It is difficult to report on a Lancaster town board event that seems to be causing so much controversy and especially when all parties involved in addressing the town board did so with good intentions and in the spirit of Christmas giving. Therefore, the best way to report is to just report it as what took place.
Councilman Ron Ruffino thanked Youth Bureau Director John Trojanowski for all the work he did, and others as well, in making the town toy drive successful. Ruffino recognized him in the crowd and asked him to comment.
Trojanowski declared that once he realized that town vehicles could not be used to pick up toys stored at a Cheektowaga storage facility, the Youth Bureau had to make other arrangements to pick up the toys at the Walden Avenue depot in Cheektowaga. They had many groups that offered help. “The Police Benevolent Association, members of the Bowmansville Volunteer Fire Department and members of the public went to the Cheektowaga facility to pick up the toys. U-Haul donated the truck. The community did rise to the occasion.”
Councilman John Abraham: I just want to ask the Supervisor … this program is very important to the community and I know as a member of the Youth Bureau, and as teacher, the effort that was put in on that aspect to make this community drive a success for the needy families of the community; including the Christmas trees that are donated by the students and where they stay after school to make cookies to make money to buy canned goods. This is a great community effort on the part of the town and the school district to make this a great, great success. One question to you Dino is the not allowing of a town vehicle to pick up the toys. You said it was a legal opinion. Would you be willing to provide that to the rest of the board?
Supervisor Fudoli: I contacted outside legal counsel Jeff Swiatek and he said for liability purposes we should not be using town equipment and manpower outside the district.
Abraham: This is a sanctioned program that is run by the town. How is this different than when one of our police officers is using a town vehicle to transport a prisoner to another municipality?
Fudoli: There is a gray area in what is considered official business and what is not official business. Swiatek said that with liability and workman’s comp issues it is advisable not to … your best interest is to have volunteers pick up the stuff. If you want something drawn up on the matter we can do that.
Trojanowski: All the miscommunications that took place last year has been resolved. We now know what the needs are and what we have to do to make the program successful in the future.
Fudoli: Thank you, John.
Council member Donna Stempniak: John, this doesn’t mean that the program will not exist anymore?
Trojanowski: No, not at all. This means next year that we have to use our resources differently.
Fudoli: There was never an issue of not doing the program; or not moving it forward. It is simply that one aspect of the program; that’s it.
Stempniak: I guess what I’m asking is why this year and not before.
Fudoli: Because it was brought to my attention this year when I received a memo from Mark Lubera (interim Parks & Recreation Crew Chief). In the past, former Parks & Rec. Crew Chief McCracken handled it. It was never brought to the attention of my office. That is why we contacted legal counsel Jeff Swiatek. In the past we drove all over in town vehicles; including the City. Mark Lubera being a new crew chief did not know what his responsibility is in the matter, whether it was allowable or not, brought it to my attention, so ultimately this is the only thing that has changed. I thought we had a lot of time to resolve the change issue, not realizing the event was this week, not next week. Like John said, there was lot of miscommunication and the timing was off.
Stempniak: And his specification was that it was not extension time?
Fudoli: Wait a minute, Jeff (Swiatek) just said, “I advise you not to allow them to go out and pick up stuff outside the borders of our town unless you have a reciprocating agreement in place with another community, an inter-municipal agreement to share services. For liability purposes I advise you not to do that. Get volunteers.” That was his advice.
Stempniak: You’re going to get that to us.
Fudoli: I will send it to everyone that wants it; as soon as I get it.
Public comment session
Resident Marie MacKay: Mr. Fudoli, I was very saddened when I woke up Saturday morning and saw the news on TV that you were not going to allow town vehicles to go and retrieve the gifts from Cheektowaga and bring them back to town. This town is known as a giving town. As a person I have worked at the Youth Bureau for many Christmas’ and gave out gifts to needy families. There are many needy families in this community.
I know you say it’s a liability. My question to you is whether the trucks/vehicles in Lancaster never go outside of Lancaster; when they need parts for their vehicles or otherwise.
Fudoli: As I said earlier, it was recognized by legal counsel and I made a determination that town vehicles could not be used for the purpose intended. I have been Supervisor for three years and this was never brought to my attention. We have an interim crew chief and he brought this to my attention. In the past Mr. McCracken handled it and it was not brought to my attention. If I didn’t follow the advice of legal counsel and an accident occurred outside the district and someone got killed, people would be standing here and asking why I didn’t follow the legal advice given me.
MacKay: What bothers me is that you have been supervisor for the last three years and you don’t know what your employees do every minute of the day.
Fudoli: Really?
MacKay: Well my boss knows what I’m doing, so I think you should have known that every year your town employees were using town vehicles to go to Cheektowaga to pick up the donations and bri
ng them back.
Fudoli: Again, if a department head did not bring it to my attention, circumvented my office, am I supposed to know that he was circumventing my office? Now that I do know about it, am I supposed to ignore it?
MacKay: I think that as a supervisor you should know what all your managers and employees are doing. As a taxpayer I want to know what they are doing.
Fudoli: You are chastising me for doing the right thing.
McKay: I am not chastising you, I am making a point. What are we doing to these families? These families come with nothing. They stand there, they cry and they thank us. The community comes together.
Fudoli: You are ignoring the facts.
MacKay: I want to finish. They bake cookies, they donate trees, they decorate trees, they donate tons of books, and they are allowed to go into the clothing closet to get clothes so they are warm for the winter. I hope that never in your life will you be poor and stand in that line and wait for food; for that may be the only food they receive.
Fudoli: We are not shutting down the program.
MacKay: You could have looked the other way, Mr. Fudoli. You could have looked the other way for once.
Fudoli: You want me to look the other way when the legal advisor gives me advice? Really? If I was your employer I would seriously question your judgment.
MacKay: Sometimes we have to do what we have to do. Again, you should have known what your employees do. You made a promise that you would be there on Thursday.
Fudoli: Right.
MacKay: You said I will be there on Thursday and I will help wrap gifts. You said you would wear a Santa Claus hat.
Fudoli: No I didn’t.
MacKay: Yes you did. So I want to make sure you are equipped for Thursday to help those needy families. (Handed Fudoli a Christmas hat).
Fudoli: Thanks Marie. The program will not be shut down. Under no circumstances are these people not going to get their …
MacKay: This is Lancaster …
Fudoli: The point is this; there is not one single needy family that is not going to get anything. You are acting as if I …
MacKay: It’s because people volunteer …
Fudoli: That’s what people should be doing.
MacKay: But if you are going to implement a new policy then you have to say …
Fudoli: We can go back and forth all day … that’s fine and you are entitled to your own opinion.
MacKay: I am entitled to my opinion. I know what I was told and have good resources and was told that at the last minute doing this was wrong. And I hope you spend the whole day there Thursday …
Fudoli: I won’t be there, my wife is having surgery.
MacKay: Well I hope that one day you will look into those faces of the little children.
Fudoli: You make it sound like I have a problem with poor people.
MacKay: I didn’t say that. Did I say that?
Fudoli: You’re saying to look into the eyes of the people.
MacKay: I want you to understand that if people in this community didn’t step forward and volunteered that stuff today and last week, those little children would get no gifts. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas.
Resident Carmen Hangauer: Supervisor, I agree with you 100%. It is not a popular decision, but does concern town liability. It is something that hurts. I can understand the person that they give it to.
Mr. Abraham, in your classroom, one of the things that is a number one issue is the welfare of your children?
Abraham: One of them, right.
Hangauer: It’s fun to throw a ball around and if they were to do that …
Abraham: It would get ugly very quick.
Hangauer: Whatever. But I mean if it was for exercise that was meant as a fundraiser, or whatever, but it got out of hand, the rules in school say you are not supposed to do it. Would you look to the rules of the school or would you look the other way?
Abraham: I would do exactly what I am supposed to do.
Hangauer: Exactly. You follow what you are supposed to do. I am very upset with the person that came up here and said for you to look the other way. And I am glad you didn’t look the other way,
Supervisor, as it did not affect the toy drive; is that correct?
Fudoli: It did not.
Hangauer: It did not affect the toy drive and the whole program went on. Right now I am very upset and thank you for following the rules.
Resident Ken Graber: I had no intent in speaking, whatsoever. I basically came here as support to John (Trojanowski), the other people from the Youth Bureau and others to repeat the message of the toy drive.
However Mr. Fudoli, on a couple of statements you made tonight I want to ask questions about. The first, you said that the legal counsel you received was from Jeff. I take that as being Jeff Swiatekfrom Hodgson Russ? (Outside counsel)
Fudoli: Yes.
Graber: Did you ever consult Mr. Dudziak (Town Attorney)?
Fudoli: He was not around; not in his office.
Graber: Not in. What about by cell phone? I would think he would know what’s going on around the town. The other thing is that when you were discussing this with Mrs. MacKay you made the statement that this was an unauthorized program.
Fudoli: No I didn’t.
Graber: That’s what you said. Your earlier statement to Mr. Abraham and Mrs. Stempniak was that this was an unauthorized program going on; that’s my understanding. The Youth Bureau’s program was authorized by establishment and you gave Mr. Swiatek the wrong information.
Fudoli: I didn’t tell him that.
Graber: I think everybody heard what you said.
Fudoli: I didn’t say unauthorized, I said unofficial business. Unofficial town business is how it was worded.
Graber: Whether it is unofficial business or not the program was authorized.
Fudoli: I didn’t say unauthorized, you said unauthorized. I said unofficial.
Graber: Well if it’s unauthorized or unofficial …
Fudoli: Please don’t tell me you don’t understand the difference between unauthorized and unofficial; and you are working with children.
Graber: Mr. Fudoli, what we can understand is that you’re lying.
Fudoli: No, I am not.
Graber: Yes you are. Whether it’s authorized or official, it’s a town program. It was authorized and it is official. I agree with you if it were never authorized you can’t do it. But Mr. Swiatek was given the wrong information and of course he is going to tell you shouldn’t do this. You are the one making the statement. Thank you.