The pen- and petition-wielding "enemy" has yet to invade their streets, but some Kenmore

residents are ready to fight any attempt to dissolve the village.

About two dozen people attended Monday night's meeting of the Kenmore Village Improvement

Society, a 2-year-old civic group that typically champions quality-of-life issues ranging from

streets beautification to encouraging sustainable businesses.

The potential dissolution of the village is considered among them.

"We made a decision, as a society, that we were standing against it," said Melissa Foster,

a founder of the group. "We think it would adversely affect our quality of life here."

Another loosely organized group — 4kenmore — is focusing solely on preserving

the village but has joined improvement society members in walking door to door, distributing

brochures about the dissolution process and what Kenmore stands to lose.

While neither group characterizes him as such, the "enemy" is Kevin P. Gaughan, an attorney

who advocates downsizing or eliminating municipal governments, claiming their costs hinder

economic growth. This year, Gaughan and his volunteers are pushing for dissolution referendums

in the county's 16 villages. Petitions are circulating in Farnham, Sloan and Williamsville.

With 16,426 residents counted in the 2000 Census, Kenmore's population is second only to

Depew, which had 16,629.

Under a recently revised state law, initiating a referendum requires the signatures of only

10 percent of registered voters. In Kenmore, that would be 1,089.

"There is substantial interest [in] Kenmore in letting Kenmore residents decide this for

themselves," Gaughan said recently.

"I have had meetings with our Kenmore volunteers," Gaughan said, "and we expect to give

Kenmore residents their right to decide their future some time in the coming year."

Kenmore has six elected officials: the mayor, four trustees and a justice.

But for Patrick Bannister, who organized 4kenmore, neither the government structure nor the

cost of services is an issue.

"Whether they have a mayor and two trustees or a mayor and four trustees — that's a

whole different issue," Bannister said in a recent interview.

"If the village is dissolved, is the town [of Tonawanda] really going to be able to provide

that level of service?" he asked.

Monday night, residents voiced concerns about the law and petition process. One man worried

that those collecting signatures could target renters who don't have an attachment to the

village.

But "I am sure that [those] born and raised in the Village of Kenmore ... will say no," he

said.