Lockport NY

The Buffalo News posted a quick overview of the proposed property tax cap:

For all the talk about the property tax cap that seems headed our way, something has been kind of lost in the hubbub. The details...

...- A district's tax levy increase would be capped at 2 percent or the annual increase in the consumer price index, whichever is less.
- There is a way for schools to exceed the cap. If a district proposes a budget that exceeds the tax cap, the district would need 60 percent approval of the budget, rather than the standard 50 percent.
- If a budget fails to get voter approval, the district would have to submit a revised budget subject to a public vote on the third Tuesday in June. If this revised budget exceeds the tax cap, it would require approval by 60 percent of those voting.
- If the revised budget fails to get voter approval, the district would have to adopt a budget with no tax levy increase...

The article is dead on on one point: THE DETAILS. This affects almost every conversation out there. there needs to be easier access to public documents. In this internet access age, there should be no excuses to providing them for anyone to download and read.

But back on track....The Buffalo News also ran an article (editorial) a few weeks back on how the cap has affected Taxachuetts over the past 30 years.

Something happens as the green "Welcome to New York" sign fades in the rearview mirror when you cross into Massachusetts: Taxes go down.

They are lower on clothing purchases. On gasoline, on furniture, on alcohol and on a range of goods and services. On businesses. And personal income is taxed at a lower rate.
But, most noticeably, property taxes are lower.

As a result of a 30-year-old law limiting their annual growth -- the kind of plan under debate in the New York State Capitol -- sharply rising property taxes no longer dominate kitchen table discussions in Massachusetts...

The LUSJ reported that 4-th Ward Alderman Chapman has chosen the panel for his fire task force:

Eight city residents have been named to a task force being formed by 4th Ward Alderman Andrew Chapman to study possible alternatives to a full-time, paid, professional fire department...

...The task force’s first meeting will be held Feb. 17 at City Hall. Chapman said he hopes to be able to arrange twice-monthly meetings on Thursday nights for up to five months or so...

...The task force’s mission, as he envisioned it, is to asses the long-term costs of a paid-professional fire department and alternative service models. The volunteers will look at the pros and cons, costs and benefits of status-quo firefighting operations versus alternatives in place around New York state, including “hybrid” and all-volunteer operations, and present its findings to the Common Council later this year....

This information gathering task is worthwhile as it will hopefully give us some firm data on which we can discuss the issue. I value the full time paid force though I believe it could most likey be done with less man power depending on the number of calls that are currently recieved. This was discussed here during the budget process last fall. 

The LUSJ reported last week that the youth department will need to cut the number of parks hosting the summer youth programs from 8 to four with one park left in each quadrant of the city:

Summertime youth and recreation staffing will be limited to four city parks this year.

The parks are likely to be Altro, Outwater, Dolan and Rogers Avenue parks, roughly hitting the four quadrants of the city, Youth Bureau Executive Director Melissa Junke told the resident-led Youth Board on Tuesday.

The city’s eight-week, admission-free summertime program for kids is being reduced from eight parks due to a staff funding cut in the 2011 budget...

...“We’ll have the same program, pretty much, as we’ve had all these years, but in fewer places. It’ll be an adjustment for the kids,” Junke said...

The changes are proposed in response to the city’s 50 percent cut in playground recreation staff funding this year. Junke had authority to hire 30 rec leaders last year and can only hire up to 15 this year. Each park has to be staffed by a minimum of two rec leaders, per pending state legislation regarding staffing of youth programs and facilities, Junke said; and better attended parks demand more staffing.

The Syracuse not-for-profit agency that plans an extreme makeover of a blighted Lockport neighborhood has been approved for more than $1 million in state funding, Alderman Jack L. Smith Jr. announced Wednesday.

Housing Visions received the money from a state homeless housing assistance program, which was passing on federal funding.

Smith, D-2nd Ward, said the approval probably resulted in large part from an early application and the partnership of the YWCA of Niagara, which intends to use some of the new housing for victims of domestic violence.

They announced their application for the $1.1 million interest-free state loan last August...

Here are some renderings/floor plans/unit details for the project as it stands:

Rendering 84 Locust
Rendering 163 Genesse
Rendering 261 Genesse
Rendering 267 Genesse

Rendering Pine St

Preliminary Plans
Preliminary Data

From a design standpoint it is nice to see that the buildings are unique and compliment the neighborhood architecture.

A lot of conversation happens over zoning requirements, zoning variances, planning board decisions etc. The conversations are usually full of misunderstandings. A lot of it stems from zoning codes that are number based, confusing and based solely off of what some other place did "just because". Even when followed, they do not result in a project we are happy with a majority of the time.

LUSJ reported last week that there is a group pushing for a Wegman's in Lockport.

...A group of Lockport residents are banding together to entice the well known supermarket chain to Eastern Niagara County. Charlene Bower, chairperson of the We Want Wegmans group, announced Wednesday the campaign had taken its cause online.

Those who support the idea of bringing Wegmans to Lockport can check out the website, www.wewantwegmans.com or find the group’s page on Facebook. While online, people can print out petitions and send them by mail to We Want Wegmans, P.O. Box 256, Lockport, NY, 14095...

I was surprised to see the claimed statistics for the Lockport area:

In a statement, Bower said Wegmans usually considers locations with a population of about 100,000 within a 5 mile radius and an average household income of roughly $75,000. In comparison, Bower said Lockport’s market area has about 127,500 residents in a 10 mile radius with an average household income of $78,700

While that would save me the drive to Amherst every week, Wegman's have said in the past that they are done expanding in WNY. The return on investment is much greater down in Virginia that it would be around here. But while we are dreaming, place them in my mixed use development mentioned here.

Here is this week's council agenda: