Lockport NY

The Buffalo News reported that Generwick has announced running for a second term. Otherwise not too much else to note except that he is not for bigger government ;)

The Buffalo News and the LUSJ reported that the sale of 79-81Canal St was OK'd with some conditions:

The Common Council approved the sale of 79 Canal Street to Hydraulic Race Corp. on a split vote Wednesday.

The motion by Council President Richelle Pasceri approves the city’s direct sale of the partly rehabilitated commercial property to the Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride tour operator for $70,000.

Greater Lockport Development Corporation, which supervised remediation and repairs of three buildings on Canal Street and technically is leasing them from the city, will get the money. That’s fair, City Attorney John Ottaviano said, as the agency invested heavily in the properties and is looking for a return on the investment. The money will go into GLDC’s revolving loan fund, from which it provides low-interest loans to start-up and expanding businesses in the city.

Fourth Ward Alderman Andy Chapman and 2nd Ward Alderman Jack Smith voted against the sale.

Chapman said he objects to all of the money going to GLDC after the city also invested tax dollars in the Canal Street properties.

Smith last week said he objected to the city selling property to a business co-owned by someone who has a record of unpaid debts. County clerk’s records show Thomas Callahan, a minority shareholder in Hydraulic Race Corp., owes $2 million to a former business partner in a failed power generation venture....

This is an ideal location for Lockport Caves but it would be nice if some type of year round presence was put in. The block is sparse with buildings and losing any of them for part of the years makes any long term synergy difficult.

Hopefully it also puts on the side burner the small ticket office and bus parking they wanted to but on the property across Gooding Ave next to the canal. Reconfigured the plot could be home to so much more instead of dead land with a underutilized view of the canal.

Here is this week's council agenda:

The LUSJ reported today that the family of United States Army Spc. Albert R. Jex is petitioning to have the Stevens St Bridge named in his honor.

United States Army Spc. Albert R. Jex’s family is pushing for the Town and City of Lockport to name a bridge and Veteran Affairs Clinic after Lockport’s only fallen soldier from the war in Iraq.

But Lockport City Mayor Mike Tucker said he is stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to making a decision.

“I’ve taken this proposal into consideration, but when you get an idea like this, how do you properly honor everyone? Albert is not the only Lockportian who gave his life in the line of duty. We have limited streets and bridges, and hundreds who gave their life” in wars over time, Tucker said. “Every soldier’s death is important, so who’s more significant than the other?”

He approached members of the Common Council with the request Wednesday night, saying a decision to rename public property ultimately rests with them.

Aldermen echoed his sentiments about the propriety — and the risks — of the city giving more “honor” to one fallen native over the rest...

I understand the family's desire but I kind of agree with the quote above. We already have Veteran's Memorial Park on East Ave across from the hospital. I'd love to see some campaigns to see that all of those Lockportians who have fallen for our country are highlighted near the monument. Make the park "the place" to cement their legacy and give locals a single place to understand the sacrifices given by the residents before them.

And a big thank you to all the volunteers who spend their time there in the spring and summer to rebeautify it year after year.

The council agenda for this Wednesday is here:

Here is the council agenda for this week:

Here is the agenda for this Wednesday's meeting:

Looks like several public comment sessions will be set:

Nov 10th: 2011 Budget
Nov 17th: Salaries of Officers
Dec  1st:   Dog Licensing

This week's council agenda is posted over at eLockport.

I've updated the Ward Map, only about 9 months late. Current aldermen are:
City Common Council Page

1st Richelle J. Pasceri 755 Market St. 716.439.9423

2nd Jack L. Smith, Jr. 77 Waterman St. 716.434.8003

3rd Flora M. McKenzie 199 West Ave. 716.433.7781

4th Andrew D. Chapman 532 Pine St. 716.433.2006   andy(a)lockportalderman.com

5th Kenneth M. Genewick 38 Harrison Ave. 716.439.5907

At Large Joseph C. Kibler 16 Cleveland Place 716.434.8673


Originally posted 12-17-2008
UPDATE 12-19-2008: - Color photos of map imbedded. Merged color scans are to come. A thank you to Mayor Tucker for supplying this to me.
UPDATE 09-22-10: Current council member info updated

The Buffalo News and  The LUSJ reported that the Tucker-Chapman fued is moving on to another level:

On Mayor Michael Tucker’s orders, Common Council members are not allowed to approach city department heads about municipal or constituent business unless they’ve talked to him first.



Tucker abruptly informed the councilmen Wednesday during their pre-business meeting work session. A memo articulating Tucker’s policy regarding Council exchanges with the mayor’s subordinates will be out later this week, he said.


Looks like the long-simmering battle of wills between Tucker and Fourth Ward Alderman Andy Chapman just turned to a rolling boil.


Asked what’s prompting a formal City Hall communication policy, Tucker pointed a finger at Chapman. The freshman alderman’s “constant bugging” of department heads — and his apparent aim to “circumvent” mayoral authority over the departments — have to stop, he said....

There's middle ground somewhere. Will they find it?

The Council Agenda is posted for this week's meeting.

LUSJ reported on the public comment session for the early retirement plan and the bed tax.

I noticed recently that the city has gotten up to speed on regularly posting common council minutes and agendas at the city website. I haven't checked in at least over a year at which time only the minutes were posted and usually not until months after the meetings.

Agendas are posted the Monday before the meeting (1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month). The one for this week's meeting is not there as of this posting (Monday the 16th at noon).

I've also inquired to see if the agendas the Planning Board and Zoning Appeals Board can also be posted in a similar matter to give residents a chance to chime in on projects happening in/shaping our city.

LUSJ reported that last night Chapman (4th Ward) criticized the potential sale of Canal St. to InLighten.

Behind the scenes, several city officials said, Chapman has been highly critical of Greater Lockport Development Corp.’s desire to sell four Canal Street properties to inLighten, a global digital media technologies company.

Out front Wednesday, Chapman proposed that when city-owned property is up for sale or lease, the Council should set “parameters” for the negotiations, not leave them to the GLDC board of directors, alone.

 While I'm not opposed to Chapman's desires (it is good to have some benchmarks) I fail to see the downside of 100 higher paying jobs and a million plus in investment in the downtown core. While the "tourist" aim got us the funding to clean up the block, the isolation of the street from the rest of downtown, the missing buildings in the street scape and the fact that the largest building mid block has not store frontage the aim was not on the mark for the best use without further build out of the block. The wine emporium at the Pine St. end would have been nice but it can do just as well on Main st. It is not like the buildings are being sold cheap to make a dollar store.

Concentrate the commercial interests along Main St. It has a lot of continuity gaps that still need to be filled in with people drawing uses. Let canal street get back into private hands, grow jobs that will pay much more than retail and get 100 more people downtown on a daily business. Move the gazebo to allow for a new building. It can be part of any new green space at the parking ramp site.

The problem with envelopes: Somebody has to foot the bill for interior buildout, either the tenant/buyer or GLDC. The agency doesn’t have the cash — and neither, it seems, do most small businesspeople who’ve expressed interest in a building.

Late last year, inLighten proposed buying all four buildings, for $100,000, and investing $1.5 million in development of new company headquarters on the block. The Depew-based business would move 70 jobs here and create 25 new jobs, according to its proposal. Its annual payroll is said to be about $4.5 million; and the paychecks go to engineers, software developers and programmers, tech support specialists, editorial staff.

“Nobody else has come running to us and said, ‘We’ll put a million dollars into this,’” GLDC board member Chris Boron said.

Nobody else has proposed a business that would bring 100 jobs and year-round additional foot traffic downtown, either, Murphy said...

UPDATE: 02/25/10
The Buffalo News also reported

As company officials consider other locations, Aldermen Andrew D. Chapman and Joseph D. Kibler raised the issue over the site included in a potential deal to attract inLighten, a digital screen maker.
Chapman said he would prefer a tourism-related use for Canal Street, telling other city leaders his “dream” would be to have an offshoot of Rochester’s Strong Museum locate in the spot that has been the subject of negotiations between the Greater Lockport Development Corp. and inLighten since late last year.

Let's keep dancing around while some other area lays out the welcome mat and we lose out. With inLighten, MTC etc we could maybe start branding the city as a place to do 21st century business (or at the least 20th). The effort should be to get the same lines Yahoo is getting ran to and thru DT. Actively market it and the companies that would now be here. I know of one software company (was on Robinson) that left the town because the data lines were not fast enough for their remote programming etc. More 50k+ jobs out of Lockport and off to Amherst.

Tourist Canal St was a nice (if unrealistically hopeful idea.) We've had a much better one knock on our door. Don't chase it away. Pull it in and lock the door behind it. ;) A healty 21st century corporate presence DT will go a lot farther in impressing visitors than another restuarant and antique shop.

LUSJ reported a public comment session and council vote are coming on term limits.

...The arguments raised for and against term limits locally are fairly standard.
Proponents say term limits would encourage more people to run for city offices, by clearing the path of incumbents every so often. They say incumbents enjoy electoral advantages — name recognition, political clout and greater campaign resources — that discourage competitive elections.
Term limits also would break up the “good ol’ boys club,” Willow Street resident Jean Kiene said.
It’s too easy (for incumbents) to get complacent and just go with the old boys; you can’t help but become jaded, or too close to the employees to put (residents) first,” she said. “A new broom sweeps clean.”
Opponents of term limits don’t dislike them across the board. They frequently favor term-limiting state and federal elected offices but assert it’s not necessary at the local level. PACs and special interest groups don’t buy clout in a small city like Lockport, they say; election campaigns are grass-roots and low-cost. The citizen legislature — by the people, for the people — still directs local government; term limits compromise the ideal by limiting people’s choices...

As I mentioned before, I don't see the need for term limits in a small area like this where you could walk over to the person's house or easily see them down at city hall. On the state and ferderal level I feel the opposite is true and somthing like this would be beneficial.

UPDATE 02/18/10:
LUSJ report on vote delay
Buffalo News report on vote delay

LUSJ and The Buffalo News reported that Alderman Chapman (R-4th Ward) asked to delay the extension of the concert series contract because he found some information online about Mrs. Paradowski and a gentleman's club.

Fourth Ward Alderman Andy Chapman cast one of two “no” votes to protest the city doing business with someone whom he claims “exploits women.”

He referred to series promoter Kathy Paradowski, who through her husband Joseph’s not-for-profit Canal Concert Series Inc. recruits the bands and manages food and drink vending at the weekly free shows. Kathy Paradowski personally also is listed, in state business records, as the CEO of Colonie Lounge Inc., a Buffalo-based gentleman’s club....“I wouldn’t spend (tax) money with someone who exploits women,” Chapman said. “My vote is based on a moral stance.”

Chapman is misjudging her, Paradowski responded in a late Wednesday telephone interview.
Paradowski said she has a less than 20 percent ownership interest in the Colonie Lounge, dating back to 1996, and is not involved with the club management.

LUSJ reported on the term limit discussion brought about by Fourth Ward Alderman Andrew D. Chapman:

Fourth Ward Alderman Andrew D. Chapman broached the topic during the Council’s weekly work session. He’s seeking support for a measure to impose a limit of two consecutive four-year terms for the mayor and three consecutive two-year terms for aldermen.

Chapman argued term limits would be “good for the city” because they’d encourage more “ordinary” people to pursue elective offices.

 I do find term limits interesting and maybe even needed on the state and national level since a lot of the representatives are far removed from their constituents and the cost of running is so high. On a local level such as a small city like Lockport, I find the current 2-year terms for the council a good enough check and balance without unnecessarily closing out a good one or two. You could easily walk to any of their houses, call their home phone or approach them at any number of meetings. Though I suppose there are some out there that would submit that there are no "good ones." ;)

The Buffalo News reported that a public hearing session has passed and will be scheduled at next week's session.

But what's in it?

The Buffalo News and the LUSJ reporting.

The city may have a new labor contract with Lockport Professional Firefighters Association.Members of the Common Council voted unanimously to ratify the proposed pact Wednesday night.Mayor Michael Tucker said terms won’t be disclosed until after LPFA conducts an up-or-down vote on the proposal. Neither he nor the city’s labor counsel, David Blackley, would confirm whether the proposal settles any of a number of outstanding legal issues between the city and the union. At last count, the union still had about 30 grievances pending against the city, as well as a new lawsuit filed last week seeking court enforcement of an arbitrator’s order regarding minimum shift manning.

Fire and Police boards were also enlarged.

In other business, the Council voted to change the city charter and increase membership of the fire and police boards to five a piece. The vote was held after a public hearing that drew two speakers, one in favor and one critical of the increases.In police board business, Police Chief Larry Eggert said, the 2-2 split of a four-member body is not uncommon. A fifth voting member would avoid deadlocks, he said; and “greater community involvement allows greater vision” by the body that’s in charge of monitoring day-to-day operation of Lockport Police epartment.