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Despite returning public comments to meetings, the Fredonia Board of Trustees is still grappling with behavior of the local citizenry.
Trustees tabled a resolution Monday seeking to ban letters by anonymous sources. The resolution was evidently spurred by a tense letter read out at the last board meeting, whose writer requested anonymity. The letter engaged in name-calling of Mayor Michael Ferguson and bashed his behavior as mayor.
Trustee Paul Wandel sponsored the resolution to remove the reading of letters with no names attached. He said it would be in keeping with the practice at other local government meetings, including the Chautauqua County Legislature's.
However, Trustee Ben Brauchler wanted it understood that if a letter writer requested anonymity but used their name on the letter, the village should honor the request when reading it out.
"That's not really in line with my thought and my purpose," Wandel said. "I would consider that if maybe we could table this and give it some further thought."
Trustee LeeAnn Lazarony pointed out that Wandel's resolution would need to be amended if Brauchler's suggestion was taken. She and Trustee Christine Cruz Keefe agreed that tabling the resolution was the way to go. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to table, and the resolution will get discussed at trustees' next workshop.
There were two letters read out at Monday's meeting, both written in a respectful tone. One of them continued OBSERVER columnist Andrew Ludwig's recent practice of sending in his Fredonia-themed newspaper commentary to get read at village board meetings. The other consisted of complaints about a streetlight and the placement of a parcel dropoff bin.
The return of a public comment period to Fredonia's board meetings featured three speakers. Before it began, Ferguson wondered if the period should happen at the end of the meeting.
Lazarony wondered if speakers might want to talk about items on that meeting's agenda. Cruz Keefe was even more firm, declaring that she did not want to remove the public's ability to comment on resolutions up for a vote. Ferguson acquiesced and the comments period was held toward the start of the meeting, as it has traditionally been done.
The first speaker was Patrick Sexton, who expressed concern about Flock cameras. "I really view this as a huge threat to our village, and our rights and our privacy," he said.
Sexton pointed out that while stores and mobile phones do have intrusive security measures, people can choose not to patronize those. The Flock cameras watch public spaces. He also worried that the village could be on the hook for reimbursement if one of the cameras is trashed, and restated fears that the data collected by Flock could be improperly used.
John Pierce complained about a notice for an unpaid tax bill. The property has been in his family since 1944, and taxes have never been paid late, he said.
The third and final speaker was Marcia Johnson, criticizing village restrictions on political signs. Village Code Enforcement Officer Charles LaBarbera recently complained about the signs at a trustees' workshop, stating that they are not supposed to be erected until 30 days before an election.
Johnson said she was not aware of any other municipality in Chautauqua County that restricts timing of political signs. She noted that no one seems to have a problem with the SUNY Fredonia 200th anniversary lawn signs that have popped up around the community.
"Why would this village want to hamper ordinary citizens for simply putting a sign in their own yard supporting the candidate of their choice?" Johnson wondered, urging removal of the time restriction on political signs.
Brauchler later said he wanted to discuss the sign law at the trustees' next workshop. "We'll talk about it," he said. "What we do about it, we'll see."