Status of livestreaming Village of Lancaster board meetings – crickets!

[Lee Chowaniec]

At the November 27, 2023, Village of Lancaster (VOL) meeting, a resident suggested the board consider livestreaming their meetings as was taking place in the Town of Lancaster and the Village of Depew the past few years. It not only presented the opportunity for residents unable to make the meetings personally to view the meetings livestreamed as they were taking place, or to review them thereafter to see what was taking place in their community and having the ability to participate in their community’s best interest.

More importantly, the video is archived and becomes a public record. Transparency and openness to the max! No written minutes influenced by personal interpretation. The Lancaster Bee published a report on the meeting and was explicit in their support of livestreaming the meetings and reasons why:

The modern world has afforded society many luxuries. Among them, the ability to easily transmit events and happenings in real time through livestreaming. In fact, at this point, it’s sort of old news. As the installation of fixed broadcasting equipment has become more affordable and less cumbersome, many municipal boards around the county have linked in online, livestreaming and cataloging public meetings for residents to review.

In the Town of Lancaster and Village of Depew, COVID-19 grant funding acted as the catalyst for change, with both municipalities utilizing awards to install permanent systems. Taking a look at their meetings, found on YouTube, you’ll see sessions amassing double- to triple-digit numbers, often varying due to the topic(s) on the agenda. For perspective, if the Town of Lancaster’s Council Chambers holds around 45 people comfortably, it only takes 90 people watching to create what would be visually recognized as a heavily attended meeting, with people overflowing into the halls outside.

In the Village of Lancaster, livestreaming is reported to be right around the bend, according to Village of Lancaster Trustee Tammie Schaefer at Monday’s meeting of the Village Board. The goal is to have a system installed as early as January 2024. Talks of livestreaming had been a topic of the past at former village meetings, a task overseen by former Trustee Tyler Sojka. The process hit unresolved roadblocks at the time concerning how the setup would work and which company to use. Overall, the board is considering using Robert Mark Audio of Cheektowaga. The Town of Lancaster and Village of Depew employed the same company for their systems.

Let’s face it, livestreaming has been a game changer in all of the right ways for politically minded residents with tight schedules. For local journalists, it has become a force multiplier, helping to extend our reach into more meetings while avoiding in our schedule. No matter what your beliefs, the access to more information, easily, right from the source, is always a good thing.

Comment

Unfortunately, January is gone, and the subject of livestreaming VOL meetings has not been discussed at any December or January meeting minutes I have reviewed – or reports appearing in the Lancaster Bee. If Mayor Ruda’s administration is not interested in taking the Village into the 21st century digital world, it was heartening hearing that former Mayor Bill Schroeder (campaigning for reelection) declare his favoring meeting livestreaming should he be reelected.

Livestreaming: No longer can board members deny saying something or that they were misquoted.

[mark blazejewski]

Status of livestreaming Village of Lancaster board meetings – crickets!

Just My Opinion:

"Crickets" is indeed the trademark of the Ruda administration.

Historically, the VOL Board has been a rather closed entity which shunned openness, but Mayor Ruda, in my opinion, has extended the boundaries of such behavior.

Bill Schroeder, as Trustee, endured that closed value, but with public service maturity, as Mayor, Schroeder tried to remediate such flaws and bring the proceedings of VOL Board into the age of transparency. His commitment to transparency was especially evident in his efforts to more broadly inform the residents of the upcoming roundabouts.

Conversely, Mayor Ruda appears to have built on those pre-existing VOL Board(s) flaws, most probably to consolidate her personal power in pursuit of her agenda; a "To-Do List" which is ultra left-wing, and favors select developers and West Main Street businesses. This comment tends to support my opinion:

It was indeed Mayor Bill who first suggested a conflict of interest concerning the West Main Street project. It was shortly there after that Mr. Sweeney threw his full support behind Trustee Ruda.

Furthermore, my own questions to the village board, suggestions of future response notwithstanding, have to date, gone unanswered.

Reference: https://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sh...ancaster-Board

... it was heartening hearing that former Mayor Bill Schroeder (campaigning for reelection) declare his favoring meeting livestreaming should he be reelected.

I have also heard, from highly credible source(s), that former Mayor Schroeder favors live streaming VOL Board meetings. For that reason alone, I will be voting for him on March 19, 2024.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Hey Mark:

A relevant post considering today’s world where one can put little faith in what one hears or reads. We are being lied to or gaslighted at every turn. There is ample reasons why the Village of Lancaster (VOL) should pursue livestreaming their meetings.

I am ever grateful to Town Clerk Terranova and Supervisor Leary (when he was Councilmember) for bringing livestreaming to the Town of Lancaster two years ago. It allows the entire community the opportunity to witness what takes place in their community, holds town and residents accountable for their outrageous claims, and strengthens the public record.

No better example can be illustrated than when Supervisor Ruffino and some residents charged Supervisor Leary (then councilmember) of being a ‘bully’ and causing the resignation of several staff members in Supervisor Ruffino’s office. It was not true then, no charges ever filed, and now disclaimed by current town administrative personnel.

Livestreaming the meetings also gave residents the opportunity to see the ineptness of the two firms hired by Ruffino to manage the town’s financial and human resource operation. Back to the future and that’s a good thing.

Elections have consequences. The Lancaster Democratic Party denied voters an opportunity to elect other than the people on the present town board. For it or their whiny supporters to attempt to undermine their legitimacy or efforts with unfounded lies is ludicrous and parochial With livestreaming politicos can be held accountable by what they actually say and do, not what others would like us to think

[mark blazejewski]

Hey Mark:

A relevant post considering today’s world where one can put little faith in what one hears or reads. We are being lied to or gaslighted at every turn. There is ample reasons why the Village of Lancaster (VOL) should pursue livestreaming their meetings...

No better example can be illustrated than when Supervisor Ruffino and some residents charged Supervisor Leary (then councilmember) of being a ‘bully’ and causing the resignation of several staff members in Supervisor Ruffino’s office. It was not true then, no charges ever filed, and now disclaimed by current town administrative personnel.

Lee,

The gaslighting concerning Supervisor Leary was a classic attempt to slur an individual's personal reputation by the use of unsupported third-party hearsay. It had all of the disgusting earmarks of a sadistic political hit job, and I believe is still worthy of apology by those public actors who openly promulgated such garbage.

With that said, the narrative that the one-year moratorium that would somehow impact the village's downtown development, was such an egregious example of gaslighting, that the Town Attorney was compelled to publicly rebut the rumor(s).

Town posts Proposed Moratorium Clarification notice on its website
Thomas E. Fowler, Jr., Esq. – Lancaster Town Attorney

QUESTION

Will the proposed moratorium be imposed in the Villages of Lancaster and Depew?

ANSWER

No. The proposed moratorium affects the Town of Lancaster outside the Villages of Lancaster and Depew.

QUESTION

Will the proposed moratorium affect current improvements being contemplated in the Village of Lancaster?

ANSWER

No. The proposed moratorium will not affect projects considered, or approved, by the Village of Lancaster.

QUESTION

Will the proposed moratorium affect the New York Forward awards?

ANSWER

No. All of the Lancaster New York Forward projects are located wholly within the Village of Lancaster.

QUESTION

Will previously approved improvement projects be halted?

ANSWER

No. The proposed moratorium shall not apply to any project that has received all discretionary approvals necessary from the Town Board as required under the Town Zoning Code prior to the effective date of this Local Law.

Comment

Hopefully, this will dismiss the misinformation / disinformation disseminated by the pro-business, anti-moratorium crowd.

I was personally offended that Mr. Fowler's clear and exact clarification(s), posted on the Town of Lancaster website, were apparently deserving of publication only on the Bee's Editorial, aka Opinion, page.

Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/pagevie...3-12-14#page=3

Talk about enabling and promoting gaslighting, eh?

[mark blazejewski]

I have also heard, from highly credible source(s), that former Mayor Schroeder favors live streaming VOL Board meetings. For that reason alone, I will be voting for him on March 19, 2024.

This seems to confirm the aforementioned:

Village of Lancaster to hold special election

Two make run for open trustee position

February 15, 2024

by JAMES SINNER Editor


“I’d like to see what they [the board] have been doing over the last three years,” said Schroeder, quickly adding that he intends to run for mayor, regardless of the results for the partial term as trustee. “It’s really hard to have a clue what the village board is doing. They seem to go into a lot of executive sessions, and that doesn’t seem like transparent government to me. Sometimes, there’s reasons for it, but the rules are pretty strict when it comes to executive sessions. I do know when I was mayor, we kept them [executive sessions] to a minimum.”

Schroeder, continuing his critique, said that positions like the assistant superintendent at the department of public works and a code enforcement officer remain unfilled. He also said it’s hard to understand why, because regardless of the push online and at meetings by village residents, the village has yet to install livestreaming equipment. “I don’t know what the holdup is. Lancaster is kind of an aging community, and there’s a lot of people that would like to know what is going on, and that would be an ideal setup for them,” Schroeder said. “I would have thought this would have been done a long time ago.”

Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...cial-election/

[Lee Chowaniec]

Let the sunshine in!

At the January 3, 2022, Lancaster town board meeting a resolution was sponsored by then councilmember Ribert Leary proposing to provide, install & service a live streaming system with audio component for all board room meetings. The resolution was approved by a 3-2 vote – councilmembers Leary, Burkard, and Dickman casting ‘yes’ votes, Supervisor Ruffino and councilmember Mazur casting ‘no’ votes.

Lancaster residents have well received the livestreaming of all board meetings, especially those unable to personally attend meetings of interest. Of equal value is that they are archived, can be viewed any time, become public record, and ensures openness and transparency.

At the November 2023 Village of Lancaster board meeting, the board pressed on livestreaming its meetings declared they were investigating installing the system and that it would be active sometime in January. Except for former Mayor William Schroeder’s Lancaster Bee’s February 15th campaign editorial, we have heard ‘crickets’ on the installation. Schroeder had been quoted as saying: “It’s hard to understand why, because regardless of the push online and at meetings by village residents, the village has yet to install livestreaming equipment. “I don’t know what the holdup is. Lancaster is kind of an aging community, and there’s a lot of people that would like to know what is going on, and that would be an ideal setup for them,” Schroeder said. “I would have thought this would have been done a long time ago.”

Crickets until today when hearing from someone that a VOL Trustee is saying that the Village agreed a couple of weeks ago to have the system installed sometime in April. Great when it happens, or if it happens at all.

Why has there not been a public announcement? So secreted that not one of the Trustee candidates would have spoken about and supported its installation. Oh wait, one did, Schroeder. Not so forcibly in his recent campaign mailer, however still making the point of the importance of technology and keeping the residents informed.

If the Village of Lancaster board announces livestreaming is coming at Monday evening’s board meeting, one must ask ‘what took so long’ – that it had to be pushed into the installation. $11,000, certainly not cost.

One also must ask why the lack of communication to the public that livestreaming is coming to the Village? As Trustee candidate Schroeder says: Village residents have been denied openness and transparency for too long.

[mark blazejewski]

At the November 2023 Village of Lancaster board meeting, the board pressed on livestreaming its meetings declared they were investigating installing the system and that it would be active sometime in January.

Crickets until today when hearing from someone that a VOL Trustee is saying that the Village agreed a couple of weeks ago to have the system installed sometime in April. Great when it happens, or if it happens at all.

Why has there not been a public announcement? So secreted that not one of the Trustee candidates would have spoken about and supported its installation. Oh wait, one did, Schroeder. Not so forcibly in his recent campaign mailer, however still making the point of the importance of technology and keeping the residents informed.

If the Village of Lancaster board announces livestreaming is coming at Monday evening’s board meeting, one must ask ‘what took so long’ – that it had to be pushed into the installation. $11,000, certainly not cost.

One also must ask why the lack of communication to the public that livestreaming is coming to the Village? As Trustee candidate Schroeder says: Village residents have been denied openness and transparency for too long.

Why has the livestreaming issue moved from a four-month total news blackout, to a more illuminated, and highly convenient, pre-election whispers and rumors phase?

Even if such livestreaming is approved tonight, who is to say that the current, politically convenient, momentum will not "hit" even further "roadblocks" after the March 19, 2024 election?

Among other curious engagements, in recent years I understand much of the downtown area was sold to one actor in a "no bid" process, and our VOL government engaged in a rather questionable political dalliance to, depending how polite you are, "recruit" or "poach" the town's High Superintendent to fill its DPW leadership.

At the very least, the appearance of sleaze, eh?

IMHO, if many VOL residents are cynical about the open truthfulness of the VOL's government and business leadership, sorry, over the years, that is a situation that they sadly created for themselves.

As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed with the livestreaming issue since November 27. I will be happy to note the livestreaming after the first broadcast actually takes place.

[WNYresident]

Fixed

[mark blazejewski]

Fixed

Thank you O' Skillful Administrator!

[gorja]

Originally posted by mark blazejewski:
Even if such livestreaming is approved tonight

Mark, I don't see any village meeting scheduled for tonight.
Is it posted somewhere other than their website?

[mark blazejewski]

Mark, I don't see any village meeting scheduled for tonight.
Is it posted somewhere other than their website?

No, you are indeed correct Gorja. There is a Special Meeting scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20th.

I tried to post that earlier this morning, but I think I screwed something up with technical process, and that post apparently effected the system, hence posts #8 and #9.

[GroundControl]

Mark, just to be clear, even if the VOL board passed a proposal to install a live-streaming video system at their special meeting , it's a weak, at best, move by a body who would not have done it without extreme public harassment. No matter who is elected, if they do not make livestream the first order of business, they will be addressed at each meeting until it happens by a concerned public.

Again, the mere numbers of veiws on this thread say it all. I believe by the next VOL election the public will be wide awake as to what has gone on for the last ten years inside a tight knit group of local politions and some favored people.

Mr. Schroeder has been involved in a lot of the proceedings that occurred in the last ten years. What makes you think he should be given a pass on the Sweeney issue? And why do you think he can not wooed by or already is not in the Sweeney camp of subservent board members? I have no faith in someone who sat quickly and watched Trustee Ruda take over the VOL and hand it over to Mr. Sweeney.

Tommorrow will set a course toward the next election. Time moves along quickly. Lets see which direction this new board heads.

[Lee Chowaniec]

mark, just to be clear, even if the vol board passed a proposal to install a live-streaming video system at their special meeting , it's a weak, at best, move by a body who would not have done it without extreme public harassment. No matter who is elected, if they do not make livestream the first order of business, they will be addressed at each meeting until it happens by a concerned public.

Again, the mere numbers of veiws on this thread say it all. I believe by the next vol election the public will be wide awake as to what has gone on for the last ten years inside a tight knit group of local politions and some favored people.

Mr. Schroeder has been involved in a lot of the proceedings that occurred in the last ten years. What makes you think he should be given a pass on the sweeney issue? And why do you think he can not wooed by or already is not in the sweeney camp of subservent board members? I have no faith in someone who sat quickly and watched trustee ruda take over the vol and hand it over to mr. Sweeney.

Tommorrow will set a course toward the next election. Time moves along quickly. Lets see which direction this new board heads.

spot on!

[mark blazejewski]

Mark, just to be clear, even if the VOL board passed a proposal to install a live-streaming video system at their special meeting , it's a weak, at best, move by a body who would not have done it without extreme public harassment. *No matter who is elected, if they do not make livestream the first order of business, they will be addressed at each meeting until it happens by a concerned public.

If the fulfillment of livestreaming becomes fulfilled reality, public demand can take the credit.

As I see things, Lynne Ruda, a member of the Village Board since 2017, IMHO is only a very marginal, late-in-coming actor, because, to the best of my knowledge, she never took an overtly strong leadership position in its advocacy. In fact, I understand it was a newly elected Trustee, Tammy Malone who in 2023, rather quickly reacted to the public's demand and walked the point on the livestreaming issue.

Overall, I feel the VOL is very late coming to the livestreaming dance, and is a tardy, dull imitation of the Leary initiative which brought livestreaming into the Town of Lancaster's proceedings.

Kudos to Leary, the Conservative majority on the Town Council, and the citizen warriors, chief among them Lee Chowaniec, for moving the town into the light of transparent governance.

Conversely, shame on the dissenters Ruffino and Mazur.

I believe by the next VOL election the public will be wide awake as to what has gone on for the last ten years inside a tight knit group of local politions and some favored people.

Mr. Schroeder has been involved in a lot of the proceedings that occurred in the last ten years. What makes you think he should be given a pass on the Sweeney issue? And why do you think he can not wooed by or already is not in the Sweeney camp of subservent board members? I have no faith in someone who sat quickly and watched Trustee Ruda take over the VOL and hand it over to Mr. Sweeney.

The two ballot candidates in tomorrows' election present various concerns, while the third is untested, unknown, and at times seems to be debating itself. All of the candidates have been short on specifics.

For the election tomorrow, I will vote for whom I endorsed earlier today and for my stated reason, but forthwith, I say let the chips fall where they may, and I mean every chip, to the very last chip, GC.

In that connection, I respond to your previous comments:

I believe a lot more info about the shady land sale and the fragile financial structure of Mr. Sweeney's smoke and mirror operation will be made public. I have seen some interesting communication from records acquired of Mr. Allein's official CDC txt messages for a year when a lot of conflict of interest was happening between VOL board members, the CDC and Mr.Sweeney.

I am not sure where that all will go but the Mayors and Trustees from Cansdale to Ruda are all involved by serving at an elected position and allowing this debacle to morph into the boondoggle it has become. All that went before them was pushed by Mr. Sweeney for his own profit and gain and done with an awful lot of help from the current Mayor, Lynn Ruda.

*

Just My Opinion:

I believe that there are many, many questions to be answered by many of the actors associated with the downtown development issue. Up until now, some of their answers appear to be contradictory and inconsistent. Those answers must somehow be harmonized if they are to be aligned with a single, understandable truth. Good luck with that.

Indeed, if the vine of the dealings was truly tainted, it may have produced some very poisonous fruit, and all nourished by that fruit should be cast out of the garden of the public trust.

[Lee Chowaniec]

I have been informed that the Village of Lancaster has approved livestreaming its meetings.

In the February 26, 2024, Village Board Meeting minutes, at the Technology & Marketing section, the following was presented and unanimously approved:

TECHNOLOGY & MARKETING

Trustee Malone Schaefer Motion by Trustee Malone Schaefer and seconded by Trustee Maciejewski to approve the live streaming and audio proposals from Robert Mark Audio for improvements in Council Chambers. Adopted Resolution: 574 Ayes: Mayor Ruda, Trustees Maciejewski, Malone Schaefer, Mikoley, and Santoro

The language of the resolution is ambiguous as to what was approved. Livestreaming like what is taking place in the Town of Lancaster or Village of Depew? What meetings will be livestreamed? What does Council Chambers ‘improvements’ mean and/or involve.

What is puzzling is that there was no mention of this approval by anyone during the recent Trustee election where there has been a public consensus that livestreaming is warranted and long overdue. Chrickets from the candidates, public, and Village itself. Trustee Santoro, running for re-election spoke not one word about livestreaming approval. It would have silenced the proponents of meeting livestreaming who were unaware of its approval.

So, what has really been approved and what does it include? Livestreaming is the personification of openness and transparency.

Another Lucy-Charlie Brown hide-the-football antic!