OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Crews continue working on Park Place next to Barker Common in Fredonia on Thursday morning.

The Barker Common project has apparently worsened the parking problem in downtown Fredonia — in part because parking meters on and near Park Place have been removed.

The Fredonia Board of Trustees heard an update on the project from its economic development adviser, Travis Gordon, this week. Also, Sam Drayo, the former village attorney whose Main Street law office is close to Park Place, complained about parking issues related to the project.

Drayo also stated that it would be improper for the board to give Department of Public Works Director Scott Marsh authority to approve change orders of up to $15,000 on the project. The board wound up tabling that measure.

Gordon said “a lot of the work is happening right now on the Park Place side of the park.” He said contractors are communicating with him, the Fredonia Fire Department and building proprietors in the area about temporary road closures and traffic pattern changes.

He acknowledged parking concerns had come up. “There is going to be next to no reduction in parking as a result of this project,” he said. “We should remain close to the number of spaces we had before construction.”

Gordon then addressed the fact that Park Place parking meters were removed.

“It was the understanding of the project that those would not return to the park, and that at a later date, possibly with additional funding, a new parking meter, like a kiosk, would be installed so you wouldn’t have all those parking meters which require service and maintenance,” he said. “But that’s for a later date.”

Trustee James Lynden questioned that statement. “I recall that we didn’t want to lose any spaces … there was the discussion of a possibility of a kiosk but that was never set in stone by any means,” he said. “I believe that we intended that the parking meters be put back. Those are a source of revenue. We can’t wait until some kind of funding comes around for a kiosk.”

Village officials were unsure exactly how many meters were affected, and asked Gordon to verify that no meters will be removed from Main Street.

Joy Kuebler, a landscape architect retained by the village for the project, said, “The number of parking spaces has been reduced by only three spaces, and those are at the three crosswalks. From the very first day, we asked about the parking meters, and we were advised that the parking meters should not return.

“If you want to have parking meters go back in, those could be considered as part of an addition, but you would also have to purchase the meters,” she added. “The current meters are not really in a condition to go back in and function very well for you.”

Lynden said he thinks there would need to be an amendment to village law to permanently remove metered parking spaces.

“This was approved a couple years ago, right? Weren’t all these details worked out at the time?” wondered Trustee Scott Johnston, who was appointed to the board earlier this year.

“We thought so,” Lynden said.

A few minutes later, speaking during the public comments portion of the meeting, Drayo criticized the parking situation in the area around the project.

“The biggest concern is to make sure that those parking spaces are available for everybody and that the cars move,” he said. “With parking meters, that encourages people to move and not park there all night and all day long … people are concerned about losing parking spaces, and losing three parking spaces is three too many.”

Drayo encouraged the board to put the meters back, and backed Lynden in saying a law would need to be changed to permanently remove them.

On the Marsh change order resolution, Drayo stated, “Under our charter, the DPW supervisor doesn’t have authority to make expenditures or amend contracts by change order. The village board cannot delegate that authority.” Drayo said the resolution should be referred to Village Attorney Melanie Beardsley before it is voted on.

Lynden later motioned to table the resolution. Trustee EvaDawn Bashaw said that previous DPW head Tony Gugino had similar change order authority, and that she trusted Marsh with the same thing.

Although Bashaw and Trustee Roger Britz voted against tabling it, Johnston joined Lynden in voting “aye.” With the board’s fifth seat currently vacant, that caused a 2-2 tie. Mayor Douglas Essek cast a tie breaking vote in favor of tabling.