by Steve Wiandt
Reporter
Cuyahoga Falls -- Paul Moledor was appointed as the city's new fire chief by City Council April 28.
Mayor Don Robart sent a letter to Council asking it to approve his recommendation to appoint Moledor, who had been the acting fire chief since Chief Mark Snyder was put on paid sick leave March 28 prior to his retirement April 25.
"We are blessed and honored to have a candidate of Paul's experience, background, training, education," Robart told Council prior to its approval. "And [he's] just really a tremendously wholesome individual. Things could be a lot worse than Paul Moledor."
Council approved Moledor's appointment unanimously. He will be officially sworn in as chief May 13 at 4 p.m. in the Community Room at the Natatorium.
Calling him a "professional," Councilmember Don Walters (D-6) turned to Moledor and said, "I don't know that there's any certification you don't possess ... We have a great department and your leadership will take it even further." Walters chaired the special committee to appoint Moledor.
"We're very excited to get the ball rolling," Moledor told the Falls News-Press immediately following the Council meeting.
"We've been working hard the past couple months ... We're going to continue that and evaluate what we're doing and move forward," Moledor said. "We already have the best fire department, now we're going to make it better."
"It's exciting to see Paul become chief," Councilmember Mary Ellen Pyke (R-2) told the Falls News-Press. "We graduated [from Falls High] together. We got married at the same time. We both have children ... He's such a gentleman, so professional, a family guy. He's got it all and he can balance it all. I think this is what he's been working for."
Pyke said Moledor worked to build the city's fifth fire station, secured funding for warning sirens and organized disaster drills. She said he played a key role in planning and being prepared for emergencies following Sept. 11.
"The community never had to be scared about anything," said Pyke.
Moledor joined the fire department in 1983 and had served as assistant fire chief since 2001. The only candidate for the chief's position, he was interviewed by the mayor and cabinet on April 17.
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