3 Troy Firefighters Quit After Trustees Pick New Chief
Three Troy Township firefighters quit following a motion to make James Nix, of Solon, the new fire chief Dec. 17.
Three Troy Township firefighters quit following a motion to make James Nix, of Solon, the new fire chief Dec. 17.
“(It’s been) emotional on a personal end of it and also on a qualification end of it,” Trustee Chair Leonard Barcikoski said toward the end of the regular trustees meeting. “So, everything being said, the time is here. I nominate James Nix.”
Someone shouted from the crowd, “In your application process, you said, ‘must live within a reasonable distance.’ He lives in Green? That is not reasonable. That is unreasonable.”
Nix, who did not attend the meeting, confirmed in a follow-up interview he resides in Solon.
“I feel honored to be given the opportunity because there was a lot of extremely qualified candidates, so I look forward to the task at hand and hopefully a smooth transition,” he said.
Capt. Caitlyn Ramsey expressed concerns on staffing during the meeting, as interim Chief Nick Bushek left swiftly once Barcikoski nominated Nix, and three firefighters handed in their letters of resignation.
“I would just like to know who I’m answering to tonight after I leave. I’ve lost most of my members,” she said. “I have me and my husband (Lt. Eric Lewis) running this and we have a child to take care of at home.”
In a follow-up interview Dec. 18 inquiring about Bushek’s employment status, Trustee Donn Breckenridge said as of that day, trustees had not received any official paperwork indicating he was resigning.
Xion Malensek, a cadet from the department, explained his concerns about the new fire chief in a follow-up interview.
“Even last night after the meeting, the culture was more down,” Malensek said.
He shared concerns about the selection process, noting Bushek put a lot of effort into the department.
“He’s put in years of dedication on this department and he’s done nothing but good for us,” he said.
Previous Fire Chief Eric Matthews resigned in December of 2023 and Nick Bushek has served as the interim chief since then. Bushek — who previously expressed frustrations with how long it was taking trustees to hire a chief — resigned and reneged his resignation during a meeting in July.
Bushek did not to a request for comment prior to press deadline.
Members from the crowd last Tuesday questioned how Barcikoski handled the motion to hire Nix — which came after an executive session at the very end of the meeting.
“That’s why everybody’s wound up right now because you made a decision that he’s going to be the next — I’m looking at all three of you — that he’s going to be the next chief, but none of these questions are answered, yet,” resident Tony Hylton said, referring to questions the audience had asked trustees about Nix.
“For the proper procedure of what we did, we made a motion to accept him as chief. He hasn’t accepted it,” Barcikoski said. “We’ve got to talk to him if he wants the job.”
Anger continued to build among residents, some indicating the trustees’ seats wouldn’t be filled for much longer.
“This township is just something else,” said a member of the crowd.
Barcikoski replied, “Better run for trustee.”
“Obviously, somebody needs to,” the resident shot back. “We need three people to run. You’re gone next year. I guarantee it.”
Ramsey reassured the crowd she would be staying on.
“I’m not one of those people who just came up there and handed you guys a resignation letter,” Ramsey said. “Through all of this stuff that I’ve had to deal with, I know you guys have had your emotions, too. We obviously had our emotions over there. I am not backing away from this township.”
