After four decades of service to the village of Minoa, Wastewater Treatment Facility Operation Specialist Pat Meehan is ready to settle into retirement. On May 26, Minoa Mayor Bill Brazill issued a proclamation on behalf of the board of trustees acknowledging Meehan’s many years of service in his position.
“I’m going to miss it. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I actually sit down and it hits me,” said Meehan, a lifelong resident of Minoa. “It’s been a fun time and I’m lucky to have gotten to do this job for so long.”
Meehan said he first got hired as a temporary worker at the Minoa Department of Public Works after he was laid off from a previous job after working there two years. The man Meehan was filling in for got offered another job so the DPW kept him on — and he hasn’t looked back since.
After spending two years working for the DPW, Meehan said a position opened at the Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF), and he was transferred there. Over the years, Meehan has worked at testing and keeping the water in Minoa’s district to a high standard of quality, and he has been involved in the internationally recognized Cleanwater Educational Research Facility (CERF) educating the students from East Syracuse Minoa High School and the SUNY College of Environment Science and Forestry.
In addition to his many years working for the WWTF, Meehan is a lifetime member of the Minoa Volunteer Fire Department.
“I’m going to miss him a lot. I have a degree in biology and am more of a researcher, and Pat knows the machines by heart, so together we made a full circle. Without him, half of that circle is gone and it’s going to take a long time to get it back,” said Steve Giarrusso, supervisor of the WWTF.
“We’re sad to see Pat go; he’s been a great worker for many years. I think it reflects on the village as a whole that we have workers that stay loyal for their whole careers. You don’t see that too often anymore,” said Brazill.
Meehan said his wife Terri will soon be retiring, and they plan to spend more time with family and also at a camp they recently purchased.
