The corner of Temple and West Main streets in downtown Fredonia during Fred Fest weekend Saturday. Photo by J.M. Lesinski

FREDONIA — Fredonia survived another spring party weekend among its college students, and village officials had plenty to say, both good and bad, at Village Hall on Monday night.

Mayor Athanasia Landis began her report at the Board of Trustees meeting with a two-minute statement on “Not Fred Fest.” She stated she drove around Fredonia for about six hours Saturday night with Police Chief Brad Meyers, “and it was an eye-opener for me.”

Meyers said 106 arrests were made for a little over 200 offenses, with no violent felonies. There were two felony-level cocaine possession arrests.

“We had a couple of fights, but nothing over the top,” he said. “We had, I think four resisting arrests in total. No fires, no gunshots – both things we’ve had in the past.” The chief noted a few more arrests will probably trickle in as officers’ complete paperwork.

The final Fredonia Police Department tally from 2018’s Not Fred Fest, when the Friday festivities were marred by a major fire downtown at Family Church Fredonia, indicated 77 arrests. It was 67 in 2017 and 44 in 2016. But Meyers cautioned people not to read too much into the rise in arrests.

“Oftentimes your ability to make arrests is dependent upon your other calls for services,” he said. “If you’re not running from call to call to call for a major incident like a fight or an assault of some kind, it gives you the opportunity to address more of the open containers, the underage possessions, the public urinations and things like that. So, when you look at those numbers, you can’t say based on those numbers it was a lighter year or a heavier year. You really almost have to experience it.

“From my experience and being out on a lot of these, I feel like we’re getting to where we need to be,” Meyers continued. “I feel like there was less people. Friday was busier than past Fridays, but Saturday, I think, there were less parties than in the past.” Meyers acknowledged he wasn’t sure if it was a “weather-related drop, or if we’re getting where we want to go with it falling out of favor.”

Landis said during her statement, “Overall, it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s disorderly sometimes. I am all for the kids having a good time just as long as they are safe and just as long as they respect other people and other people’s properties.”

The mayor said she would reconvene the village’s Not Fred Fest committee, “to see if there are any other ways that we can help so the village doesn’t feel the effects for so long.”

She thanked police and fire personnel and cleanup volunteers.

“I have to say, Saturday morning, I was driving up Forest Street. … On one side of the street there were these high school kids who were picking up all the garbage. Going a little further up the side of the street, there were these kids and they were drinking and they were partying. So in effect, they were cleaning it for them to dirty it again.”

After Landis spoke, Fredonia’s village trustees had some things to say about the events of the weekend, too.

“I think the village deserves better,” Trustee Kara Christina said. “I’m not sure what the purpose or function of the Not Fred Fest, or whatever you want to call it, is. It’s one thing to have fun and celebrate, but it’s another thing to trash the community.” Christina praised Landis’ decision to restart the Not Fred Fast panel.

“I have long supported a open, welcoming, and socially engaging community. … But, many people involved in this event that took place believe they can come to Fredonia and act with intended incivility,” Trustee James Lynden said. “This is not respectful or acceptable.”

“I think it’s a useless thing. It was something that was pawned off from the college to the village,” said Trustee Douglas Essek. “Just because we have volunteer groups at the end of the day on Sunday that clean it all up and make it look like nothing ever happened, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right thing.”