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Thread: Nice "Grand Opening" in West Seneca

  1. #1
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    Nice "Grand Opening" in West Seneca

    Last night (April 6th) the West Seneca Youth Bureau held a grand opening at the "Metz House", a 165+ year old house rebuilt by the West Seneca Americorp and West Seneca "Youth Build" groups. It is a very impressive reuse of an historic old building.

    Mark Lazzara should be commended for his artful blending of local, state & federal $$ to do some great work.

    Heather (sorry, Cindy) Locklear's Legislative office is upstairs in the building.

    Every democratic pol from the area was there. One guy made a joke about being the only Republican in the room.

    But then, there is no Republican party in West Seneca, only the Greenan/Clark team puppets.

  2. #2
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    This is greatl but I would like to ask what will be the yearly running budget to keep the building open?

    How will it be funded for on going operations?

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    A new day in West Seneca

    Shortly after Cindy Locklear beat Wroblewski in the county legislator election, I had suggested that Cindy Locklear look for space in Town of West Seneca owned buildings to put her office. She followed up on this and struck a deal with the Town of West Seneca to rent space in the Metz house. Wroblewski had been renting space in a building that was owned by a reported politically connected individual in town. Locklear's rent is reportedly $650 a month and this money is returning county tax money to the taxpayers of the town instead of a politically connected private developer. Bravo West Seneca, bravo Cindy Locklear. This $650 was probably much less than Wroblewski was paying.

    Revialization of the historic Gardenville district is a key ingredient in the Town's new Comprehensive plan. Gardenville is one of the areas in town that is deep in history and now is slowly being revitalized.

    The election of Councilman Christina Bove, an outsider in terms of the old political machine in town where people ran unopposed and had to know Clark or the Greenans to get elected. She is working to get things done in town. She is pushing the issues and forcing her collegues to do something. The people in the town made a wise choice in electing her. Hopefully the Democrat-Republican deals of the past are over and finally the interests of the taxpaying residents will be respected instead of ignored.

    There seems to be a new spirit in West Seneca. With Clark running for County Executive, there will be a different Supervisor and probably 2 new councilmembers in the next town election.

    Councilman Bove and Legislator Locklear were both elected by the people in the Town, not the machine. The voters of West Seneca are the winners in the process.

    __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________

    The count says:

    "It's better to look forward than backward."
    Last edited by count alucard; April 8th, 2006 at 07:43 PM.

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    Cool

    Why does West Seneca charge rent to the County for one set of space in one building, but "give away" space in what is supposed to be the Kiwanis-built "Youth Center" to the County for an Auto Bureau?

    Losers in the deal - the Youth of the Community, and people using the Parks and Library who have no place to park any more. Shame on you, Mr. "I want to be County Executive" Clark.

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    Auto Bureau

    The Auto Bureau is a great addition to the Town of West Seneca. It offers a tremendous service to the town and the county. All residents will benefit. Any project that is instituted anywhere seems to have pluses and minuses. There are a heck of a lot more pluses than minuses. Let's look at the pluses first.

    Pluses:

    1. Any resident that owns a car or has a license or needs a non-drivers ID will be able to save time by coming here. Most residents have to visit a DMV office at one time or another.

    2. They will save money by using less gas (now over $3.00 a gallon).

    3. It is safer for all residents, especially our seniors and women, to do your business in the Town Hall campus. It's a stone's throw away from the police station.If they have to travel to Downtown Buffalo, they could easily be mugged and robbed. Not to mention that they would also have to pay for parking.

    4. DMV transactions bring revenue to the county. This helps decrease county operating costs and lower taxes. Transactions that are done by mail bring no revenue back to the county. Now with the convenience of an in-town office, more people will do their transactions in person. The big picture is it does benefit town residents financially by bringing revenue to the county. It's better to bring that revenue back to the county than let the state keep it.

    5. It creates a destination in town where people meet. Destinations are always important to a community. Don't overlook the importance of seeing old friends and neighbors.

    6. Putting a county DMV office in town is the decentralization of a service that makes sense in just bringing it closer to the people. It makes people over all feel more comfortable in doing business. Many people fear going into a big crowded office that is not very personable. The psychological aspect of this should not be overlooked.

    The minuses:

    1. Parking problems. The other side of placing an office in the Town Hall campus is that there will be more people coming in and parking could become an issue. The easy solution is if more parking is needed, then the Town Highway Department could put it in. There are areas where parking could be expanded easily. If more parking is necessary, then it should be built.

    2. Safety of children. This has always been a high traffic area and children have always had to be aware of the vehicles. I am sure that parents preach that message on a continual basis. The area most affected will be the pool and children's playground. The pool for the most part is fenced in and less impacted by vehicular traffic. Kids in the playground are generally supervised by a parent or family member. Traffic signs could be posted and the speed limit strictly enforced. The pool and playground area are generally used a limited number of months. Most kids will be in school during the hours of operation of the DMV office. The basketball courts, baseball field and ice rink will be impacted very little. There is always a fear of sex offenders when strangers may come into town. The proximity of the police station will help alleviate those fears. If you believe that 16 and 17 year olds are "children" then the DMV office will benefit them because they will be able to get their drivers permits and licenses here. This will be a safer place for them to do their DMV business.

    Overall, this project will be very beneficial to West Seneca. The pluses far outweigh the minuses. As more towns open up these offices the business will be spread out more around the county. The cost to operate this office to the residents of West Seneca is negligible and the savings in energy and time, plus increased safety is tremendous. Bravo to County Clerk David Swarts and the West Seneca Town Board for hitting a home run.

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    Cool More on Auto Bureau

    Count, I respectfully disagree on your "home run" theory in regard to the new West Seneca Auto Bureau at the Kiwanis Center.

    The bottom line is the location of an Auto Bureau in a Youth Center takes away from the intent of the facility. Over the years, West Seneca has put more and more town offices in what was designed as a place where activities for the town's kids could take place.

    First, it was the Youth Bureau, and then the Recreation Department. Now, an Auto Bureau. What's next? A satellite County Clerk's office? A Subway shop? Ice Cream & Cookies? Starbucks? CPA offices?

    The building is now a disgrace to the town, and definitely an embarrasment to those who worked so hard to put it there in the first place. Our Kiwanis Club should be pissed off, big time.

    And again, why charge no rent there, but charge $650.00/month rent at the Metz house?

    Too many questions. Too many deals. The losers? West Seneca's kids.

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    Cool Cindy

    Can you please tell us all if any COUNTY FUND has been used to Refurbish this House?

    If so wouldnt this be considered PORK!

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    Thumbs down Notice

    Ive as well noticed that I havent got a reply to my question. Anyone else notice since Cindy has won the ELECTION we are not needed anylonger so she doesnt show up here much?

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    Cool

    Has Cindy ever shown up anywhere?

    She isn't active in any community groups, has no kids so no school stuff, sports, etc., not in the Rotary, Lions or Kiwanis, and still works full time for her big firm.

    "One term Wonder" is the phrase I am hearing around town lately....

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    Here's an idea! Why not PM me when you post a thread comment

    Quote Originally Posted by CheektowagaFan
    Can you please tell us all if any COUNTY FUND has been used to Refurbish this House?

    If so wouldnt this be considered PORK!
    Otherwise I may not find it.

    Anyway, sorry to disappoint you CheekFan; but not a single penny of County Funds paid for the rehab of the Metz home. All state or Federal $$ from what I understand and all appropriated before I ever entered the scene. Sorry... no smell of pork here, at least not related to me or my term.

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    I try to stop in at least once every day...

    Quote Originally Posted by CheektowagaFan
    Ive as well noticed that I havent got a reply to my question. Anyone else notice since Cindy has won the ELECTION we are not needed anylonger so she doesnt show up here much?

    ... to see what's new.

    Why do you assume I dont show up here? I tend to just check out the Erie County and FB threads. Scheez!!

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    You guys sure are something...

    Quote Originally Posted by BigGuy
    Has Cindy ever shown up anywhere?

    She isn't active in any community groups, has no kids so no school stuff, sports, etc., not in the Rotary, Lions or Kiwanis, and still works full time for her big firm.

    "One term Wonder" is the phrase I am hearing around town lately....
    BigGuy, is this how you measure the worth of a lawmaker? How much "face time" they put in? Ok, I guess you get what you expect.

    BTW: your facts are wrong. I dont work for a law firm. I work for a manufacturing company... and I dont work there full time any longer... only 24Hours a week.

    If I end up as a "One Term Wonder" so be it. At least I am standing up for the People and not any special interests or political machines, just as I promised.

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    Give them "Hell" Cindy, you are doing just fine.
    If it weren't for the United States Military, there would be NO United States of America !

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    Cool

    Hey, Cindy:

    I see you voted for the new cellular surcharge (tax) in Erie County.

    What happened to "no new taxes"?

    What's next; more document filing fees, surcharges on the Auto Bureau with renewals, etc?

    Oh, gee, these are all now in place. I think you voted for all these new taxes.

    What a shame.

    "Out with the old, in with the same old."
    BigGuy

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    something smells like rotten pork.

    the dmv office in orchard park was one of the most used offices they had. it also had a large parking lot. so why rob one town to give another benifits. this just moves the dmv closer to the existing office in cheek. why not leave it in orchard park or some other real south town. OP EA or hamburg would serve the south towns better then WS.
    some how this seems odd. it has a funny smell to it like favors being paid off or something. leave well enough alone and but the Dmv back in its old offices.
    first the Dmv was too poor to have more then one office but now they can have two offices close together cheek and Ws are next to each other spread out the dmv offices so all can benifit.
    One good thing about growing old is your secrets are safe with your friends they can't remember them either

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