OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Former Fredonia Mayor Frank Pagano, left, speaks during a Fredonia Village Board meeting Monday, with a depiction of him during his 1995-2007 tenure as mayor hanging on the wall at far right.

The Fredonia Village Board will go ahead with the award of a technology services contract to a Jamestown company, after Trustee James Lynden’s motion to vacate the award failed at Monday’s meeting.

The award of the contract to SymLink over DFT Communications, which has headquarters across Temple Street from the Fredonia Village Hall, has roiled the community — and two prominent members of it who served a long time in village government, Sam Drayo and Frank Pagano, both of whom showed up Monday to add their criticism.

“An estimate was given by DFT. There was no detailed specifications developed for the bidders to bid on,” said Drayo, the former village attorney. “So DFT did its best, submitted an estimate, and you always submit estimates on the higher side so you are sure you have got enough money to pay in your budget for the work that’s to be done.”

Drayo said the contract did not meet the competitive bid minimum of $25,000 so other factors rather than price could be taken into its award.

“It’s a reliable, time-tested company. It’s been in the village for over 120 years,” he said of DFT, “not to mention being a large taxpayer, employer and benefactor to many charitable and non profit organizations in the village.”

Pagano, Fredonia mayor from 1995-2007, stated, “The community is behind DFT, trust me when I say that.” He told village officials that the $3,000 difference between SymLink’s bid and DFT’s estimate “is going to come back to haunt you,” because the savings is not worth the trouble in this case. He said the resolution awarding the contract should get rescinded and the project should face a rebid, with DFT given a fair opportunity to compete.

Later in the meeting, Trustee EvaDawn Bashaw, the board’s most outspoken advocate of the arrangement with SymLink, renewed her defense of the deal. She began by apologizing to Mayor Doug Essek for a heated exchange last week at a board workshop, where the two accused each other of conflicts of interest in the affair.

“As I age I realize that there are many things I could have handled better, situations where I could have been kinder, softer, more understanding. I need to let my mistakes make me a better person and learn from my experiences,” she said. “With that said, the exchange between the mayor and I last week caused the point of the discussion to be lost in the argument. And for that I’d like to apologize to Doug and to the public. I’m sorry.

“But those points were important to hear and I think that some of them need to be made not in the heat of the moment,” she continued. An auditor found the village needed updated internet, technology and security services, “so the management team began to seek quotes by contacting nearby municipalities and other businesses with which the village does business. They contacted two vendors … there was no mistake about what those quotes were for. The proposed work and services were outlined by our staff.”

Bashaw went on to say, “It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, it’s a vendor-to-vendor comparison, and the customer chooses accordingly. There’s a reason why the process and the choices are not based on where the vendor’s located, how much they pay in taxes or how many people they employ. It’s based on the best services available at the best possible cost for our staff and our taxpayers. That’s our job as trustees, and the choice is not always a popular one.”

She also repeated a point she made last week, that the village is not reducing, eliminating or changing existing services it contracts with DFT, which cost about $31,000 per year. Bashaw concluded by stating trustees should continue to shop for the best deals and services possible when it comes to village contracts.

A few minutes later, Bashaw announced she was withdrawing a resolution that was to clarify the original measure awarding the contract to SymLink. She stated that Charlie Roberts, village counsel, told her the new resolution is unnecessary.

At that time, Lynden proposed that the board withdraw the original resolution as well. His motion died for lack of a second.