Politics
Lancaster election, time to consider the issues
By Lee Chowaniec
Nov 4, 2011, 10:12

Unless the perpetrators of the Dino Fudoli drug dealing scam make an eleventh hour move to make another desperate attempt to politically smear the Republican candidate for the Lancaster Supervisor election, as is common in Lancaster Democratic politics, the public will be (or should be) focusing on the issues.

Fudoli's debate words should resonate well with voters who believe Lancaster is a great town to live in because of the people, and despite the politics. Residents should not be distracted by the "dirty tricks" the Lancaster DEMS play, but by some of the issues that have plagued the town for years. Their focus should be on:

* Skyrocketing taxes despite the residential and commercial growth we hear so much made about from the incumbents;

* Spending is out of control increasing by 38% over the last seven years;

* Millions of dollars of taxpayer money was wasted with the police/courts building construction because of the initial purchase of a 50-year old building that was structurally deficient, a near nine year delay, and irresponsible cost projections from the get-go. And they (Town Board) continue to irresponsibly and untruthfully cite as a reason for the delay litigation that had nothing to do with the purchase of the Walden Avenue Colecraft Building;

* The Lancaster IDA is chaired by Supervisor Robert Giza. Many believe the agency has too often given IDA¡¦s to non deserving applicants; applicants operating successful retail/restaurant businesses and businesses where job creation has been nil or where the jobs created are low paying, not life sustainable. Lancaster Airport Inc. received three IDA¡¦S and no jobs were created;

* Where by state mandate taxpayers are obligated to contribute 20% and 30% toward town employee and police retirement programs, the town has set up a generous pay system and does not ask town employees or police to contribute anything to their health care program which can run as high a $18,303 for a family plan. Residents have been set up with a government they can no longer afford;

* Whereas the town failed to sell the vacated Depew Library and is now putting in well over $100,000 to upgrade the building for the OEM, spent $3.2 million in Town Hall expansion/renovation costs, the Lancaster Library was ignored, needing to have a month¡¦s long leaking roof repaired and to have new carpeting installed. Those things are happening now because residents made an issue of the deterioration;

* Supervisor Giza personally boasts of the construction of the Penora pumping station and the $7 million waterline project. Those improvements came about because residents at Town Board meetings complained for years about the low water pressure in town and the dangers of firefighting because of the low water pressure.

Supervisor Giza and the then Town Engineer often told residents that there were no water pressure issues in town as well as no flooding/drainage/traffic overburdened roads in Lancaster, when just the opposite was true.

* Under the leadership of Supervisor Giza and Donna Stempniak, valuable and functional wetlands have been destroyed/filled in for developer best interests; ie., Pleasant Meadows, Cross Creek, Windsor Ridge and Summerfield Farms. A sanitary sewer line was constructed in the south branch of Ellicott Creek during the Cross Creek project;

* In early 2000, the town approved a Generic Master Plan, a living document that would allow for change as needed. Since that time the town has never met a rezone it did not like or approve. They are now rezoning rezones. The master plan also encouraged walkable neighborhoods with corner stores, like that ever happened.

When Lancaster residents complained about basement sewer backups, the county blamed the residents for illegal hookups and the town went along with the push to have residents update systems to meet current code requirements.

When Village residents voice that their sewer lines are being surcharged by town growth usage, our supervisor claims that is not true and refers to a letter the county put out. Well, how much waste can you put through a pipe before it clogs and you have spill over?

Why is the county going to construct a reliever line to relieve the stress on village sewer lines and allow for more growth in the south end of town if there is enough sewer capacity? Why was it necessary for residents to bring the issues to light?

The town creates the problems, the residents complain, the town blames the residents!

The Town of Lancaster needs new blood!





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