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The tit-for-tat between Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino and his city council appears to be getting worse, not better
The latest evidence of petty, vindictive infighting comes in the agenda for tonight’s meeting.
First it was the matter of summer youth activities provided by Niagara County and delayed by the council a few weeks ago over the question of Night Gym.
A few months ago, Councilmember Bridgette Myles passed a resolution to work with Niagara Falls Schools and the police to return night gym to city schools.
That sounded noble, but a few weeks after that, the mayor announced the launch of a night gym program in conjunction with the Niagara Falls Boys and Girls Club.
The Express asked the Mayor two weeks ago as part of its “IN Depth” series about the conflicting programs both working to the same end. His explanation was that Myles moved forward with her plan without consulting the administration, a consistent complaint.
In the mayor’s way of thinking, the best way to get things done is to communicate.
The council is at loggerheads with the mayor because members seem content to text or email but have trouble finding time to meet. Meanwhile, the city charter does not require the mayor to attend the twice-a-month circus that is the regular council meeting so he chooses not to do so.
The next shot in the dispute is the supporting materials for tonight’s meeting. Included are not only the full contract with th county but last year’s contract as executed.
The contracts and communication take 20 pages of the 40-page supporting documents for tonight's meeting.
Meanwhile, there is the alienation of cannon park, the area near the Double Tree cut off when the state connected the carcass of Robert Moses Parkway to Buffalo Avenue.
Rupal Hospitality will be creating a new park area it will maintain adjacent to its facilities at significant expense.s
Finally, the last shot in tit-for-tat is a resolution to have the council shift $114.42 from its budget to the DPW to pay a grievance filed by the Steelworkers Union when councilperson Vincent Cauley, claiming he was acting as a private citizen, allegedly usurped union labor by asking Fox Fence for a quote at Gluck Park.
The mayor even included the returned quote Cauley received in the supporting materials.
If it seems petty, vindictive and needlessly confrontational to you, it does to the Express as well.
