OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Fredonia Trustee Jon Espersen stands on the steps of Village Hall Tuesday.

Fredonia Trustee Jon Espersen is arguably the widest-reaching of the four new trustees elected by village voters in November 2021.

He’s started a collaboration with the State University of New York at Fredonia in hopes of getting students to assist the village. He’s been active on the village’s water issues, repeatedly calling for a special meeting to address them. Espersen also started a committee to look at how cannabis legalization will affect Fredonia.

In a recent interview over lunch, Espersen said creating a sense of urgency about village issues has not been easy.

“I obviously wasn’t used to it. I was not in this position before,” he said. “One of the hardest hurdles to overcome is trying to be patient.”

He said the village must take a hard look at why it is losing water revenue. “Are there leaks everywhere? Are the meters reading correctly? Are we treating water the way we should be doing?” he wondered.

At the special water issues meeting, Espersen wants “engineers there, we need grant writers there, we need DPW there, we need water treatment plant there, we need wastewater treatment — we need everybody there and figure it out.”

He added, “Whether we continue to use the dam, or whether — and it’s a possibility, I’ve talked about it — we decide to buy water from the North County Water District, the dam needs to be fixed or decommissioned. From what I understand from one of the engineers, the cost is about the same.

But if it’s decommissioned, it’s a one-time cost, it wouldn’t be a one-time liability.”

Espersen said, “You can’t take anything off the table. You have to look at every option out there. Which one is best for the village? That’s the purpose of having a special water meeting.”

The collaboration with SUNY Fredonia and the village Espersen is pushing has water issues in its sights. One of the proposed projects students want to do for the village is digitally mapping and geolocating all the water mains. Another project would test water samples around the village.

Espersen said he had an informal meeting recently with the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, and they have interest in funding some of the projects. He planned meetings with professors last week to get a list of possible projects and associated costs, and the foundation board to present student project proposals.

“I didn’t want to have to reject any projects that could benefit the village because of finances. I don’t think it would cost that much, but it will cost something,” he said. “If we can take care of that end, then it really opens us up for anything the students want to do.”

Espersen wants the town-gown collaboration initiative to outlast his time in office. “I’m going to bring a village employee on to attend the meetings to keep her in the loop. Let’s say I run again next year and don’t get re-elected, she can carry on.”

As for Espersen’s cannabis committee, it has been stymied by the state’s troubled path to licensing and opening dispensaries.

“The way the state has operated is why I didn’t want Fredonia to opt in, in the first place,” he said. “But that’s not what happened, we’re dealing with reality. Because we opted out of opting out, OK, let’s try to get ahead of the curve a little bit, and form a committee (so) when new regulations come down or someone has interest in opening a cannabis business in town, they can have someone to come to.”

Espersen noted that a recent lawsuit has put the opening of licensed cannabis dispensaries in Western New York on hold indefinitely.

“There’s nothing going forward. I feel kind of sorry for some of the individuals and groups that have already spent money, that may never get a license,” he said, later adding, “It’s a lawsuit, who knows how long it could take? It could take years.”

Espersen concluded by saying he is pleased with the makeup of the Board of Trustees, as they are five people with different interests.

“I can’t think of an instance where it’s become disagreeable. John McCain used to say, ‘We can disagree without being disagreeable.’ John McCain was my political hero; I love the guy. That’s the way I look at things. I don’t care if you don’t agree with me, just be civil about it. Be willing to talk about it and be willing to give me your point of views but listen to mine as well. I think that’s the way things get done.

“There are instances where it doesn’t work out that way. But we are all putting in the effort, I think. I think we are all individual thinkers.”