The simple minded and the uninformed can be easily led astray.

And those who can not connect the dots look the other way.

People believe what they want to believe when it makes no sense at all.

Walk Tall

— John Mellencamp 2004

I implore readers of this column to watch the village board workshop meeting of May 4. This meeting truly contains the good, the bad, and the ugly of village government. The good begins at approximately 44 minutes into the meeting when the mayor, the trustees, the LaBella engineers, and the DPW chief discuss replacing the village’s ancient water mains. Former DPW chief David Bird showed a surprising knowledge and understanding of the water main system and the reasons for recent boil water orders. A project to replace the village’s 100 year old water mains was discussed to be added to the plan to join the NCWD at an additional cost to the $17.5 million NCWD project.

Bird estimated that 75-85% of the village’s water main breaks and the resulting boil water orders could be eliminated if this infrastructure was replaced with modern piping. The LaBella engineers presented two feasible infrastructure proposals. A partial water main replacement was estimated to add $4.5 million to the NCWD project while a more involved project would cost approximately $6 million. Since the public’s interest in Fredonia’s water centers around frustrating and frequent water main breaks and boil water orders, if those can be eliminated or greatly reduced, it would surely satisfy the public’s outrage over Fredonia’s water system..

The bad part of the meeting occurred prior to the discussion on infrastructure replacement as village trustees and the La Bella engineers talked about moving full steam ahead with this costly plan to join the NCWD to the tune of $17.5 million. Keep in mind that this figure is for construction costs only and does not take into consideration other factors that will make the price tag for Fredonia water users much higher.

The truly ugly part came when LaBella and the board discussed how the village is going to pay for the NCWD project. This discussion centered around cobbling together a number of grants and interest free loans. None of which are guaranteed nor would they cover the cost of the project in its entirety. Trustee LeeAnn Lazarony was the only village official to question the financing of the NCWD project or the infrastructure repairs. When questioned about financing the projects, village treasurer Erlyssa LeBeau stated that she had no idea how the village could pay for these endeavors. In a poor attempt at humor, Mayor Ferguson suggested that Santa Claus would deliver the monetary gift. Sadly, village taxpayers and water users will actually be the Santas paying for this costly and unnecessary NCWD project for decades to come.

The majority of recent boil water orders have been caused by human error and/or water main breaks. If those can be eliminated by upgrading the village’s infrastructure and more closely monitoring the water treatment plant, then why would the village need to join the NCWD? Fredonia’s water problem is not the quality of the water from the reservoir. The problem is the aged water delivery system coupled with human error at the treatment plant.

And why would it be so important to the city of Dunkirk, the NCWD, the Town of Pomfret, and Chautauqua county for Fredonia to join the NCWD?

Recent news headlines about the city of Dunkirk, the North County Water District and the Town of Pomfret have plotted some very bold dots that need to be connected by Fredonia residents and water users as soon as possible.

Dunkirk is in financial turmoil and looking to raise water rates and sell more water. As reported by the chairperson of the NCWD Mr. Dan Pacos, the NCWD lost $105k in the first quarter of this year. The Town of Pomfret, also un by Mr. Pacos, is looking for the village to help them pay for a water tank and new water lines as they look to expand their partnership with the NCWD. The town has also underestimated the cost to remodel the church that they bought for their new town hall to the tune of $2 million. Could the town use some help financing this boondoggle? Could that help come by way of selling water to Fredonia?

Something that has not been mentioned in the news is that the NCWD still owes the county somewhere around $5 million for a loan that helped the NCWD get started. The exact figure of the debt is hard to come by. NCWD and county officials don’t want to discuss the county’s generosity with our tax dollars.

It’s easy to see why Dunkirk wants Fredonia to join the NCWD. They need to sell more water to pay off the debt on their own water treatment plant and to raise some much needed revenue for the city.

It’s just as easy to see why the NCWD wants Fredonia to join with the district. They are losing money and need more water customers to try and turn a profit and to try to pay back the county loan.

Isn’t it obvious that the county wants their millions back from the NCWD? And the only way they will get it is if the NCWD sells more water. The largest water user the NCWD can hijack is Fredonia.

And what of the Town of Pomfret, also run by NCWD chair Dan Pacos? Pretty easy to se the conflict of interest here. Just as easy to see that Pacos has created a bit of a money problem at both the NCWD and in the town.

While the city, the town, the NCWD and the county all benefit from selling up-charged water from the NCWD to the village, what will Fredonia get from all this? A loss of water independence and considerable debt that the village can’t afford while water rates rise uncontrollably.

I am not against any municipal partnerships that are of mutual benefit to all parties involved. But why should Fredonia join forces with four other municipalities that can’t seem to manage their finances and are looking to balance their books on the backs of Fredonians? If the Town of Pomfret has all this money to spend on a new Town Hall, why not reach out to the village and see about finding or constructing a facility in the village that could also be used as a police station, joint courthouse. town hall and village hall ? None of these government entities want to partner Fredonia in ways that benefits the village. Fredonia has their own financial headaches. Better for the village to go it alone, take the less expensive option and upgrade the village’s infrastructure, dam, water treatment plant and reservoir.

At this must-see meeting, La Bella and the village board unknowingly, but clearly, presented the undeniable argument for NOT joining the NCWD. The facts speak for themselves. The dots have been connected. Please stop looking away Fredonians. I strongly encourage members of the public to watch the May 4th village board workshop meeting. Find it on YouTube. Decide for yourselves. Then contact village officials and demand that they take the appropriate action.

Village government needs to fix the village’s infrastructure. Prevent human error at the water treatment plant. Scrap the hugely expensive and unnecessary plan to join the NCWD. Gradually continue to upgrade the village’s dam, water treatment plant and reservoir as finances allow. The way forward for Fredonia’s water could not be more clear.

Andrew Ludwig is a retired math teacher and a retired public school and Catholic school administrator. He currently works as a substitute teacher in Chautauqua County.