5/10/2011

Assessment Feedback

Posted by MJ

The LUSJ reported  Residential and a Business reactions from people who are receiving larger assessments.

The common refrain?

"....sees it as the penalty to be paid for investing in property rehabilitation/upkeep "
“...feel like we’re being punished for fixing two things,” she said. “If we’d let it go, we would have been left alone.”

Until we have elected leaders willing to take the risk of revamping the zoning code and tax structure, Lockport will continue worrying about the little fish of paving a couple more roads, cutting a few 100k from the budget, etc. All the time the large issues of creating an environment that makes investing not only a rewarding endeavor but one that anyone would be hard pressed to pass up. An enviroment that would make paving roads etc not as difficult of a funding issue.

Last assessment article here.

5/09/2011

Lockport Cruise Nights

Posted by LoneWolf

Hey guys  .. its me again :)

Today starts the "Crusin' Season"  in Lockport at Ida Fritz Park..provided by the Lockport Optimists Club

MAY 9 KICK OFF CRUISE
MAY 16 REGULAR CRUISE
MAY 23 TRUCK NIGHT
MAY 30 MEMORIAL DAY SUPER CRUISE 4 TO 9
JUNE 6 LAW ENFORCEMENT NIGHT OPERATION SAFE CHILD
JUNE13 50'S NIGHT
JUNE 20 CHILDRENS NIGHT
JUNE 27 BIKES & BLUES
JULY 4 NO CRUISE
JULY 11 FIREFIGHTERS NIGHT JULY25 FENDER BENDER
AUG 1 VAN NIGHT WNYVA NIAGARA VAN CLUB
AUG 8 BRITISH CAR NIGHT
AUG 15 COMMUNITY NIGHT COUNTRY TRACTOR NIGHT HOT COUNTRY LINE DANCERS
AUG 22 TO BE ANNOUNCED
AUG 29 TERRY BUCHWALD
SEPT 5 LABOR DAY SUPER CRUISE 3 TO 9 PM

Schedule Taken from  Lockport Cruise website

Cruises happen weather permitting.  from 6pm -9pm (other than the SUPER CRUISES Memorial day and Labor Day weekend they start at 3 or 4 pm.)

Cost : free to attend with or without a car ..

No bikes or animals are allowed in the Crusin' area for safety.

Lawn chairs ARE allowed and suggested.

Music provided by Hank Nevins and the "KB Music Machine"  unless otherwise noted.

Lets get Crusin'  and ring in the summer  with some good music  and good cars  :)

Jeff~

~Jeff

5/09/2011

Lockport Cave Open for Tours

Posted by LoneWolf

Hello all ~

Well its that time of year again ...

The Lockport Cave is Open for tours.. 

The Schedule  is attached below....

Taken from  Lockport Cave website.

Come out and join us  for some good Lockport History.

Ticket office is located ( for this year) at Old City Hall. 2 Pine Street  just before the locks .  Our tour  lats  1 hour and 10 minutes.. and our tour route HAS been changed back from last year .. .we can now walk along the towpath past the new and old locks  in downtown Lockport .

We had our first OFFICIAL day of public tours on Saturday and we did tours  every hour, from 12 noon till 4 pm. we had about  200 people  come through on Saturday.

So if anyone gets the chance  and wants to hear some good ol' Lockport History  .. come on down  :) We would be happy to have you join us.

5/06/2011

Garbage Update

Posted by MJ

The Buffalo News reported that the garbage bids are to opened on May 20th.

The final Request for Proposal is at eLockport as are the original documents and addendums that were driven by feedback from the potential sevice providers.

5/05/2011

Smith to Run for Mayor

Posted by MJ

The Buffalo News reported today:

Calling for a new leadership style and new priorities for the city, 2nd Ward Alderman Jack L. Smith Jr., a Democrat, announced today he's running for mayor.
At the same time, Smith said he may file a lawsuit that attempts to overturn the Common Council redistricting plan that took away most of his current constituents and placed him in a revised ward with a Republican enrollment edge.
Also today, 4th Ward Alderman Andrew D. Chapman, a Republican, said he's running for alderman at large.
He and Smith, both first-term aldermen, have been together on the losing side of many 4-2 votes, opposing the preferences of Mayor Michael W. Tucker, the Republican incumbent who previously announced he's running for his third term.
Smith said if he becomes mayor, he would emphasize housing code enforcement and infrastructure issues.
Plans to restore the "Flight of Five" 19th century Erie Canal locks would go on the back burner, and the Council would be asked to consider cutting the Friday night concert series...
Also noted was Chapman's desire to run for Alderman at Large.

And as sad as it may be that I need to say it, I expect intelligent conversation here. If you want your comment to stay keep it to topics that pertain. Any juvenile trolling, name calling etc will be deleted as will any responses to it.

5/05/2011

2011 Molson Canal Concert Series

Posted by MJ

NOTE: Blogger was giving issues with posting comments in this thread. They appear in the RSS feed but not the post. Sorry for any inconvience. New post started here.
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5/04/2011

Proposed Zoning Changes

Posted by MJ


Zoning changes are being proposed along the city's waterways (Erie Canal and 18 Mile Creek). The maps (current and proposed) are shown here.

Looking at the maps (especially the city view shown in the insets) show a big possibility for a hiking/biking trail looping along the canal, along 18 Mile creek, thought the wilderness preserve and down the bypass back to the canal. As plots are remedied etc it should be long term item of interest.

I've also envisioned the west side of State St. as ripe for canal side housing as opposed to more "parkland". It is right on the water, walking distance to Main St, and an easy drive out of the city SW on state to the bypass. Keep the west side of the canal for an eventual extension of the canal trail and possible buffering to the industrial areas to the west.

I haven't looked though the actual zoning descriptions in a while, especially the central business area (B2). I'm curious what it allows in regards to mixed uses and primarily any residential aspects.