The Ruffino Administration: "Had Enough Yet?"

[mark blazejewski]

It is my understanding no shortage of PPE’s exists in the town. In fact, Supervisor Ruffino recently spoke at a town board meeting on receiving recent CARES funding to purchase more PPE’s.

This morning, I have in fact received information which would seem to confirm your observation Lee. That "no shortage of PPE's" applies not only to Lancaster specifically, but to the whole of Erie County as well.

Supervisor Ruffino made it known early on his concern on the seriousness of Covid and its spread when the pandemic was surging in spring. He had even stated then that in his mind he didn’t even consider it essential to go to store to buy a loaf of bread.

Shortly after that "loaf of bread" comment, Supervisor Ruffino asserted that the comment "was taken out of context." I am not going to revisit those words other than to observe that such an inarticulate comment, perhaps conveyed unintentionally by the Supervisor, may have had the tendency and effect of spreading something resembling what many have labeled as "Panic Porn."

That lesson should have been learned and understood by Ruffino's ideological soul-mate Wozniak, just my opinion.


(I note parenthetically that Councilman Leary, during the March 16, 2020 Town Council session, in asking the Police Chief of the viability of emergency services, served to assuage the public mind, and in fact, in some ways, reduced the public's fear and anxiety.)

If the town were reticent in not providing its employees with PPE’s and this was never brought up (especially at budget time) by any town official or employee, I would hold the entire town negligible in not only protecting its employees, but for jeopardizing public safety as well.

Spot On!

Wozniak’s Lancaster Sun statement of hoping to do “due diligence” in making sure town employees have proper personal equipment and that they abide by CDC mandates was nothing more in my mind than political grandstanding. Much ado about nothing!

However, it does open the door to one questioning ‘what the hell did he mean here’?

Spot on again!

Do not residents such as myself, who take the Covid threat seriously, and who abide by the mask and social distancing mandates, have enough negative news to absorb without digesting such unsupported, or at least unexplained, comments?

Do not the Councilman-elects comments, absent amplification or clarification, only serve to increase worry and anxiety?

In that regard, shame on the reporter, whom I assume should have followed-up on the Wozniak comments, IMHO.

More troubling to me are Wozniak's more complete comments which speak to the observance of CDC mandates by town personnel.

Do not those comments seem to unnecessarily, if not unintentionally, encourage hesitancy on the part of residents to engage town personnel generally, and more alarming, to summon necessary police or first responders in particular?

As such, is it not reasonable to conclude that some residents, already traumatized by a near-year of worry, tension, restrictions, and economic hardship, may opt to reject such essential interventions, simply to avoid what they perceive to be the risks and dangers which may attend engagement of essential safety services?

Councilman-elect Wozniak, clarification please!

[mark blazejewski]

It is my opinion that the initial budget submitted by Supervisor Ruffino and Budget Director Cuviello appeared to be sloppily constructed and perhaps irresponsibly presented; a faulty product reflecting a deficiency in talent which fostered public perplexity.

Had it not been for the probing questions and intense analysis of Councilman Leary and the public watchdog Lee Chowaniec, the results and impact of the adopted 2021 Budget may not have been at all favorable to the Lancaster taxpayers---and that is putting it mildly.

In light of the seeming error-riddled 2021 Budget process, am I to understand that Councilman-elect Wozniak has identified the issue of the need for further revenues as the prime problem, which if addressed, would avoid future such disastrous budget constructions?

Seriously?

I thought Democrat Vice Chairman Giza said that Wozniak "knows government?"

[mark blazejewski]

Another case of an elitist "Rules For Thee, But Not For Me" attitude?

Supervisor Ronald Ruffino said at Monday’s town board meeting that Lancaster is onboard with the PAUSE order, and the Lancaster Police will issue tickets and fines to those who do not comply.

Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...tate-on-pause/

“Here in Lancaster, we’re going to take it seriously,” Ruffino said. “We’re going to do our part. We’re going to do our job.”

Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...tate-on-pause/

"WE will be punishing people not obeying this." ---Supervisor Ruffino

Reference: Lancaster Sun, April 16, 2020

I attended a dance recital the other night at the Village of Lancaster Bandshell. The recital was for 7-9 year old children. Each child was allowed to have 2 people attend, wear masks, and social distance. Yes, it was the first time I wore a mask (an Anonymous balaclava). The recital was going fine, and as soon as the childs dance was done, you were to leave.

All of a sudden a man came charging across the lawn, yelling at the owner of the dance studio that she was reported and would receive a citation for having more than 50 people (Outside, mind you). He was so disruptive and angry and the kids on stage stopped dancing, while some started crying. A father took the man to the side and I said "Wow, way to make a bunch of little kids cry, dude". This man stormed toward me and got right in my face where I was sitting and acted like he was about to hit me.... OHHHHH NOOOOO

I whipped my mask off, stood up and said right in his face "BACK OFF! Get 6 feet away from me before I report YOU. BACK OFF" He took a step back and said we all had to leave. I asked "Who the heck are YOU?" He said the director of recreation for the town of Lancaster. I said prove it. He said he didn't have to prove anything to me. And I said "Well, we don't have to prove anything to you, either, you Nazi.". He left to stand by the parking lot, pointing at me the whole time .

When the little girls dance was over, I approached him. I told him he could have handled that WAY differently and I hoped he could live with himself for ruining all of these kids recitals. He said he aplogized....too late. One little boy was too scared to even dance his dance. Ruined.I said I'll be calling his boss and letting him know what he did. He started yelling at me again and said "MY BOSS IS THE TOWN SUPERVISOR AND HE'S THE ONE WHO CALLED ME AND TOLD ME TO SHUT IT DOWN"...

So.... Ron Ruffino, the Singing Supervisor of Lancaster .. the very same man who had a house party the other week with Mark Valentino, lead singer of Hit 'n' Run and had wayyyy more than 50 people thought that 7-9 year old little girls in tutu's were such a danger to the town of Lancaster that he had to send in a goon to SHUT IT DOWN?!
Why don't all my friends call the town and let them know what they think of Mr. Ruffino and ask him why he gets to break the rules but little kids dancing is such a threat?
Ronald Ruffino, Sr. For Supervisor Town of Lancaster DPWTown of Lancaster Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department


If you know anything about me, you’d know that I couldn’t care less of Ruffino had house parties with 50 or 500 people. I don’t believe in limiting gatherings, mask wearing, or any of this governmental tyranny being forced upon us... what I DO care about is the hypocrisy and the double standards and the way his employee acted like he was going to flip out on everyone, even to the point of making me think he was about to put his hands on me. ****

https://www.facebook.com/poonalice/p...23060914293926

Reference: https://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sh...Yet-quot/page4

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[mark blazejewski]

Hmmm...

"...we must adhere to the guidelines," Supervisor Ruffino, August, 2020

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[gorja]

Mark, your 2nd pic in post #108 was also evident in the February 2, planning board video

[mark blazejewski]

Mark, your 2nd pic in post #108 was also evident in the February 2, planning board video

Gorja, I understand that masks are a pain, but,

“Remember, we are all in this together,” ---Supervisor Ruffino

Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...tate-on-pause/

[gorja]

Gorja, I understand that masks are a pain, but,



Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...tate-on-pause/

I, only wear mine at work. Anywhere else, I don't. I will wear one when I have to go to the town hall if it is still in effect at that time.

[mark blazejewski]

I, only wear mine at work. Anywhere else, I don't. I will wear one when I have to go to the town hall if it is still in effect at that time.

Gorja, in your work, I should like to note that you were among the working heroes throughout this pandemic.

With that said, with all of the contradictory information out there, who truly knows what is effective and what is not effective?

Erring on the side of caution, I will wear it when entering, and while in, a public building, or in a business requiring masks, not primarily out of dutiful compliance, but simply out of consideration for others Gorja.

But that is just me.

[gorja]

Gorja, in your work, I should like to note that you were among the working heroes throughout this pandemic.

With that said, with all of the contradictory information out there, who truly knows what is effective and what is not effective?

Erring on the side of caution, I will wear it when entering, and while in, a public building, or in a business requiring masks, not primarily out of dutiful compliance, but simply out of consideration for others Gorja.

But that is just me.

Yes, it is maddening the reversals in what is or not safe. At a grocery store, I don't get into anyone's personal space. I always go to the self check out. I do carry a mask in my pocket in case I would be asked to put it on. For me, at this point and time, 10 hours a day is enough. I do put it under my chin to eat my lunch and I do eat my lunch in my office by myself.
Other than that, it's on the rest of the day whether I'm in a space alone or not. I did wear it at my dog's grooming place.

[mark blazejewski]

Hmmm...

Leaving LIDA: It’s good business to avoid politics
By Bee Group Newspapers

February 10, 2022

Ron Ruffino
TOWN OF LANCASTER SUPERVISOR

The purpose of the Lancaster Industrial Development Agency is to bring in or retain business that will benefit our community by paying tax dollars and creating jobs. I would view these businesses as partners in our community, as they invest in our community and schools but rarely use our services. On Jan. 1, 2020, I began my term as the Town of Lancaster’s supervisor. On Jan. 3, 2020, I was called into a conference room by a state auditor who informed me that the LIDA was being audited. The assumption was that as town supervisor, I would be assuming the role as LIDA’s chairman. As the audit process ran its course, it was discovered that there were multiple deficiencies in how previous administrations had handled operations of LIDA functions.

While appointing a new administration for the LIDA, we worked diligently with the auditor to clean up our process. I am happy to report that we were given a clean bill of health, which put our LIDA back in good standing with the state. In 2021, I chaired this organization of respected board members who brought a wealth of experience and diligence to the LIDA. The members were as follows:

Vice-Chair Steve Hoffman, a former police officer and former mayor of Depew, as well as a small business owner; Frank Fialkiewicz, a real estate mortgage loan officer; David Visone, a business owner of a construction company; Mark Jerge, co-owner of Russell’s Steaks, Chops and More; Paul Rudz, a Village of Lancaster Trustee as well as an executive at Cannon Design; and Dana Cipolla, a small business owner in the heart of the Village of Lancaster.

Some of the projects that we brought into Lancaster are Motivair Corporation (which took over the unused Buffalo Filter facility); Derrick Corporation’s 270,000-square-foot warehouse and light manufacturing building; Pavement Road Storage facilities, consisting of two pole barns containing 26,455 square feet of office and warehouse space; AC Power 14’s clean energy initiative on a closed landfill site that had no other use; Premier Dog Sports & Event Center’s 26,000-square-foot facility, a oneof a-kind facility in New York state that attracts patrons from all over the U.S. and Canada; and Brazen Brewery, a 6,000-square-foot brewery and taproom. Also brought to the table and in flight are Advanced Technologies, Glauber Equipment, Pallet Services, Bliss Hotel Project, Chakra/Print Solutions, Volta/Viridi Parente, KSL Biomedical/Diagnostics, Tide/Zoeller Tile Corporation, Innovative Solutions, NOCO, Kulback’s, Good Earth, DKM Sales and Excello.

The LIDA board was always non-political, composed of members without political interests. The town supervisor has always chaired this board for as long as I can remember. The new town board, which is responsible for appointing LIDA board members, dismissed all of the previous LIDA board members, aside from myself, and replaced them mainly with people with political interests. To name a few, the newly named chairman, Dino Fudoli, is the Republican Party treasurer; Dan Rinow is the father-in-law of the former Lancaster Republican Party chairman; and Kevin Leemaster is the husband of the Lancaster Conservative Party chair. The reason for my resignation is that the new LIDA board has political interest written all over it, and I refuse to be a part of any politically motivated group.

[shortstuff]

Hmmm...

That is an interesting letter posed by Ruffino. I can only surmise Ron's intent, for him to write that letter tells me that people are questioning his decision on resigning from the board. If you have to justify your actions, IMO shines a spotlight on his unusual decision. It is unprecedented to have the Supervisor resign from the LIDA Chair position. I've never heard of that before.

It is cowardly to blame the current board and to create a false narrative. Ruffino's letter actually shows how politically motivated his decision was.

[mark blazejewski]

That is an interesting letter posed by Ruffino. I can only surmise Ron's intent, for him to write that letter tells me that people are questioning his decision on resigning from the board. If you have to justify your actions, IMO shines a spotlight on his unusual decision. It is unprecedented to have the Supervisor resign from the LIDA Chair position. I've never heard of that before.

It is cowardly to blame the current board and to create a false narrative. Ruffino's letter actually shows how politically motivated his decision was.

Just Some Questions:

The Ruffino letter appears to have several flaws contained therein. In that connection, I ask the following:

(1) Is Dino Fudoli truly the Treasurer of the Republican Party?

(2) Why is it that the LIDA Board to which Ruffino referred, departed from tradition, and did not hold as members, the incumbent Mayors of the Villages of Lancaster and Depew?

(3) If the LIDA Board to which Ruffino significantly lacked political actors, I must ask, was not Trustee, not Mayor, but Trustee Rudz, an apparent Ruffino political ally in the 2021 Town Council campaign?

(4) Was the incumbent VOL Mayor perhaps denied a seat on the LIDA Board to which the Supervisor referred, because his wife was Mr. Ruffino's opponent in the 2019 Supervisor's race?

(5) In 2021, did not the Lancaster voters, in regards to the Town Council races, opt to change majority control, and pursue a directional change; a shift away from the longstanding over-development and focus on the growth of larger-scale business?

(6) In make-up of the LIDA Board to which the Supervisor referred, I see very little, if any, representation by the grassroots, concerned resident. Where are those people kindred to the current Kevin Lemaster and David Rinow?

The previous LIDA Board seemed kind of skewed in favor of big business owners, real estate people, and construction companies, eh?

Perhaps the Supervisor does not value the opinions of grassroots residents, and perhaps that is why he misspells one name, and makes reference to a "Dan" Rinow, and not the incumbent "David Rinow."

Or, perhaps the Supervisor is somehow attempting to link what he suggests is a politicized LIDA Board, to what I perceive to be the strictly non-political VOL judicial bench?

[mark blazejewski]

Posted Without Immediate Comment...

Renewed push to bring a Thruway exit to Lancaster

"I’m hoping that it does come to fruition, it would be a tremendous uplift for our community and other communities around us," said Town Supervisor Ron Ruffino Sr.



Author: Rob Hackford (WGRZ)
Published: 6:43 AM EDT April 12, 2022
Updated: 6:43 AM EDT April 12, 2022


LANCASTER, N.Y. — Lancaster Town Supervisor Ronald Ruffino Sr. and other elected officials are dusting off some old plans and once again pitching to get a new Thruway exit for Western New York's eastern suburbs. The proposed exit would be located at Gunnville Road.

"I’m hoping that it does come to fruition, it would be a tremendous uplift for our community and other communities around us," said Ruffino.

Ruffino pitched the idea years ago when talks began about moving the now non-existent Williamsville toll booths further east. He was a Town Council member then but as Lancaster supervisor still believes the project could work for his town and others.

"Being on the north end of Lancaster it would also help the people in Clarence, it’s easterly so it would also help the Town of Alden as well," Ruffino said.

The exit would split a 17 mile stretch from Pembroke to Depew that ends at Transit Road where Ruffino said a lot of truck traffic ends up congesting smaller state and county roads like Genesee and Main streets. The Town of Lancaster also recently completed a truck route that would work complementary to a potential exit.

"We have the Tops warehouses which are right there [at Gunnville Road], we also have Amazon on Walden, those trucks instead of traveling on our state roads throughout the Town will take the exit for a more direct route," Ruffino added.

New York's relatively new cashless tolling system could also make adding an exit easier because it would not require the construction of a toll plaza. Despite, that reduced need, the process to add an exit aka an interchange remains lengthy.

"It first starts with a study and we’re basically doing an analysis of it right now and we were given confirmation," said Ruffino.

Ruffino said the project is still too early on for conceptual drawings. Traffic and environmental studies would likely determine many of the design aspects and they have not been conducted yet.

Additional support could aid in developing the project further however. State Senators Tim Kennedy and Patrick Gallivan have already sent letters to the New York State Thruway Authority and the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council inquiring about the exit.

In a response letter to Senator Gallivan, Thruway Authority Executive Director Matthew Driscoll also explained the lengthy process and guidelines that local leaders would have to follow. Driscoll added that deciding where and when a new interchange is constructed doesn't fall solely on them but also on the NYSDOT and federal agencies like the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

With those immense tasks in mind 2 On Your Side's Rob Hackford asked Ruffino, "Do you think this project could actually become reality?"

Ruffino responded, "You always have to think there’s a strong chance otherwise I would not be standing here talking to you. I will do what i have to do to push for this and do what I have to do as we go down the road."

Reference: https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/lo...0-92ac641a519e

[Lee Chowaniec]

Ruffino pitched the idea years ago when talks began about moving the now non-existent Williamsville toll booths further east. He was a Town Council member then but as Lancaster supervisor still believes the project could work for his town and others.

Really? I don’t remember it quite that way.

"It first starts with a study and we’re basically doing an analysis of it right now and we were given confirmation," said Ruffino.

Who is doing an analysis? Costs?

Ruffino said the project is still too early on for conceptual drawings. Traffic and environmental studies would likely determine many of the design aspects and they have not been conducted yet.

Conceptual indeed. More like a wish list item. “Hey, doesn’t this sound great guys. Look at me!”

Additional support could aid in developing the project further however. State Senators Tim Kennedy and Patrick Gallivan have already sent letters to the New York State Thruway Authority and the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council inquiring about the exit.

Political BS posturing!

In a response letter to Senator Gallivan, Thruway Authority Executive Director Matthew Driscoll also explained the lengthy process and guidelines that local leaders would have to follow. Driscoll added that deciding where and when a new interchange is constructed doesn't fall solely on them but also on the NYSDOT and federal agencies like the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Code for ‘it ain’t going to happen’. As a similar plan failed 20 years ago.

With those immense tasks in mind 2 On Your Side's Rob Hackford asked Ruffino, "Do you think this project could actually become reality?"

Ruffino responded, "You always have to think there’s a strong chance otherwise I would not be standing here talking to you. I will do what i have to do to push for this and do what I have to do as we go down the road."

Good PR Supervisor Ruffino to dissemination information to the public in order to affect favorable public perception. Supervisor Ruffino's town development voting record as an 18-year councilmember is replete with rezones and rezones of rezones resulting in the overburdened town primary and secondary roads we are now experiencing.

[mark blazejewski]

From what I understand, there are many people who are firmly against such a project, because it may add to the traffic issues on Genesee.

With that said, can you amplify on this comment?

Really? I don’t remember it quite that way.

Also, please straighten me out Lee, because I am uncertain how can this happen...

"...we’re basically doing an analysis of it right now and we were given confirmation,"

...before these steps have been completed?

Ruffino said...Traffic and environmental studies would likely determine many of the design aspects and they have not been conducted yet.