Lockport NY

According to the LUSJ and The Buffalo News, the Town of Lockport has noted it is not participating in the joint city-town Halloween celebration this year. They have chosen to put on their own speparate "Fall Fest" earlier in the month. This has caused some last minute planning needs for the Melissa Junke and the rest of the city youth department.

“We’ve been thinking the last few years about doing something different, something to get people outside,” she said Wednesday. “The party last year was very successful, but there was a ton of people; we heard some concerns (from volunteers) about safety and the difficulty of showing everyone a good time when there are so many people.”

“This late in the game, the town pulling out definitely will have an impact on (the party). It’ll cost the city more money and, at this point, I don’t know where we’re going to have it,” Junke said. “Halloween seems like a long time off, but it’s not, really, to plan an event of this size.”

 The money shortfall and lack of location (was held at volunteer fire dept in town) leaves several questions to be quickly answered. The article mentions Mayor Tucker submitting Canal St. as a location. Not sure on the status of the buildings on the inside, but it could make a unique indoor-outdoor set-up. As for the extra money the LUSJ mentions today that Gary Chapman of Papa Leo's has started a fund raising challenge. Gary has been civic-minded lately for recent events and future ones including planning for this year's DT New Year's Celebration.

Has anyone attended the recent Halloween events and care to share their experience?

As for the lead in image, we decided to humiliate our lab as a Lobster this year. Keep an eye out for her handing out candy on the South Side this year. ;)

The general manager of Papa Leo’s restaurant, Main Street, wants to put on the city’s biggest and best New Year’s Eve celebration yet. He’s already holding fundraisers and courting sponsors to support a bash in the Ulrich City Centre courtyard, with heated tents, food vendors, live bands, kids’ games and a petting zoo, a ball drop and fireworks shot from the roof of the city parking garage.

Rockin’ the Locks “has the potential to be really big, like First Night Buffalo,” Chapman said. “I’ve always had visions of it being bigger and better, especially after my involvement in the Dog Day of Summer” fundraiser for Chet Secrist.

Also, a fund raising raffle is ongoing through Jan. 3. Prizes including a $100 gift card from Tops, dinner for up to 40 people from Papa Leo’s and a 60-inch LCD TV donated by Aaron’s Inc. will be awarded in time for Super Bowl XLIV. Raffle tickets can be purchased at Papa Leo’s and Aaron’s, 1 Walnut St.

Already, volunteers and sponsors are stepping up to support the event, Chapman said. The Palace donated space for the Blues Festival, Lakeview Animal Sanctuary will set up the petting zoo and Tom Brigham of Gasport, who arranges the July 4 fireworks show at Royalton Ravine, is taking charge of the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Depending on the size of their donation, sponsors will receive a number of free tickets to the Blues Festival and a V.I.P. heated tent at the New Year’s Eve event, plus publicity. To discuss a sponsorship, call Chapman at 990-5494; or mail donations (checks payable) to Lockport Promotions, 6290 Robinson Road, Lockport, NY 14094.

WLVL reporting that the town of Lockport expects Walmart to purchase the old Lockport Mall by the end of the year and start the building process the early next year. It appears they do not see much threat in "Smart Growth's" latest appeal which has yet to be ruled on (expected Oct 2nd). I expected it to delay the project longer, so this is a nice surprise. Hopefully this schedule pans out.

LUSJ is reporting that the city counsel is looking to bid out the city wide reassessment.

Macaluso, who works for the city on a contractual basis, has already told Tucker that revaluation services by a private appraising firm could cost $200,000 to $250,000. Updating the city’s property inventory, which is known to be rife with inaccuracies, and checking/adjusting the assessed value of every parcel is expected to take about 18 months.

Adjustments have been nominal since mid-2006, when then-Assessor Vince Smith quit the post in light of widespread public outrage over his proposed value hikes. His successor, Peter Galarneau, quit earlier this year, after informing Tucker he could not manage revaluation without some outside help.

I can guarantee there will be outrage again. ;)

The city would be wise to find ways to make the assessment positive. No one likes to be penalized for upgrading their properties while others get "rewarded" for neglect. Case in point being the reduced assessment on the F&M building because of water damage and no tenants.  In most instances the system is backwards.

The truest value is sale price. What about setting the assessed value at what the the house was purchased for and keeping it there for that owner? Find a way to reward those who stick around and those who take run down houses and invest in them. Next time it is sold the assessment will automatically bump itself up to the fair market value. (of coarse loop holes would have to be closed) As for DT, how about some partial land based tax components to deter parking lots and sitting on empty buildings?

The assessment process should be another tool to promote investment; not to deter it. The citizens would be much happier.

Both the LUSJ and The Buffalo News are reporting on County Manager Gregory D. Lewis' report on moving some county departments to Harrison Place (records and mental health).

The summary of the report in the articles reads as if the Lewis either has his mind made up on another location (or the existing one over at the Mountain View complex) or is unfamiliar with proven current day building reuses.

“I don’t know what they expected, if they expected to walk into the Larkin Building or the Rich Atrium,” Tucker said. “It is what it is, it’s an old industrial warehouse. It’s got mold, it needs a new roof in one place, but it’s structurally sound. I was unhappy the county manager would release such a scathing report about one of our assets.”

Tucker said the city has shown it can clean up and reuse old, run-down buildings, pointing to a former shirt factory that now is home to Niagara County Produce’s Lockport location, and the once-decrepit buildings on Canal Street that now await commercial tenants.
“It’s not like we don’t know what we’re doing. We have a track record,” Tucker said.

 While government has the responsibility to give us the best use of our money it goes beyond just building the cheapest buildings it can. Public buildings should be central and add value to the area around them. The Harrison complex would benefit from being a mixed use facility of commercial/residental/governmental. The mixed use would create a 24-hour building and would protect the shield the building from drops in demand in one of the sectors and the gov't sector could give it some needed stability.

It would give the "bad" area around it a boost and a reason for some investment confidence. You turn around a bad area by investing in it; not by ignoring it through disinvestment.

Similar to the old Larkin Factory on the east side of Buffalo (top image) the Harrison Complex could be the biggest jewel in DT Lockport. Recently all types of tax incentives/credits have been legislated for mixed use and historic properties. We just need some leaders with some forward thinking to help us on our way to a whole that is greater than it parts. I hope they keep pushing and succeed.

I've been busy around the house and enjoying the end of August so the posting has been slim. Will get back to posting today.

Anyone notice the lack of on-line material from the LUSJ lately?