Village of Fredonia officials took their turn in the chorus of local voices calling for New York State to release more than $70 million in funding for a new Brooks-TLC Hospital System facility.

“I think we need to, as a village, start looking at sending letters to (Gov.) Kathy Hochul and whoever else to get moving forward on that project,” village Trustee Dave Bird said at this week’s Board of Trustees meeting.

“Actually, I have sent a request to release those funds to Gov. Hochul, back on Feb. 15 I believe, somewhere in that ballpark,” Mayor Douglas Essek replied. “Mary LaRowe, the CEO of Brooks hospital, contacted me and I was one of many different local officials she asked to send a letter of support.” The mayor encouraged trustees to send similar letters.

“We can’t let (the current hospital in Dunkirk) go out without having something moving in. I definitely want to make sure we’re pursuing that as best as possible,” Bird said.

Brooks plans to build a new hospital on East Main Street in Fredonia, stating the current facility in Dunkirk is hopelessly antiquated. Site plans for the Fredonia building got approved in Februrary 2020 by the village Planning Board — but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, suppressing any momentum for the project.

The plans were only approved for a year, so had to be reapproved in 2021. Village officials said Monday the second approval has also run out and Brooks officials are expected to attend July’s Planning Board meeting to seek another extension.

Later in Monday’s meeting, Trustee James Lynden made his own statements about the hospital situation.

“On Saturday the 4th, I did attend the rally (at the Clarion Hotel in Dunkirk) to support the release of the funding for the hospital, doing my part,” he began. He then read a letter he sent to Hochul and the OBSERVER.

He said in the letter “the decision has been made” on building a new hospital a Fredonia. A counter rally on June 4 called for the hospital to remain in Dunkirk.

Lynden called for the pro-Dunkirk hospital crowd to move on and realize that a hospital in Fredonia is better than none in the area at all.

“What weighs heavy on the people of this region is that the construction has not begun yet, and the current outdated Brooks hospital facility will undoubtedly close soon,” he wrote, in part. “The reason why this committed funding has not been release yet is unknown — but what is known, is that the loss of this project will have a profound negative impact on the quality of life for this region’s people.”

After reading his letter, Lynden made another point: The loss of a local hospital would cause the cost, and length of time, of emergency medical transport services to skyrocket.

Essek said during his mayoral report that he was unable to attend the June 4 rallies because he had to go to a memorial service. He said he was in “constant contact” with state officials and LaRowe about the topic.

“I want just to let the public know: myself, (Dunkirk) Mayor (Wilfred) Rosas and President (Stephen) Kolison from the college, stand together that we need a hospital here… and we support the best, sustainable, fiscally responsible place to have that.”