The commentary, “Save Our Reservoir effort costs village,” (July 27-28) is ironic in so many ways. “I am not interested in having people who were not elected or who were defeated in the election make decisions for our village,” the writer says.

Does she forget that a defeated trustee named David Bird tipped the scale and forced the entire village to face the reality that three individuals would try to forge a plan with so many potential flaws, environmental and financial?

Does the writer fail to realize that residents have every right to question and challenge, as customers and citizens?

In doing so, we discovered, and a judge ruled, that it was illegal to proceed with their plan to decommission the reservoir and buy water from Dunkirk without an environmental impact study (SEQR).

Blaming the Reservoir group for a lack of planning and fiscal responsibility is a distraction, not a rational solution. The writer also wrote: “The residents of the village of Fredonia are now burdened further with no plan, no money, no grants, and a small group that will oppose anything but what they desire.”

Seriously? We should blame this “small group” of more than 300 residents for the lack of a coherent plan or grants or fiscal responsibility? The buck doesn’t stop with the mayor and trustees, who were elected to represent all residents? Actually, Save Our Reservoir is trying to help them, not play political games.

Also, the accusation that the parade of individuals who shared their thoughts with the board for months were somehow abusive or disrespectful is utter nonsense. These speakers included a respected village attorney who served the village for more than 30 years, multiple former trustees, a former treasurer/administrator, former mayor and teachers/educators.

Yes, they spoke with conviction, and that is quite different than a gang of insurrections storming village hall with bear spray and four-letter insults. All speakers asked relevant questions and clearly represented the voices of village residents.

Months after that vote in December, facts continue to show a need for authentic discourse, problem-solving skills, discipline and a positive attitude.

What has changed since then? Bird is no longer on the board. Two new trustees and mayor can take a fresh look at the facts and listen to voices of genuine concern and various levels of expertise. This does not have to be complicated.

Trustee Paul Wandel said it best in a July 31 article: “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s only going to get done by working together.”

We know so much more than we did last year. Facts about meter errors, water pressure problems in Dunkirk, fiscal woes of the city and the water district, as well as Fredonia’s disappearing fund balance are reported almost daily.

We also learned that the engineering firm hired by the village has never done a full SEQR study. Certainly, this information is enough to raise serious questions about what is truly possible and reasonable versus a fantasy plan that makes no sense. Water is a precious natural resource that cannot be squandered.

The myth that Lake Erie water is somehow a better option and that the village officials ignored the issue for years is an easy excuse for an easy answer to a complex problem that faces many communities with aging infrastructure. Actually, more than $2 million were spent and almost everything in the plant has been replaced and is new.

Abandoning it would be analogous to putting $2 million into a remodeling housing project, and then abandoning the house, moving to Kentucky and leaving it to deteriorate.

Fear mongering about the hospital, a plant falling off a cliff or the cost of keeping what we have and improving it does nothing to address the reality facing our community. We would be short sighted to mindlessly jump on board with a few officials who seem locked in to a decision that could prove disastrous on many levels.

I would suggest that the writer and other critics of Save Our Reservoir spend less time promoting the already outdated presentations by various individuals who parrot one view of a multi-faceted issue.

Save Our Reservoir is not your enemy. We are not bullies or misinformed whiners. We are neighbors. When Dunkirk residents, who also know their infrastructure has issues, recently approached the water district board to share their concerns about months of water pressure problems, they were told, “It’s out of our hands.” (“Residents complain about water”, Observer, July 19).

At this point, the village has the potential to keep water solutions in our hands.

Let’s keep it that way. It’s common sense.

Dadie Sedota is a Fredonia resident.