James Lynden opposed the appointment of Heidi Powell for trustee.

If at first you do not succeed, try again. The village of Fredonia’s Board of Trustees voted 3-1 to appoint Heidi Powell to former Trustee Kara Christina’s vacant seat.

An hour into the meeting Trustee James Lynden put forth a discussion on an interested party for the seat, John Siskar.

“He expressed his interest and forwarded all of his credentials, which I forwarded to all of the trustees, the mayor and the village clerk,” Lynden began. “He has an extensive list of credentials and I asked for feedback on that. No one responded whatsoever to me or him. With his extensive history and experience, I think he would be a very valued member of our board.”

Lynden further asked the board to not do anything more with the vacant seat until taking time to review Siskar’s information. However, that wouldn’t be the case as during the last five minutes of the meeting Powell was presented again by Trustee Roger Britz.

“A vote that was taken at the Board of Trustees meeting held on Dec. 14, 2020 for the purpose of appointing a trustee to the vacant position has been challenged,” Britz stated. “And whereas the legality of this vote remains in question due to the discrepancy in the definition of what constitutes a majority of the board and whereas it’s not the desire of this board to enter into the legal determination on the validity of this vote and where it is now the intent of the valid public vote for the purpose of filling the vacant trustee position therefore I would like to resolve that Heidi Powell be hereby appointed to the vacant position of trustee for the village of Fredonia effective immediately.”

Trustee EvaDawn Bashaw seconded the motion.

The vote was finalized and Powell was named to the vacant seat.