The World According to Bob

(Editor’s note: Each week, Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino offers an encyclical sharing his version of the week’s news as he sees it. It is filmed by Our Schools Channel and posted to Youtube for all to see. The express transcribes it so you don’t have to watch. Unless you need a cure for insomnia.

About the council

There was never a dull moment when the city council comes to meet and it's amazing to me that members can say with a straight face, “I support our police,” and yet vote against a traffic safety grant, and then, of course, you know all of the drama with the GIVE grant.

These council members, I think they really believe that they can just tell people untruths and people will believe it. These grants help the police department expand the work that they do.

Also, these grants take pressure off of taxpayers because some of the work that is performed is funded through these grants as opposed to being funded through the general fund. Taxpayers would appreciate that.

About grants

You need to understand that it's the taxpayers who benefit from the work that our administration and its various departments do to look for grants, write the grant, and achieve receipt of the grant.

But yet, you know, they go ahead and do what they usually do, and that is micromanage themselves into saying, no, we don't want the grant. So I think actions speak louder than the empty words.

“I support the police.” Their actions indicate that they don't. And public safety is really important to all of us. And so I think residents ought to take that into consideration as they begin to look at these elected officials. It's really an unfortunate circumstance.

Another accident

On that note, you know, again, we had a traffic incident this past week, an unfortunate traffic incident involving a pedestrian. Every week, or almost every week, I ask you all to please be careful when you're driving.

You know, stop signs aren't suggestions. And no one's telling you to stay at that sign for a half hour. Stop, make sure that the intersection is safe as you pass through it, and move on.

These aren't hard things. But yet, we still have people who drive on the road as if they're the only one on the road, ignoring all traffic signals or devices, paying no attention to other people who are on the road, pedestrians, bicycles, e-vehicles.

And then, of course, our e-vehicle friends who also find it easy to ignore, thinking that those rules, those signs, those traffic controls don't apply to them. You,

You can make the road safer and you make the road safer by simply obeying the traffic rules, understanding what stop signs mean, what yield means, traffic control devices, and

It's not hard. And yet, you know, we still have people who, in my opinion, they're acting selfishly on the road. They care about none of you. They care only about themselves. Don't be that person. Because whatever you do.

If it ends up involving somebody else and it's an injury or worse, you're going to live with that. And I don't know about you, but that doesn't make any sense to me. I will get to where I'm headed. And if I get there a few minutes later than when I was expected.

So what? You get there safely, everybody gets to where they have to be safely, and we can have safer roads. So, you know, let's concentrate on that kind of stuff. And I know it seems like, you know, I guess some will say I'm a broken record, but you know what?

If I have to keep repeating this, and if it can get some people to start thinking about how they drive, then it's worth it. So remember, you know, the roads are only going to get more difficult. More vehicles on the road, then the winter comes. School buses, students at bus stops waiting to get in. I mean, there are so many things that it doesn't make sense to be that rude when you're operating on the road. So please, I'm asking everyone to be careful.

Oktoberfest

So the other thing that's happening this weekend is Oktoberfest. By the way, last weekend was the Blues Festival and the first Bourbon Festival as part of the Blues Festival. Both were a tremendous success. We're looking forward to the planning for next year for both of them. But this weekend, it's Oktoberfest, another annual event downtown on Old Fall Street.

So come on down. Starts, I think, at 1 o'clock and really rolls through the rest of the afternoon or early evening. So Oktoberfest this weekend on Old Fall Street. The other thing that's happening downtown, and this is pretty historic, the First Presbyterian Church will be celebrating 200 years. Think about that. 200 years of their existence here in the city of Niagara Falls.

Celebrate First Presbyterian

You know, if you think about the fact that we just got finished celebrating 250 years of the nation, this church has been here for 200 of those 250 years. It's a pretty impressive anniversary landmark for them. So, you know, just, again, if you're downtown, come on over to the First Presbyterian Church and congratulate them on 200 years of being in our community.

About that event center

I just want to address one last thing. You know, there's a whole lot of conversation about the city's pursuit of an event center.

Like the misguided conversations about the executive order for grass and repaving, which, by the way, weren't put in place for the purposes of completing all the work. They were put in place because the city council didn't do its job.

All the city council had to do was approve authorizing entering into those contracts, but they didn't. In this instance, I agree with Councilmember Brian Archie, who said this all could have been avoided. And he's right. It could have been avoided by the City Council simply doing what I think has been done by councils before them before, way back into history.

It was just a failure on their part to simply do what they have to do. And with the event center, you know, there's this discussion about it being a hockey arena. And I think that's really kind of, well, it's foolish. That's what it is. It's foolish. No one has ever suggested that that is the only purpose behind this event, facility, this venue.

Those who are old enough remember the old convention center, which is now the main casino floor. That convention center hosted a number of things. The only thing it didn't have was the ability to host ice-related events.

That's the change we're making with this event center. will be able to have events just like we remembered with the former convention center, but it will now include the ability to have ice events, whether they are sports-related ice events or entertainment-related ice events. In any case, this is a multi-purpose venue.

Calling out the media

And those who want to make it something else, whether it's to print media locally or other people on social media who just want to run it down, my question to all of them is this. What's your idea? No one ever suggested that this idea was some silver bullet, magic answer, or all the other things that others in the past have said. My question is, council members, what's your idea?

Those of you that want to oppose this, do you have an idea to grow an industry with 10,000 workers that work seasonally? Do you have an answer for the $3 billion that's going to be spent in Niagara Falls, Canada, so that we can stay competitive? What is your plan?

The Sounds of Silence. Scheer is wrong.

Yeah, that was it. That was their plan, that silence that you heard. Because they don't have a plan. What they like to do is just run down other things. They simply don't have an answer. And so since they don't have an answer, what they want to do is grandstand on picking on those things that are being suggested as possibilities to keep us competitive. So whether you're the print media that likes to compare, and I was told well, actually, also received an email. Can you imagine?

Now, this is no insult to the many great people who live in this community. But someone to compare the event center that we are looking to create here with a hockey arena in Brantford, Ontario, basically.

And I don't know, but it's kind of funny because Brantford, Ontario, is a great city in Ontario. It's the home of Wayne Gretzky, for those who don't know. But other than the ability to celebrate one of its favorite sons, Brantford, Ontario, doesn't attract 9 million visitors per year.

Brantford doesn’t count

A year. Brantford, Ontario is not in a circle of travel where 10 million people, 15 million people can make it here. So in many ways, it's really comparing apples and oranges. But that's okay because that's what those who have no other idea, have no other suggestion, and simply want to be negative about your city and mine,

That's what they'll do. They'll raise all of these incredible, illogical comparisons just to try and cast doubt. Don't get caught up in it. Understand that what we want to do, what this administration wants to do is keep the city competitive.

and allow these workers who are in the hospitality industry to work a full year and change the trajectory of their lives. But you'll still have these naysayers out there, and so you've just got to kind of turn a deaf ear to them because when you pivot and ask them, okay, so what's your idea? Again, nothing. You'll hear nothing. So.

Oktoberfest

Saturday, come on down to Old Fall Street for Oktoberfest. Always fun. Food, barbecue, beer and entertainment. So you'll come on out and have fun.

Bills play Sunday

The Bills will be at home again this weekend. So I'm just going to ask everybody again, you know, if you're going to go and have a Bills watch party at someone's home, just be careful, careful driving, celebrate, have fun. But if you can't drive, you know, call for a ride, call a cab, call Uber, call something, but just don't get behind the wheel of your car if you've celebrated a whole lot. Okay, let's try and keep the road safe for you, for me, for all of our kids who drive. It'll just make for a safer environment. And I look forward to talking to you again next week.