Centennial Park advances

Niagara Falls will have the option of gutting its Community Development Block Grant Funds to pay back a $9 million loan for the purchase of land through eminent domain from Niagara Falls Redevelopment, a do-nothing land speculation company.

Before any money is borrowed the council will get another chance to vote up or down. The amendment was needed before January 1 because it could impact allocation of 2023 funding.

The vote to have that option was 3-2. Donta Myles and new council member Vincent Cauley both voted no. Myles argued for tabling the issue until more is known but brought no motion to do so.

The council also retained a Buffalo firm, Upper Edge Consulting, to apply for a grant of up to $250,000 from National Grid to fund a study supporting Centennial Park. The contract will cost the city $20,000.

“I’ll spend 20 to get 250,” Tompkins said on the vote which also passed 3-2.

The loan may support Centennial Park, a $150 million dream of Mayor Robert Restaino that will include a parking garage, splash pad and 6000 to 8000 seat arena in a blighted area of the city adjacent to Seneca Niagara Casino.

Traci Bax and David Zajac voted yes on the option to take a loan and were joined in the vote by interim Chairperson Kenny Tompkins. Tompkins and Cauley were sworn in at the start of the meeting.

Myles spoke at length from his seat about how he considers the use of Block Grant Funds for the proposed purpose to be a mistake.

“These funds were to create a recovery plan,” Myles said, “and not to create an idea. I have a big problem with unanswered questions. Who will fund the maintenance of this? Who will be responsible for the eminent domain proceeding? We are selling land now because we can’t maintain what we already have.”

Tompkins stressed the move gives the option to borrow. It does not mean the city will do so.

There were about 40 citizens in attendance. The public, resoundingly opposed the project, clapping, jeering and heckling in a strong show of opposition thought no actual participation was allowed.

“I am really tired of the ‘politricks’ going on without us,” Myles said.

Cauley asked numerous questions about the funding mechanism and project.

Cauley asked the mayor for an explanation of where the funds would come from to replace the services like road repairs and demolitions currently being funded by the $445,000 to $900,000 needed for loan repayment. Cauley also wanted to know what studies justified the project.

Restaino responded most road repair funding comes from the state CHIPs program and that the city has done more demolitions in the last 3 years than under the previous mayoral administration of Paul Dyster.

Restaino also noted that the hearing notice last week misstated the interest rate for the proposed loan as 7.75%, not 4.3%. The loan rate was misstated again in today’s Niagara Gazette.

Restaino said reports issued on 2017, 2018 and 2021 all illustrated a need and that going back as far as 2003, Gov. George Pataki, when gifting the Falls Convention center to the Senecas for the casino, noted the smaller current Niagara Falls Convention Center on Old Falls Street was temporary.

Restaino also said under the previous administration, the city was at risk of losing funds by not spending them through the CDBG program.

He added that appraisal of the 12-acre parcel the city is attempting to seize from Niagara Falls Redevelopment should be back within about a month.

NFR previously offered a deal to give the city land for Centennial Park and pay $250,000 per year for 10 years for maintenance of the new facility while building a $1.5 billion technology park on the site where Restaino wants to build Centennial Park.

The parcel proposed by NFR was said to be unworkable and there appears to be little faith from the government that technology park is a real entity since NFR has done nothing since coming to town 25 years ago. 

As the Mayor said a few months ago "if I want to build something, I hire a construction company, not a public relations firm." NFR has allegedly hired a PR firm to advocate for its proposal.