Sam Drayo is pictured at the Village Board meeting.

The village of Fredonia ratified a new Portland Pomfret Dunkirk (PPD) sewer district contract last week, and Sam Drayo thinks Fredonians should be outraged.

The former village attorney, who has turned into a constant critic of Village Hall in retirement, blasted the Board of Trustees before its 3-1 vote to ratify the contract. He also complained to the OBSERVER about the contract in an email.

Drayo’s main concern is that the PPD will be paying less than the $8 per 1,000 gallons that village residents pay. The sewer district contracts with Fredonia’s wastewater treatment plant to process sewage because the district doesn’t have its own facility.

“The loss of this income from the County District will have to be paid by Village residents in the form of higher rates and/or taxes and it’s substantial,” Drayo wrote to the OBSERVER. “The County District, at a minimum, should be charged the same rate as Village residents. If the County District wants to charge its users within the District a 61% reduced rate, that’s up to the County.

“If the Village reduces its rate to the County District, the Village will need to pay for the loss and increase its rate to Village residents to pay for the loss.

The $8.00 per 1,000 rate is what was determined necessary by the Village to pay for all costs to operate and maintain the (wastewater treatment plant). The reduced rate to the County District ($3.10 per 1,000 gallons) results in the Village residents subsidizing the County Sewer District for sewer service.”

At the trustees meeting last week, Drayo started his interrogation of Fredonia officials about the contract by wondering if village attorneys Webster Szanyi had reviewed it.

“Of course they did, Sam,” responded Trustee Jon Espersen. “Every contract we sign.”

“I don’t know whether you did or not, so I’m asking the question. Don’t be sarcastic,” Drayo said.

Drayo continued that there were “major issues with this contract.” He mentioned the $3.10 rate for PPD and said “it needs to be corrected.” He wondered, “how much money is the village losing from this discount?”

Drayo attempted to answer his own question by asserting that the village would lose about $32,000 per quarter by offering the $3.10 rate to PPD instead of the $8 that village residents pay. “You’re subsidizing an outside user,” he said.

He rattled off some more financial statistics, complaining that the discount to the district increases under the new contract. Drayo butted up on the three minutes of speaking rule that Mayor Michael Ferguson and other village officials attempt to enforce on the public. Ferguson offered to meet with Drayo personally about his concerns, which the former village attorney accepted, and tried to tell him his three minutes was up.

Drayo ignored him. Ferguson, who has sparred with him on the three-minute rule many times, just smiled.

“The proposed contract refers to the rate to pay for operational costs, however there are capital costs such as debt service, engineering fees, and legal costs that need to be included,” Drayo went on. “Paragraph four of the contract states there will not be a rate increase until the county approves a rate increase, even if the local district board… approves it. The village needs to have the absolute right whenever it feels necessary to increase its rates to the district when it needs to do so.”

Ferguson again attempted to shoo Drayo away from the speaker’s podium. Drayo insisted he had “three very important statements.”

He said the contract should be clear that PPD is responsible for negligent violations. He said the resolution should have had more public discussion, and ought to be tabled.

Drayo concluded that it was wrong for PPD to be paying a lower rate than village users.