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The Pothole Killer is dead for now.
The annual visit from the automated road-repair machine from Pennsylvania was commingled with Public Works overtime in an effort to expand the amount of road repairs that can be completed this spring before the paving season starts.
The motion failed by a deadlocked 2-2 vote with Chairperson James Perry and Councilperson Traci Bax for and Councilpersons Brian Archie and Donta Myles against.
No one from the administration was present to explain the benefit of the proposed plan.
By adding 4 hours of overtime daily for 21 days, funded with $108,000 in tribal revenue, the city would be able to fill twice as many potholes.
“Why pay extra for staffing the Pothole Killer? I don’t know why we should be paying double for the service,” Archie said. “I am not against the streets being fixed. I am against preemptively giving overtime.”
Bax said her research showed the plan not only would allow more potholes to be filled but would facilitate a better patch.
The failure of the vote can be blamed on two things.
- The overtime and Pothole Killer contract were combined on the agenda.
- Attending a council meeting and actually explaining things is beneath the dignity of Mayor Robert Restaino and his administration.
Myles questioned the current dysfunction of city government.
“We want better streets and better processes,” Myles said. “If the department heads were here, I could ask directly. Having department heads here was a normal thing in the last administration. What makes it frustrating is we don’t have people here to transmit information and answer questions.”
In other action the council:
Approved an agreement with the Seneca Nation for a Falls Police detective to assigned full time to the Casino at no cost to the city.
Approved contracts for concrete, topsoil, drainage repairs and portable toilet rentals.
Heard from Jennifer Pittaresi of the Niagara County SPCA Board about that organization’s ability to help with the stray dog crisis. Pittaresi said while the SPCA will do what it can to help, it does not have space for overflow dogs from the city.
“We stand ready to help but we offer a bridge, not a reservoir” Pittaresi said.
