I would like to address the OBSERVER's View (May 24) concerning the village of Fredonia's building inspector. First of all I like to begin by saying that no one wants or appreciates the work of the building inspector. His job is a necessary evil.
I worked with John Monaco for 12 years. I always found him to be fair but firm in administering the village building and zoning code. It was my experience that there was always two sides to a complaint. I found that in almost all the complaints that came to me, the building inspector was almost always correct in his interpretation of the law.
Those who do the complaining usually do not want to spend the money to fix up their properties.
The state requires the village to inspect all multi-family housing in the village.
If the village does not conform to state law, the village could be sued over the death of a an individual resulting from the failure to inspect the property.
Now to the editorial itself. It seems to me that the OBSERVER listened to one side of the story from the complainant without even checking with the building inspector to find out the facts.
It is the board of trustees that make the laws. It the building inspectors job to carry out those laws.
If you don't like the law then change it. Personally I think that individuals with high grass or who let the property look unsightly should be fined. It affects every homeowner in the neighborhood when one piece of property is not kept up. Look at who the complaints come from.
I applaud John Monaco for being a straight guy amid all of the criticism. Keep up the good work and I also like to thank the board of trustees for having the backbone to defend him.
Frank Pagano is former mayor of Fredonia.
