OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson said Non Fred Fest has “gotten out of control” the last two years.

News that a promoter wants a concert in Barker Common at the end of SUNY Fredonia’s school year sparked a Fredonia Board of Trustees discussion about the annual partying that takes place during that time.

It’s referred to as “Non Fred Fest” — a three-day bacchanal that takes its name from Fred Fest (which it is also still sometimes called), a SUNY Fredonia-sanctioned concert festival event that got canceled about a decade ago over rowdiness concerns.

Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson told the OBSERVER Thursday that Yanell Diaze is the promoter seeking the Barker Common concert. On Wednesday, the mayor said the focus of the partying should head back to campus, calling it a safety hazard for village residents.

Referring to off-campus events, Ferguson said, “Those types of things should be discussed long in advance, seasons in advance. As things progress through our administration, let’s attempt to visualize those things coming down the road, so we can address them early and not be doing it at the last minute.

“But we also understand that applications for things come at the last minute as well,” he said with a laugh. “If (Code Enforcement Officer Charles LaBarbera’s) saying it’s right, if we’ve got things in place, the application for it, all the information police, fire, and public safety needs, prior to putting up for resolution — if we make that a practice in that process, we should be able to address any issues that come up.”

Village officials had ideas Wednesday for quieting the Non Fred Fest antics. LaBarbera proposed that permits be made necessary for any gatherings of 50 or more people. Trustee Jon Espersen suggested a warning letter to landlords.

Espersen said, “We know the challenges that we faced last year during Non Fred Fest, we had talked about it ad nauseum after… No steps have been taken, as far as I know, to try and ensure that they don’t escalate or even repeat themselves. I’m not sure that the owners of the large college rentals are aware of all the village codes and the (items) that their students, their tenants, may be in violation of. So I believe that maybe, to head it off, sending the owners a letter pointing out what some of the violations (are on) large mass gatherings, just to let them know they’re responsible for whatever happens on their property.”

Espersen also suggested that “during Non Fred Fest, they’re subject to fines for every violation, an escalating fine. Will it help the situation, will it make everybody in the village happy because Non Fred Fest doesn’t turn into a dangerous situation, especially in some areas of the village? I don’t know, but it’s a start.”

Police Chief David Price said, “We address what we observe and that’s the noise. The occupancy falls under building (codes). We’ve addressed this with building owners in the past. It’s dollars and cents to them. If they get fined, they’ll just keep security deposits issued by those tenants. There’s never a sentence of incarceration imposed, it’s all monetary to them.”

Ferguson said, “What I’ve seen in the 30-some years I’ve been here, the last two years have gotten out of control. It’s not the fault of anybody in this room, it’s the fault of irresponsibility of thrusting this festival onto the streets. Now we’ve had a stabbing (in 2023). I will not be the mayor, nor will this board, (to) be responsible for being on national TV for young people getting killed because we’re inviting people from out of town into this community.”

The mayor continued, “This is not even a sanctioned event. But it’s the end of the school year, we understand every community goes through it. We don’t mind them having gatherings to celebrate together, for many of them it’s their last year of college. But when you get to the point of public risk — and this is not the board stating this, this is me stating this — we have a responsibility to keep our residents safe.

“When I was running (for mayor), I talked to many businesses in the downtown community, I can name three of them but I’m not going to embarrass them, that said they will not be open Fred Fest weekend. We also have people on White Street and the (nearby) neighborhood back here that say they are leaving town. Why do residents have to leave their properties because of parties that get out of control? You can’t put it on police, you can’t put it on fire because they don’t have the manpower to handle it. It’s the responsibility of young people who are graduating and supposed adults, it’s the responsibility of their parents and also the responsibility of trying to mend a bridge with the college.”

Mentioning discussion about Fred Fest’s return to campus, he said, “The decision to take Fred Fest off the property was made many years ago by previous administrations.”

Ferguson added soon after, “My suggestion is to work with the college to bring part of activities back onto the campus, which may ease some of the things that go on downtown. We’re at the very early stages of that and I had a discussion with someone who is part of the (University) Senate, and they’re doing it on their own, so I give the college credit for wanting to address this issue.”

He later concluded, “We need to make some motions for permanent action that’s going to help the police, help the fire, help (LaBarbera) do what they need to do to keep the community safe.”

Price said, “You have a thousand students in one area… on duty in this county at one time is 12 cops.”