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There will be a special meeting of the Niagara Falls City Council at 5:30 p.m. tonight.
The agenda includes a last-minute allocation of American Rescue Plan funds to revamp the HVAC system at the John Duke Senior Center and to build a new headquarters for the Department of Public Works.
The senior center work was tabled at the most recent council meeting because no one representing the Mayor’s office was available to answer elementary questions about work done on the HVAC system in recent years.
The truth is, city workers patched up the system as best they could to keep it going but it is worn out and inefficient.
The DPW building vote failed because no one from the Mayor’s office was available to answer elementary questions about a capital budget projection showing a $5.03 million new building released as part of the budget summary several weeks ago. The proposed new DPW building would cost more than $8 million.
Again, the truth available with a simple phone call was the initial plan was for a smaller building. The more expensive building is 75-feet longer which means it will accommodate indoor storage for forestry trucks.
A forestry lift truck is an expensive piece of equipment with steel and hydraulics susceptible to harsh weather. The last one was replaced at half its serviceable life, a victim of weather. Ditto the corrosion and decay caused by the outdoor storage of other equipment.
The failure to address the stray dog (and cat) crisis ensures that city council meetings will still feature an endless parade of concerned citizens speaking on the topic but hey, the American Rescue Plan expenditures will likely pass. It’s just too bad it took a SNAFU to get there.
There will be no public speakers at tonight’s special meeting.
