OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford From left are David Bird, Ben Brauchler, Jon Espersen, moderator Marcia Merrins, Paul Wandel, James Lynden and Michael Barris at the League of Women Voters forum for Fredonia Board of Trustees candidates Tuesday at the Fredonia Opera House.

The six candidates for Fredonia’s Board of Trustees debated Tuesday in a League of Women Voters event at the Opera House.

The first question from moderator Marcia Merrins asked what the candidates thought was the most important issue facing Fredonia and what they’d do about it if elected. Most — not all — focused on the village’s troubled water system.

Incumbent David Bird spoke first. “We have started with a comprehensive engineering study to help determine what is the best way to attack fixing our water system,” he said. Bird added there would be a public forum on the study when it comes out in November “so you can have the same information we do moving forward.”

Bird said, “Right now I’m leaning towards a second pump station with the city of Dunkirk.”

Another incumbent, Jon Espersen, said the discrepancies at Fredonia’s water plant were reported for up to 20 years “but just ignored.” He complained other trustees wanted to limit the scope of the study Bird mentioned.

Paul Wandel agreed the water system was the biggest issue. However, the third incumbent running, James Lynden, disagreed.

Lynden said, “The biggest issue is that the village has been subject to pressure for years in the name of mergers and consolidations that have been very costly in time and finance, dramatically slowing the progress in attending to out actual needs and raising concerns for the autonomy of village government.”

Ben Brauchler joked, “As far as our major problem, there’s only one and I’m sure you’re all concerned, is the feral sheep wandering the streets. Nah, probably the water. It’s the water. I think we definitely have to move forward with that and get that taken care of.”

Brauchler called for a fully redundant system that can share as much water as needed with Dunkirk.

Michael Barris, a former trustee seeking office again, said he was most concerned about water quality. Citing a 1999 atlas of cancer mortality from the National Cancer Institute, which he said is renewed annually, he stated there was a “very high incidence of colorectal cancer” in people who get water from the Great Lakes. “This is why I think it’s so very important to preserve the reservoir,” he said.

Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas, in a statement to the OBSERVER, disputed this claim. “We stand by the safety of our water,” he said. “Candidates for public office are encouraged to compare the EPA’s annual consumer confidence reports for the city of Dunkirk and other public water systems; and studies of lakes and reservoirs as sources for public water systems. These reports and studies may be accessed online together with information about the effectiveness of granulated activated carbon that helps make our Dunkirk water safe for our residents and the many communities that we serve.”

After Barris spoke, the debate meandered on for nearly two hours more, with the bulk of the questions about the water system.

At one point, the scholarly Barris cited the Roman Emperor Vespasian’s building of the Coliseum in Rome, while responding to a question about support of Festivals Fredonia. “The question here is whether municipal government should be responsible for the amusement and distraction of the population from pressing issues. I do not support distracting issues,” he said.

Bird expressed deep support for Festival Fredonia and the village’s downtown events. “The festivals are really a crucial part of our environment here,” Brauchler agreed.

Espersen said the village wants to help Festivals Fredonia. Wandel said there is a “poor perception” of the village government by festival organizers

The full debate can be viewed on the YouTube channels of Fredonia Access and the Chautauqua County League of Women Voters.