The League of Women Voters wants to plant some flowers around downtown Fredonia. Mayor Douglas Essek’s message to them last week was basically: Good luck, you’ll need it.

Village Clerk AnneMarie Johnston read the request from the League’s Mary Croxton at a village Board of Trustees meeting.

The League wants to put a flower garden in “one of the spaces around the trees on Main Street,” according to Croxton’s letter. They propose letting families create gardens in other similar spaces, and Croxton wrote that she could offer contact information for interested families.

Essek said he, his wife, and a few others “volunteered their time, money with flowers and topsoil and mulch, and we had planted flowers around the trees (near) all the downtown businesses” in recent years.

“It’s hard to have the businesses take ownership and have pride to keep up with those,” he said. “Last year, we planted perennials. Not one flower around any tree… (was) there (this year).”

Essek said he’d like to see downtown businesses sweep up and look presentable. “Instead of us having the clear the weeds with whatever means, maybe the business owners would like to make their businesses look presentable,” he said.

The flowers didn’t get planted downtown this year, the mayor continued.

“Nobody showed that they cared or really paid attention to what was going on,” he said. “I’m sorry that we didn’t do it, but when people don’t care or show any pride with their businesses to take care of these things, it’s hard to want to volunteer like weeks and weeks of busting your back and planning.”

He welcomed the League’s plans, but added, “I wish the downtown businesses would appreciate it and our public would appreciate it a little more — and not throw their cigarette butts or garbage into it too, as well.”

Johnston agreed to contact Croxton, and Trustee Dave Bird also stated support for the League’s plan.