Ferguson Calls for Immediate Closure, Abandonment of Former EconoLodge

The Mayor of Fredonia is calling for the immediate closure and abandonment of a property in the village that has been the site of hundreds of police and fire calls and numerous public safety concerns. Mike Ferguson gave an update on the conditions inside the former EconoLodge on Bennett Road during Monday's Village Board meeting. He says police officers went into the building twice last week with Village Code and Zoning Enforcement...

Mike Ferguson: conditions were deplorable

Ferguson says he has also called on Chautauqua County agencies to safely separate women and children from the "rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and others" that have been allowed to stay in that facility. He says he wants to make sure the women and children have somewhere safe to live...

Mike Ferguson: we're doing it to help people

Ferguson says suggestions were made during meetings with County Executive P.J. Wendel and state lawmakers George Borrello and Andrew Molitor for locations where residents of the facility could be taken. He adds that the damage inside the building is bad enough that it will likely have to be condemned. Ferguson noted that the action he has called for was previously taken at a hotel in Falconer.

File photo; audio from Fredonia Access