Lockport NY

LUSJ reporting that Mayor Tucker is taking some heat for desiring to increase the size of the police and fire boards.

Mayor Michael Tucker’s attempt to keep a retiring Common Council member on the fire board is drawing criticism from either side of the political aisle.

The Council will hold a public hearing this month on a proposal to increase membership of the police and fire boards by one each.

The proposal is by Tucker, who says he’d value “an extra set of eyes” on both boards, but primarily wants room made on the fire board for 4th Ward Alderman Patrick Schrader, who lost his bid for re-election last month.

 The public meeting on the requested change is on the 16th.

Since it is a no-pay appointed position I do not see a major offense in adding another spot and I can see the benefits of having an odd numbered board for voting purposes. As for how we feel about who he appoints, I guess that is another issue.

LUSJ reporting that Pasceri has been named Council president.

First Ward Alderman Richelle Pasceri is the Common Council’s new president.

Pasceri, a Republican going into her second term of elected office, will take over the post Jan. 1.

Appointed by Mayor Michael Tucker, Pasceri is the first woman in the city’s 145-year history to have the post. At age 32, she’s likely among the youngest aldermen ever to lead the Council as well.

 Next month I still hope to kick off a section for tracking council members and our interactions with them. If anyone has any contact information besides the phone numbers listed on the city site let me know. (Email? Blogs? Etc.)

LUSJ reporting that Judge Kloch determined the issue is one for an arbitrator and not for the courts.

...If there’s a dispute between the union and the city about what their collective bargaining agreement says about dispatch, settling it is the job of an arbitrator, not a judge, Kloch added.

Lockport Professional Firefighters Association filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping a dispatch transfer in August 2007, three months after the fire board directed Fire Chief Tom Passuite to facilitate the transfer. The union got a temporary restraining order in October 2007, good until a court hearing on the permanent request. The hearing ended up being postponed repeatedly over the past two years, leaving the city subject to the temporary restraining order the whole time...

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...The union’s contract with the city includes provisions for one firefighter on every shift to act as the dispatcher, that is, the staff member who takes incoming calls and summons rescue personnel.

The question of whether to turn that duty over to a third party is tied up in the Lockport Fire Department’s personnel expenses. Supporters of a dispatch transfer point to required shift staffing minimums and high overtime costs, and say a transfer would take some financial pressure off the city. Alderman at Large Joe Kibler and retiring 4th Ward Alderman Pat Schrader have argued for years the city should use central dispatch because residents help pay for it, in a special tax applied to landline and cell phones.

A succession of union leaders have said they’re not disagreeable to a dispatch transfer but the city is obligated, by the contract, to “negotiate” it first...

My first thought is why does this decision take 2 years? Are our courts this backed up?

As for the "negotiate", here is how I would envision it: City: "We would like to remove the dispatch requirement and put the firefighter back on the street. There is no loss of man hours since the platoon sizes will not be affected. It will more efficiently provide services to the taxpayers." LFD: "Well some of our personnel may lose overtime pay but it should not be expected anyways. We agree that the benefits of having another person available for manning the trucks plus helping out the taxpayers are worth it "

No need for lawsuits, lawyers, etc. ;) If anyone thinks the negotiation should go differently, if other facts pertain, etc, please comment.

UPDATE 12/5: LUSJ reporting arbitration on the subject expected this Friday.

The Buffalo News is reporting the estimates for the ramp replacement now stand at $10 million.

This project, while forward thinking in creating the park on top, is not worthwhile on its own. The area where the ramp is located  is surrounded by developments with their own parking (Lockview Plaza, Ulrich City Center, Canal St) and the empty pay lots during the Molson Canal Concerts show there is plenty of free parking around to handle a large influx of people. A ramp is viable if the surrounding area is dense. There is no density here and dropping the thought of adding structures on top of it will not add any.What is left is a ramp for the Urban Park Towers and Ulrich Development/Mills Jewelers. A 2 year old article for the LUSJ had the usual parking pondering.

For downtown (or any urban area to flourish) it needs to be dense. Parking needs to be planned on a comprehensive scale for the density to occur. Having every small development surround itself with parking  and you end up with S. Transit in the town. Even if that is what we would want Main St to look like you will never compete with the cheap green fields required to absorb all of the parking (usually more parking square footage than actual building square footage). The main quality that a DT has to compete is the ability to provide large amount of mixed amenities on a small amount of land. To not try to foster it will only create (has created?) a long slide to a point where you chase enough of the amenities/people away that you finally have "enough parking".

The city would be wise to explore reestablishing planned-out municipal lots with less money instead of redoing the ramp. Design them mid block (Similar to UCC) with actual people-based uses at the street.  Get people walking a block or two to their cars and retail will grow with the new customers. Let people park right by their building and they step right into their cars and retail dwindles with the lack of foot traffic. Charge a fee to each development (in lieu of having to provide their own spaces. Encourage residential to make the lots 24 hr instead of 8 or 12 hour and to spread the costs of providing the parking (plus more customers!) If street side parking stays full while the free lots still have spaces, charge street parking fees at a price that keeps the spaces 80% full to create turnover

With everywhere requiring large amounts of adjacent free parking it's hard to say no. But it's a long race down to providing a country full of public places that no one wants to be.

Parking is Important where the place isn't important....In a dull place, you want a parking space right in front of where you are going. -F. Kent

 Take a bold step and try to create an "important" Lockport.

UPDATE 12/4: LUSJ Article

LUSJ reporting that the comon council has approved the new police contract.

some highlights:

According to Tucker, gains for the city include:

• Union agreement to a lowered starting wage for newly hired police officers, as well as a longer period until their first raises. The starting wage, currently $42,600, will decrease to $39,900; and two new “steps” will be added in before the officer reaches the officers’ top pay step, currently $54,000. Ultimately, it’s projected, the city will save about $35,000 per hire over the length of his or her 20-year career.

• The union’s blessing of a city move to switch health-insured police retirees into lower-cost plans.

Citywide, the expected savings from assigning 152 currently covered retirees to comparable plans is about $600,000 per year.

“The big things for us are health care and the new (police pay) steps. They’re saving the city money,” Tucker said.

In return, union members will see some increased benefits including:

• Annual pay raises — 4 percent retroactively for 2009 and 3.5 percent in 2010 through 2012. The later raises will be granted at the rate of 2 percent every six months, which Tucker said produces some modest savings, compared with granting 3.5 percent at the beginning of every year.

• City agreement to pay some police retirees’ Medicare Part B expenses for the first time. When Americans turn 65 years old, they’re automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A. Part B is optional coverage, the $100 or so per month cost of which is deducted from retirees’ Social Security checks. The city will reimburse retired police officers that cost, as it already does for retired firefighters. The deal is good for currently employed officers only; the city will not pay Part B costs of police employees hired after Jan. 1, 2010. The long-term cost to the city wasn’t projected. “This won’t have an impact on the city for 20 years, for some (officers),” Tucker said.

• An increase in members’ clothing allowance, to $925 per year from the current $750. The additional cost to the city is $8,750 per year.

• A $50 per year increase in members’ annual longevity payments. These are bonuses paid to all city employees based on the number of years they’ve worked for the city. Longevity payments to 50 police union members will be: for five to nine years of employment, $750 in 2010, $800 in 2011 and $850 in 2012; 10 to 14 years employment, $800 in 2010 to $900 in 2012; 15 to 19 years of employment, $1,000 to $1,100; 20 to 24 years of employment, $1,100 to $1,200; and 25-plus years of employment, $1,200 to $1,300. The additional cost to the city is $7,500 per year.

• Permission for new hires to live in the town as well as the city of Lockport. The expired police contract required all new hires to establish residency in the city only.

Tucker said he considers the expanded residency allowance a fair trade with the union. State law says municipalities can’t impose a residency requirement on police officers or firefighters, so the Hickory Club contract is unusual in that it supports some.

Is that true? When I went through the process in the 90's I had to be a resident of the town I lived in at the time. Does it just apply to cities? Could find anything definitive in a quick internet search.

Per today's Buffalo News.

The city firefighters’ union has filed suit against the city in an effort to get a judge to enforce a state mediator’s ruling requiring more firefighters to be assigned to each shift.
Randall Parker, president of the Lockport Professional Fire Fighters Association, also said Tuesday that the union has filed an improper labor practice charge against the city because of the Common Council’s refusal to vote on a new contract with the union.
Mayor Michael W. Tucker said, “I don’t foresee us changing our stance.”...

 Seems the other unions can get things done with the city that works to benefit both them and the city (residents).

UPDATE 12/3: LUSJ Article

...Of the new lawsuit, City Attorney John J. Ottaviano said Wednesday management expected it and will respond accordingly.

“We take great exception to (Campagna’s) decision, obviously, but decided not to try having it overturned unless the union pushed for enforcement. They have, so we will file for a stay (of the decision),” Ottaviano said.

LPFA President Randall Parker could not be reached to comment on the suit late Wednesday.

LPFA and city attorneys are due in Supreme Court today to argue the merits of a permanent injunction preventing the city from handing LFD communications over to Niagara County Central Dispatch. Currently, one firefighter on every shift is assigned to in-house dispatch duty. A hearing on this case has been postponed repeatedly since October 2007...

...Several city officials said Wednesday that the union seems eager to strike a deal with the existing Council, rather than take its chances on the 2010 body — some of whose new members have promised to pursue a harder line with the union....

With only a month to go, why not wait for the newly elected council to weigh in?

Wilhelm and Ashe has been sold and will be renamed Season's per LUSJ article.

Seasons is Wilhelm & Ashe Home under new ownership. Well-regarded floral designer Noel Daubney is buying the business from her former bosses, Margaret and Gary Ashe.

In addition to home decor and accessories, Daubney will begin selling fresh and silk floral arrangements. That’s a new retail offering on Main Street.

We have purchased several nice items from W&H and are sad to see them move on. Great news in that the store will continue and now offer additional items such as fresh arrangements. We look forward to our next visit. My only gripe is the loss of the Wilhelm and Ashe name as it had a nice upscale feel to it.

W&A has been a bright spot in the Ulrich City Center since it's opening. It has been the only retail in the development. More importantly is has embraced its front entrance and windows (facing Main St.) while still providing an entrance from the parking in the rear proving that it is not an impossible feat.