Organizer Susan Parker said about 32 people showed up to remove weeds, trim bushes and do other gardening at the closed Fredonia institution. They included three Fredonia mayors: current Mayor Doug Essek and former ones, Steve Keefe and Frank Pagano.

“Through this effort, we have been able to bring together the community, the village leadership, the IDA, the realtor, the attorney who is handling the foreclosure, and the financial people who are on the hook by default because the former owner did not pay his mortgage, his taxes (or bills),” said Parker, a Fredonia resident who is running in a Democratic primary in July for the party’s District 4 Chautauqua County Legislature nomination.

She explained in an interview, “We need to be helpful in the process of starting the conversation with stakeholders about the White Inn.” The current owners are a New Jersey lending company and she had to get permission from them for the cleanup. They communicated their support and expressed enthusiasm with the end results.

Parker said she has heard criticism that the cleanup, which she organized on Facebook, was getting done for a privately owned property. “We’re not doing it for a private property, we’re doing it for the community and to focus attention on the White Inn,” she said.

Submitted Photos A group of Fredonia residents cleaned up the grounds of the White Inn on Saturday. The lack of upkeep on the property had led to code violations.

“It involved a lot of village residents who put up their sleeves and did it out of their own free will,” Essek told the OBSERVER.

He said the lack of upkeep on the property has led to code violations. “We have addressed it in years past. … We handle the White Inn the same as we handle any other residential property,” the mayor said. The village normally contracts out mowing the grounds and Essek wants to see if the owners can be assessed a fee for the work.

Saturday’s effort came in conjunction with lawnmowing done by local contractor Frank Torain, who Parker said the owner paid for. Her part of the deal was entirely volunteer, she said. The cleaners were not allowed inside, focusing strictly on the grounds.

Cornell Cooperative Extension master gardener Steve Reese led the bush trimming. “Someone else concentrated on the fountain with the mermaids and took the muck out,” Parker added.

“I would call it pretty intensive gardening. … There were plants growing among the steps,” she said.

Parker said most community feedback about the cleanup has been positive. “People are telling me how happy they are it looks better. It’s like a symbol of something,” she said.

Essek had blunt words about those who have responded negatively.

“Those are people who haven’t stepped up to the plate in this community,” he said. ” They just sit back and complain.”