The lawyer for the motel targeted for shutdown by Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson has offered a lengthy response.

Richard Morrisroe, counsel for Dunkirk Hospitality, LLC, owner and operator of the former Econo Lodge motel on Bennett Road (Route 60), called on the village of Fredonia to rescind the condemnation orders. He threatened to sue if it does not.

“The actions were premature, did not follow proper procedure and deprived the hotel owner of its due process rights under New York state Law,” Morrisroe wrote in a press release he emailed to the OBSERVER.

“The village jumped the gun,” stated Morrisroe. “Unless the village can cite an immediate life-threatening emergency that harms the health, safety and welfare of the hotel occupants, no matter who they are or where they come from, it has to follow predicate notice procedures, issue citations and an appearance ticket for any alleged code violations to be heard in the Village Justice Court. None of that took place here.”

Morrisroe continued: “As a former Dunkirk City Attorney who prosecuted code violations, I am familiar with the process. To condemn a property, there has to be an emergency. Mayor Ferguson did not provide any concrete evidence of an emergency before making this decision.

“Dunkirk Hospitality, LLC and its members have owned this property since 2021; have worked, invested and lived in this community since 2006, when it first purchased the Dunkirk Clarion; and pays over $102,000 in property taxes annually to the village, the Fredonia school district and Chautauqua County for the hotel on Bennett Road. It employs over 20 community members that will be effectively laid off if the closure of the hotel moves forward. The hotel only went on the village’s radar when it began accepting more DSS clients due to market demand, not to spite the village.”

Morrisroe went on: “Mayor Ferguson is a good man and a passionate leader, but this is a mistake. He and his team should have reached out to the owners before making public proclamations. Village inspectors last formally cited the building for code violation on May 24, 2024.”

Morrisroe alleged that former and current village officials didn’t communicate with the hotel owners directly, “so counsel for the hotel, the village and the county facilitated informal meetings between the parties a month or so later. These discussions do not equal contractual obligations, nor are they judicial court orders. The village made allegations then of several 911 phone calls to the property but never produced evidence of such. No formal memorandums of agreement (MOUs) or contracts were signed. My clients were never taken to court.”

According to Morrisroe, “Now, nearly two years later, all of a sudden the village requests an appointment to inspect the property on May 5. Ownership agreed. Then suddenly, the assistant village inspector appeared escorted by four to five armed village police officers unannounced on consecutive days to inspect the property. No warrant was presented. No citations given. No proof of probable cause of any immediate emergency. In spite of the lack of decorum and proper procedure, my clients consented to the inspections and complied with all requests to see rooms and parts of the building that were neither occupied nor open to the occupants.”

The lawyer continued that Ferguson’s administration “cites allegedly bad conditions and a series of violent incidents, but a quick internet search of any violence there only found one felony arrest for a shooting that took place in August of 2024. It is nearly May 2026 now. Why now?”

He sought to clarify the circumstances by which the motel lost its designation as an Econo Lodge. “Dunkirk Hospitality, LLC did not remove the EconoLodge flag, or franchise agreement, on its own accord. The Fredonia village administration strongly suggested they do this to remain in operation if it chose to continue to house DSS clients.”

Morrisroe argued further: “Furthermore, the rhetoric used by Mayor Ferguson plays well politically and morally, of ‘safely separating the women and children…from the rapists, pedophiles and drug dealers,’ but unless the mayor has combed the sealed criminal records and HIPAA protected medical files of the hotel’s occupants, if any, his comments are reckless at best and potentially defamatory at worst. Sometimes, say less.”

Morrisroe went on, “Condemning a building for code violations and alleged safety concerns does not automatically lead to building demolition. Neither the mayor nor I are qualified to make that determination. That’s a conversation best had between village inspectors, engineers and contractors, not politicians and lawyers. The owner concedes the need for repairs and upgrades, notably the need for a new roof for the entire building, which will be a minimum investment of over $1 million. The building does have security cameras and security personnel on site.”

Morrisroe closed by stating, “Lastly, the issues that fuel the frustrations of both village leadership and hotel ownership are bigger than Fredonia and the former Econo Lodge. I’ll address those issues separately. But it is my sincere hope that cooler heads prevail, that the village halt its impetuous actions, and that this be resolved by negotiations and written agreements between the village, the hotel owner and the county.

“Otherwise, litigation will ensue. Hasn’t Fredonia had enough litigation in the last two years?”