The pro-Dunkirk water faction in Fredonia has made its next move.

One of its leaders, Trustee Jon Espersen, reported at a board workshop Wednesday that village officials who backed the Dec. 26 resolution to acquire water from the city have had exploratory talks with the town of Pomfret to link water systems. The resolution, which also resolved to have Fredonia shut its treatment plant and draw down its reservoir, got overturned by a state Supreme Court judge.

“I wanted to keep the community and fellow board members updated as to what the water committee has been doing since the judge made a ruling,” Espersen began. “We’ve been meeting, the water committee and mayor (Michael Ferguson), with the town of Pomfret to discuss the current infrastructure and proposed infrastructure for (Pomfret’s water project) Phases 2 and 3, their expansion, grants that were applied for and received, and the possibility of the village connecting with existing or proposed infrastructure to meet our needs for a permanent water source from the North County Water District.”

The water committee is Espersen and Trustee Nicole Siracuse, who voted “yes” Dec. 26. Pomfret’s Phases 2 and 3 are slated to be supplied by the North County Water District.

Espersen said that beefing up Fredonia’s connections with the water district “would save the taxpayers millions of dollars of debt service by eliminating the need of any cost of construction, no matter which option from the engineer study by LaBella the village decided to undertake.”

Espersen added that the officials “also discussed a large water tank to be placed on a location suitable for both the town and the village, with the capacity capable of meeting the needs of both entities, to be constructed and shared. We’ve asked engineers from LaBella and (Pomfret’s engineering firm) CPL to meet and discuss the feasibility, the best connection point and the approximate cost.”

Espersen went on to say that a SUNY Fredonia “environmental economics professor” reported the village would get “significantly reduced” costs for water users if it got the liquid from the city of Dunkirk or the North County Water District, which Dunkirk supplies.

“I want you to keep in mind that no funds have been expended, no contracts are signed, no promises made,” Espersen emphasized. “These are exploratory discussions to determine if the village can realize significant savings in both the short and long term. I believe the engineers are going to be meeting next week… we’ll be discussing their findings after that meeting.”

Ferguson then linked the village’s water issue to the new Brooks Memorial Hospital.

“We’ve already had one meeting with Kaleida’s construction group, and they are very serious about shovels in the ground before the end of summer. Two years to open,” the mayor began.

“All of our plans thus far for creating or doing a water project, have been anywhere from three to four years down the road,” Ferguson continued. “The hospital…is expediting that time period.”

Ferguson also cited the reopening of the White Inn for “increased need for (a) consistent, redundant water source.”

Trustee Michelle Twichell asked where the proposed Fredonia/Pomfret water tower would be. Ferguson responded, “There’s a number of places we can go, including the current location (of Fredonia’s tank on Webster Road).”

“Does this mean that we’re still going to improve on our water plant?” inquired Twichell.

“No,” said Espersen.

Siracuse said, “I mean, to keep it going as long as we need it until we switch over, yes. We’re not just going to let it fall apart.”

“I don’t see anything proposed yet about switching over,” Twichell said. Espersen and Siracuse confirmed there was no proposal, characterizing the situation as “exploratory discussions.”

Twichell later said the village was unable to use existing water connections with Dunkirk and the North County Water District, at a Vineyard Drive pump station and at either end of the village along Route 20. She alleged that Dunkirk did not meet its obligations with the Vineyard Drive station.

“We didn’t do enough to make sure that the amount of water could get — and I understand where you’re coming from, it should be (working),” Ferguson said of the station. “But frankly, we’ve known for years that it doesn’t have the power to get the water anywhere. And we didn’t do anything about it.”

Espersen said the station was “probably” constructed incorrectly but added, “That’s on every party involved. It wasn’t meant to be a water replacement source, it was just for emergency situations only, and we’ve known all along it would never provide us all the water we needed for days.”