Mayor Michael Ferguson

Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson lambasted the village residents suing over water plans this week.

Ferguson, during an appearance on the WDOE “Viewpoint” radio program used most of his 17 minutes to discuss the village’s water situation, which he called “the No.1 thing we have to keep our eyes on.”

At the same time, he said it was “exhausting to talk about” the village’s long-running water service problems.

The village Board of Trustees voted in September to acquire water from the North County Water District, and decommission Fredonia’s reservoir and treatment plant. However, village residents James Lynden, Gladys “Dadie” Sedota and Marie Sedota have sued in state Supreme Court to get that tossed out. The trio are stalwarts of “Save Our Reservoir,” a group that wants Fredonia to fix its own system and keep it independent.

Ferguson blasted Save Our Reservoir, pointedly stating an exact dollar figure on lawyers’ costs from fighting their previous lawsuit. That suit was to overturn a 2023 Board of Trustees vote to shut the plant and reservoir and buy water directly from Dunkirk. Judge Grace Hanlon, who is also handling the latest lawsuit, ruled against Fredonia — spurring the second village attempt in September to get water elsewhere.

“You can only move as fast the government will allow you to do — and, a second lawsuit,” Ferguson said. “As I have stated, and it really upsets people when I say this, (the village) paid $32,855.63 the last time a lawsuit was brought on.”

Ferguson said 20% of registered voters could have petitioned for a public referendum on the September decision. However, he said less than 400 people in a village of about 10,000 signed on.

“So what do you do? You throw another lawsuit. So now we’re back in court again,” which is going to cost Fredonia a similar amount, the mayor continued.

“So almost $68,000 of a budget that everyone claims is being recklessly spent was being (spent) on just two of lawsuits created by a small group of people,” Ferguson said. “Do they have a right to fight that? Yes, certainly. But we take care of the over 10, 12,13,000 people we sell water to.”

Ferguson emphasized several times in his radio appearance the plan to connect with the North County Water District through town of Pomfret lines has already been offered funding by the state. He offered the figure of $17.7 million at one point.

Ferguson also attacked Save Our Reservoir’s contention that buying from the district will cause Fredonia’s water prices to skyrocket. He called it a “lie.”

“It is in the contract that every community has with North County Water District… that as consumption increases, your bill will go down. Your rates will go down,” the mayor said.

Fredonia would do its own billing “just like we do billing now. The only difference is the direction that the water comes from. And quite frankly, Lake Erie has been very successful with delivering water since God put it there.”

He said, “I am confident this is the way to go.” Ferguson added that “if there was an enormous outcry for people to stop this project” in the many years it has been talked about, it would have been heard by now.

He later said, “Nobody is in this, certainly, for the money. Nobody is in this for the glamour of being castrated in the news, especially for projects that were basically handed to you. But enough of the negativity, there are positive things to talk about. This project is one of them.”