Fredonia will be getting a study to study the previous studies of its water infrastructure. But it’s still not clear what else the village wants from LaBella
Everyone in Fredonia’s government seems to agree the village must get a study of its water system needs. There is less agreement on what the study should cont
jward@observertoday.com
In a 3-2 vote, Fredonia Village Board members narrowly approved the water contract with the town of Pomfret.
During discussion of the controversial issue, there was an urgency by some of the trustees to agree to the contract because the town was tiring of the wait, which may have led Pomfret to move its supplier to the North County Water District.
Fredonia Trustee James Lynden was the most outspoken on this issue. “The contracts were not even negotiated,” he said. “Roger Britz (Fredonia trustee) and I were part of the water negotiations and how it ended up at this point I don’t know. In my opinion it wasn’t ready to come out of any kind of committee. The other contracts that are being presented are not even a realistic request. They represent great loss in revenues to the village.”
Fredonia Village Hall is pictured.
So this is where local governments that are supposed to look out for the best interests of its constituents become heavy handed. Instead of looking at the significant issues such as the continuing water problems in the village of Fredonia, or the drying up of revenues from state aid to assist in the closing of the NRG power plant in Dunkirk it’s the mundane stuff that is grabbing all the attention.
Well why not? It is easier for local elected officials to sweat the small stuff than take on tough decisions.
Fredonia, for its part, is caught up in dictating fees to users specifically in the food trucks. Within the last four years, the fee was put in place to balance some of the competition between longtime eateries in the village and those making a road trip for a day or two to see some revenues.
OBSERVER Photo
Pictured is the Fredonia Village Hall.
Should the village of Fredonia not charge food trucks at all coming in for festivals for the year of 2021?
That was the question posed by Trustee James Lynden at Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
“We were just discussing how short the village is on funds and I do understand the economic impact of COVID,” Lynden began. “Is it possible that we could consider helping these food trucks by going to a $100 per event as opposed to the $500 annual? I’d hate to see us lose a 100% of the fees, but a reduction is fine.”