Fredonia Village Board to Consider Early Reinstatement of Public Comment Period

The public comment portion of Fredonia Village Board meetings has been suspended for approximately two months. Now, there's an apparent move to rescind that suspension early. Trustees Tim Mulholland and Christine Cruz-Keefe have introduced a resolution to reinstate that part of meetings. During a Village Board workshop on Monday, Mulholland said that measure includes rules and guidelines that he drafted, including one caveat for removing someone from a meeting...

Tim Mulholland: must cite the rule being violated

Paul Wandel, who was one of the trustees who voted to suspend public comment on June 22nd, says while the regulations make sense, it's important that they be enforced... 

Paul Wandel: important that we enforce the regulations

Fredonia Mayor Mike Ferguson has stated in previous interviews with WDOE News that the suspension would last three months. The move to suspend public comment began after Fredonia Police were called to a "scuffle" outside the trustees room at Village Hall in May. Since that suspension, village residents have expressed their issues and concerns in correspondence read by Deputy Clerk Erlyssa LeBeau during board meetings. Last week, a resolution to curtail the length of correspondence to a maximum of three minutes was defeated in a 3-2 vote.

More details on the proposed rules and guidelines for the public comment period can be seen on the Village Board's workshop agenda from Monday.

Image and audio from Fredonia Access