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(Editor’s note: Sorry in advance for snarkiness but our city government can bring it out.)
Pothole killer resuscitated
The Pothole Killer passed last night at the city council meeting buy a 3-2 vote. So did a plan to replace 18,000 garbage cans and add 3 years onto the Casella’s Waste Management contract.
The money being sent to Patch Management for the service is about half what it has been annually since 2018 at $99,600.
The much-criticized service will be augmented with city workers on overtime with $100,870 being spent over 21 days at 4 hours per day, about $1200 per hour.
No one on the council asked how many workers the scheme will employ. Even if they did, no one from the administration was there to answer questions.
Councilperson Dante Myles nonsensically invited Public Works Superintendent Kenny Tompkins to attend the meeting and ask questions, but Tompkins is one of them, serving at the pleasure of the mayor.
If the Mayor knows he has 3 votes in place, (Chairperson Jim Perry, and council persons David Zajac and Traci Bax) there is no reason to stain his grand legacy by demanding his sycophant grant an audience to the serfs who lord over an inferior branch of government as he grinds toward building his Centennial Park field of dreams. Councilpersons Brian Archie and Myles voted no.
The chance of Tompkins showing was further negated by Myles calling him out on social media.
The good thing is the city will get to see a real comparison. In an even competition, with comparable funding, what method works better, dollar-for-dollar, an automated machine from Pennsylvania or union hourly employees on overtime shoveling hot asphalt into holes and rolling it old-style.
It also may cause a delay in the start of this season’s road reconstruction but it is a different approach. The other option was to do what has always been done and expect a different result, in other words, insanity.
Then there are the garbage cans
The council approved a 3-year extension of the Casella’s Waste Management contract in exchange for 18,000 new, larger (96-gallon), blue garbage cans which will cost about $1.2 million, $66.67 per tote.
That includes the cost of collecting the old totes and replacing with new. It also shifts tote-repair responsibility from public works to Casella.
Myles asked questions. DeBoy struggled to answer.
Casella’s must place a high value on the Niagara Falls contract.
The council vote means with no evaluation, Casella’s will remain for the next 4 ½ years.
Myles said he received more calls, texts and complaints over garbage collection than any other topic.
“Until we receive quality services,” Myles said, “we don’t need to extend nothing.”
It’s interesting to note, the city’s last garbage vendor, Modern, with a landfill in Lewiston, got undercut by a company that needs to ship Niagara Falls trash to Chaffee or somewhere in Ohio.
Last week Casella's accepted almost 100 tons of waste from Niagara Falls following the blitz of alleys. Tipping fees run about $75 per ton making that a significant donation.
Casella’s locking up the contract means no other company will be bidding any time soon.
Myles questioned why Niagara Falls no longer considers handling collection itself when every surrounding community and the city of Buffalo still handles it in house and has an associated “user fee” (a euphemism for a tax).
DeBoy said no matter what contract agreement is reached in negotiations between the city and Casella’s he will be responsible for due diligence and making sure the taxpayers get a fair shake.
Percy lauds economic impact of tourism. Residents ask ‘what about us?’
John Percy, the Destination Niagara bureaucrat told the city council last night about all the good his agency does in growing crowds and generating millions of dollars in economic impact no one in the gallery or on the council can see with the possible exception of travel professional Traci Bax.
The city may not get shit from New York State, which shares no parking or Cave of the Winds or Maid of the Mist revenue but hey, it has a tourism agency which draws visitors into the State Park where they can pay $11 for a $2 slice of DiCamillo's tomato pie.
Percy ended on a somber note, anticipating this year will suck because consumer confidence is low and there is a petulant twat in the oval office.
Sorry for that little outburst but hey, if most people in Niagara Falls see a limited benefit from the tourism industry a decline in visitors may have the impact of decreasing from 14 to 10 the number of places to get chicken masala with a side of naan and some lahsi.
