CONNEAUT —
With his appointment finally squared away, Steve Lee is anxious to dive into his new duties as Conneaut’s fire chief.
“I really want to get my feet wet,” he said Wednesday. “I’m glad I’m getting a chance to do it.”
A letter appointing Lee to the long-vacant post was written by City Manager Robert Schaumleffel Jr., and delivered, said a City Hall spokeswoman. Reports that Lee was the new chief began circulating on Monday.
Lee fills a vacancy that has existed since May 2009, when Bim Orrenmaa retired. Jon Arcaro, the city’s public safety director/police chief at the time, added the fire department to his responsibilities. Arcaro stepped down as director this week and will work solely as police chief, a move that required Schaumleffel to find a fire chief.
In Conneaut, the chief oversees the operation of the two fire stations and an emergency medical/rescue service.
Lee is a veteran of the Conneaut fire service. He joined the former Station 4 fire station in 1991 and in 1997 became a full-time firefighter at Station 1.
Past experience will help ease the transition, Lee said.
“I know the workings of the administrations,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a difficult transition. (Arcaro) had a solid base built up.”
Schaumleffel was not available Wednesday to comment on his choice for chief. An appointment from within the ranks flies in the face of a recommendation made by an ad hoc fire committee that recently completed a months-long study of the department. The group concluded a chief from outside the system is needed to launch some much-needed reforms.
The fire department could be under the budgetary microscope in the coming weeks. City Council may be studying a plan that would revamp the fire and EMS operations to help cut costs and earn more revenue. The attention that could be focused on the department doesn’t faze the new chief.
“I’ll push on and keep doing what I’m supposed to do,” Lee said. “I’ll do the best I can do with the budget I get.”
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