more weeks without a fire chief because the people responsible for filling the position weren’t on the same page.
A vote on whether to suspend the usual rules so council could hire Jason Ely without further consideration resulted in a three-to-three tie. Mayor Bruce Metzger usually gets the final say but didn’t this time because the law requires a three-fifths majority.
“So now we’re gonna go two more weeks without a fire chief. It doesn’t make sense when we have a gentleman who wants to come here and do it.”
One of the no votes came from Councilman Jeff Smith, who said he wanted to delay the hire until the next council meeting to give residents time to weigh in.
“Jason, this has nothing to do towards you or anything of that nature. We had some discussion and really as a panel ask for this to go a second reading to allow the public to see and hear what’s going on.”
Ely comes from the Bolivar Fire Department where he currently serves as a lieutenant. The chief there is Shawn Lynch. He came to Tuesday’s meeting to show his support and urged everyone to set aside their differences.
“The fire department exists for one reason and one reason only: to serve your residents. The chief is the guy who puts all the systems in place to serve those residents… Right now, you’ve got nobody in that leadership position to bring all that together. You’re worrying too much about yesterday. Turn the page.”
The Strasburg Fire Department has been without a chief since Steven Laskey stepped down at the end of June. Smith and Councilwoman Kathy Burrier would eventually reconsider and switch their no’s to yeses, allowing Ely to be sworn in Tuesday evening. He told WJER he’s looking forward to the opportunity.
“I’m just always trying to move up, better myself, better other communities.”
Recruitment will be a priority for the new chief, who will be leading a department that has been critically understaffed in recent weeks. The remaining members have been picking up extra shifts to fill in the gaps but can only do so much since many have full-time jobs elsewhere.
Ely’s first day is August 20th. The acting chief is Captain Maria Boswell, who will continue leading the department until then.