By RIANNA MOORE, Ph.D.

An open letter to Fredonia Mayor Athanasia Landis:

I’m writing to strongly object to the fence proposed for Barker Common, and to the process used to arrive at a decision about the fence. I am sending this as an open letter, copied to the OBSERVER, because you asked in the newspaper (July 16) for village residents and concerned others to write you a letter about the fence issue.

A three-foot fence – or a fence of any height but three feet would prohibit anyone from stepping over without hurting themselves – sends a “Keep Out” message, however decorative it might be and irrespective of how many breaks there are in it. Also, I question whether a high and “decorative” fence would attract visitors. That is a faulty premise, in my opinion. If there is research to demonstrate the premise, I would like to see the citations so I can read it for myself and draw my own conclusions.

A fence is there to keep something in and keep something out. It de facto creates an in group and an out group. The Common as it now stands says “Welcome” to all who may happen by and be drawn in by its cool depths and friendly pathways and benches. It is a treasure and should be protected by persons entrusted with public office, public servants such as yourself.

About the decision-making process: A decision as monumental as this one that would change the character of our beloved Common so dramatically and quite permanently should have been brought before the residents of the village. I don’t recall that there was any public referendum or open or special Council meeting held on the question, or to put a proposal before the village so residents could be present to ask questions and express their opinions. If there was one and I missed it, I apologize, but I read the paper every day to keep up with what’s happening in the village and its governance so I doubt there was one, to be honest. I checked with a few other residents and they had not heard of one, either.

To be effective, leadership needs to be collaborative and participative in the sense that those who are going to be affected need to have a voice in it. In my experience as a member of various grant-writing teams, the input of the community that is to be affected by the grant’s activities, indeed from all the various stakeholders (see stakeholder theory), was actively sought through formal meetings and other communications channels, including the local newspapers and online.

That’s what democracy is all about. Small-d democracy has been abrogated in this process, in my opinion.

I was shocked to realize that the fence was practically a done deal. Your threat makes that clear: If we don’t say Yes to it, the entire grant would be discredited and the village would not realize the benefits of its other aspects that were listed in today’s OBSERVER. When did we have the opportunity to consider what was going into the grant proposal? The exclusionary aspects of this process are the true fence in this whole deal, keeping the residents out while including only you and the council. No one likes to be threatened or bullied into saying “Yes” to anything.

But we do not have to be at a stand-off. There must be a liaison from the granting/funding organization who has supported the development of the proposal. I suggest reaching out to that person and explaining that residents have expressed concern (assuming you hear from more than 20 to 22 of us, the number of letters you said you had from people who supported it, and to be fair I hope you will count the letters to the editor that have already appeared in the OBSERVER against it) about the fence aspect of the proposal and we need to plug something else in there that the village actually wants and needs.

Otherwise, I personally would be willing to forgo the entire grant opportunity and all the improvements it promises in order to keep the fence from being built, and I would do my best, beyond writing this letter which you requested, to keep it from happening. I currently live in the village, was born and raised in Fredonia, graduated from Fredonia High School and completed both the BS and MS degrees at SUNY Fredonia.

Rianna Moore, Ph.D., is a Fredonia resident.