Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson missed criticism of his idea to halt public comments at Fredonia trustees meetings. However, he is apparently dropping the idea for now.

Ferguson called the OBSERVER ahead of Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting and stated that he is not planning on pushing his stance too hard. The mayor also said he would be skipping the meeting because he has a nasty, contagious virus — not because he fears criticism of his idea. He told the OBSERVER that he is unlikely to insist that trustees cut off public comments.

It’s the trustees who get to ultimately decide the structure of public comments at meetings, not Ferguson. Toward the end of a comments session Tuesday that was spirited and spicy despite Ferguson’s absence, trustees voted 3-2 to reaffirm a three-minute limit on speakers.

Seven people wound up speaking at Tuesday’s meeting. Most of them criticized the village for even considering a cutoff of comments.

First to speak was Helen Ihasz, who said, “Please do not take away our right to speak at meetings, especially since this has become an issue because of a few people. Making everyone suffer because of the actions of a few is not right.” She suggested that non-Fredonians not be allowed to speak, and that people who blow past the time limit get prevented from speaking in the future.

She continued, “If someone continually speaks out of turn or talks over others or is rude or nasty, give them one warning. If they continue, have them removed from the meeting, and don’t allow them to come back, for a length of time determined by you. This is a consequence for not following rules.”

Ihasz opined, “There is no reason for the same people to use their time to speak over and over again as a way to grandstand, berate the mayor and board so everyone can see them on TV and get their name in the paper. I, for one, am very tired of it.”

Former Trustees James Lynden and Michelle Twichell returned to the podium to criticize Ferguson’s proposal. Twichell quoted the village charter to remind trustees that they determine rules of conduct for meetings. She also reminded them that a previous Board of Trustees passed a rules of conduct resolution in April 2018.

Lynden said, “Censorship and attempted silencing of the public opinion or viewpoint is a very serious issue. This mayor once again made public statements of retaliation, this time with an aggressive action of wishing to eliminate the public portion of all village board meetings as long as he is in office.”

He echoed Twichell in saying the board should follow its 2018 code of conduct resolution, preserving the public’s right to speak.

Lynden lost his place at one point, inadvertently wasting a few seconds. He moved on to other village issues and trustees held strictly to the three-minute rule, asking him to leave the podium. They did request and receive the rest of his statements.

Former Village Attorney Samuel Drayo said the time limits should be “bent when necessary for the good of the village” if the subject matter was of high importance. Drayo went on about other issues and tried to speak past the three-minute mark.

“You know when you come in here, you have three minutes. You know, if you want to speak for 10 minutes, write a letter and the clerk will read it,” said Trustee Jon Espersen, running the meeting in Ferguson’s absence.

“You can make exceptions, they’re made all the time. I have some good,and important information for the board, why do you want to deny me that?” Drayo asked. He said the entire board, not Espersen, should decide to remove him from the podium.

“I want you to have three minutes like everyone else has,” Espersen responded.

Cheryl Bailen, who spoke earlier on other issues, jumped up to defend Drayo. “You’re not allowed to speak right now,” said Ihasz.

“I am allowed to speak right now, this is a public meeting! All this garbage needs to stop,” Bailen said.

“Just sit down and be quiet,” Ihasz said.

The arguing continued, with Drayo asking again for permission to speak a couple more minutes. “Why does it have to be three minutes? Why can’t it be 10 minutes, this room is not full,” Bailen said.

Commotion filled the room, multiple people talking over each other until Trustee Ben Brachler loudly declared, “Resolved that effective immediately — please be silent! — and until the end of this fiscal year, the public portion is limited to three minutes maximum. If anyone wants more time, send a letter to the board.”

Trustees Paul Wandel, Brauchler and Espersen voted for the resolution, Trustees Christine Cruz Keefe and Leeann Lazarony voted against it.

Brauchler stated the three-minute rule would be for everyone — declaring that an exception allowing five minutes for someone speaking for a group, is no longer valid.

After that dustup ended, one final speaker, Jefferson Westwood, said Fredonia should maintain the public comment portions of its meetings.

“I would like you to seriously consider the possibility that someone who is going over may have very helpful, important, thoughtful ideas for you to consider,” Westwood said.