$173,000
MEMORIAL PARK PROJECT FINANCES REVEALEDBy GIB SNYDER
Editor's note: This is the first of two parts on the Memorial Park project. Sunday's edition will cover Mayor Richard Frey's appreciation of veterans and their sacrifices.
It didn't break the city budget. That was apparent as Dunkirk Mayor Richard Frey provided some long-awaited information about the costs associated with the Memorial Park renovation project.
It took a while for the mayor to get to the actual figures Friday at a press briefing in City Hall as he had some observations about the whole process and an editorial that ran in the OBSERVER Sunday, questioning the delay in releasing the figures.
According to Frey, the total cost of the project that took two seasons to complete was $173,000. Of that $173,000 total cost, Frey said $120,300 went to wages and overtime with $52,700 for materials.
In 2007 that broke down to some $54,000 in wages and $30,000 in overtime for the three city union workers involved with the project. In 2008 there was one worker on the project and he was paid $22,300 in regular wages and $13,500 in overtime. The mayor said the overtime on the project amounted to 4 percent of the city's total overtime in 2007 and 1.8 percent of the total overtime in 2008.
Frey said city taxpayers have been left to pay $23,000, with $25,000 coming from Community Development Block Grant funds and the rest - $125,000 - coming from a recent economic and tourism grant through Chautauqua County.
"Just this week and last week, I finalized the final bricks that I need to put this project together working through (county executive) Greg Edwards' office and (IDA Director)Bill Daly through the IDA, secured $125,000 grant for economic development for tourism which was went toward this project," Frey said when talking about the county's help.
The mayor began his remarks by thanking those in attendance and then addressed the June 21 OBSERVER editorial.
"If you recall last Sunday the newspaper ran an (editorial), 'Time to reveal costs of park,'" Frey said before reading from the editorial that it's been more than 15 months since the question was asked about the cost of the renovation.
"Well, it's about 15 months ago it was March of 2008," Frey said. "Well, the park wasn't even finished until last summer, so."
Frey also had an issue with the timing of the editorial, saying the writer knew his press conference was coming. He also defended the Common Council.
"This project, which never received formal council approval, well let me just reiterate, I didn't go the council when I raised the money to take care of Kosciuszko Ball Park up there, raise that money or the money I went out and raised," the mayor said. "I didn't have the council approval to go out and do Kosciuszko Square or the club that donated the money or down to the Falcon Club's donated the money for the Wright Park signage that you know all the work we did there. Or to the Monnies Club did anyone go with me when I asked for the money to do the pier decorations and the signage and everything down there. No, the common council was not part of it and they're not, not at any time, been part of this project whatsoever. I take total, full responsibility. Nobody else.
"So therefore, no the council did not, nor did they go up to Niagara Mohawk or NRG with me and raise $25,000 to make a deal as far as the parking goes so that we can go ahead and raise some money for one of our playgrounds."
Frey did state the editorial said the project was one that city officials could boast of.
"I hope so! It honors those who fought and lost their lives to this country and for this country," Frey said. "These same veterans and fallen heroes also make it possible for all of us to speak our opinions, opinions such as the one running Iran would rather suppress. Well, that's not in Dunkirk, New York. Believe me."
He also addressed a letter from Councilmen A.J. Dolce and Robert George that questioned the city's compliance with the Freedom of Information Law.
"Could you please confirm that the city response to the OBSERVER's inquiries have not been without the spirit and letter of the Freedom of Information Act and provide all interested parties with the requested information," the councilmen wrote.
"This is a little late but I can understand where they're coming from," Frey said. "You know the gentleman from their party years ago made the greatest quote of all; 'if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out'."
The mayor took time to defend the process he used.
"Could I have done it deeper, cheaper, different? No, I would never had the results that I have today," he said. "I have the most professional job done that could possibly been done. This is like hiring a fireman out, or hiring a police department out, or doing something like that. You go to a professional. I had a professional landscaper with the employee of the city of Dunkirk and he did an outstanding job and so did his two assistants, each and every one of them.
"And no, I make no apologies for using good, talented union help in the city of Dunkirk."
Frey did address what he thought any dispute was about.
"I think the issues here is the overtime wages and Freedom of Information, that's the newspaper's issue and the other I think is, I know and I can think I'm sure there's others out there that I don't know about, but I know of five concerned individuals in the city of Dunkirk that have expressed their opinion on this project," he said. "I, no one else, is totally responsible for this project. I am the one that authorized it. I am the one that worked on it."
The mayor also put a different cost figure forward.
"What I want to tell you when we're all done is we spent $23,000 of taxpayer's money. You know what that is? Three dollars and sixty-six cents per veteran that we honor at that park," he said. "Am I ashamed of it? Not a bit. Am I proud of it? You bet I am.
"The editorial in the paper said last Sunday, 'there's a lot to be proud of.' And I was proud of it all along but I couldn't give out a lot of things until I had it all put together. I apologize for that."
The mayor did not take any questions but Councilman-at-Large James Muscato was present and said his figures were close to the mayor's.
"Some of the research I did, those figures are pretty close. Not necessarily the same figures he had, I did mine on my own using the information that I had, but I guess when you come down to the bottom line, you know, how do you look at it," Muscato said. "Do you look at it as a tribute to what the park is there for? You heard the mayor mention where the funds came from and we're talking a small, bottom line, a small amount of money so we've been criticized for not pushing to get the results earlier. There was a lot of things involved and again I'm not in a position to demand, demand, demand. The mayor has a job to do, we have a job to do."
Muscato said it was questionable whether the project should have gone to bid.
"I guess it's questionable whether it was necessary because you are allowed to spend a certain amount of dollars without council approval. It's a project that was done and it's done," he said. "I've encouraged the mayor for several months, several months, get the figures out that certain people have been asking for. Let them have their say, let them have their feelings about it and let's go on.
"We have a lot of important things to do in this city other than to keep this as a main issue. Right or wrong it's done."
Send comments to gsnyder@observertoday.com
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hadenough
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06-27-09 1:07 PM
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cspaw are you on the mayors payroll? Bet you are. But you got a position for the next two years,so save your money.
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hadenough
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06-27-09 1:04 PM
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Phil. As you know the Mayor will do anything and everything to keep the unions happy. That includes doing work that could be contracted out for a cheaper price. And who was the employee that got paid the $13,000 in overtime? I will just bet it wasn't a laborer, more than likely the second in command at the roads dept. Now I ask you was the work he performed in the employees job description? Of course not but no grievance was filed because of the money being made. Ask a cop to remove a dead animal from the street and they will quickly tell you that it does not fall into their job description. Yes, the mayor is selling out the city but no one seems to mind as long as the flowers bloom and the trees grow. We need to wake up the council to challange these abdurd decisions and get back on the right track. Rose you got my vote in November.
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PhilJulian
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06-27-09 9:36 AM
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One final note. Credit The Observer and WDOE Radio for keeping this issue up-front. If it were not for the local media taxpayer abuse would always be shoved under the rug and no one would know the difference. Apparently we can't depend on other elected or approinted officials to prevent charter abuse from taking place.
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PhilJulian
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06-27-09 9:27 AM
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I have to ask, when was the mayor given a blank check to do as he pleases? How can the Mayor spend $173,000 of tax dollars without getting council approval? The city charter has a procurement policy calling for competitive bidding on purchase contracts over $10,000 and Ppblic works projects over $20,000. Why was this project not put out for bid to insure the best value for the taxpayers? We know the Public Works Department claims to be short on help. Why did the administration approve a two year project that tied up Public Works employees for that period when they are short of help? $125,000 came from the county as a grant for economics and tourism. Where do you think the county gets their money and how many tourists do you think are going to come to Dunkirk to see our re-arranged tombstones? The issue here is not honor for our veterans, that's a smokescreen to influence public opinion. The issue is respect for taxpayers and adherence to local policy,laws and common sense
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SJMinTX
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06-27-09 8:17 AM
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There would be no issue here at all if the city leaders had simply followed the law and responded to the FOIL request from the OBSERVER 15 months ago. I don't think that it's an issue of cost they were questioning - but a matter of principle and law. Also, I firmly believe that no one should or would frown on doing something to honor the men and women who have paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy living in freedom. We owe our military veterans (and their families), a deep debt of gratitude for their sacrifices.
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cspaw1
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06-27-09 12:38 AM
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In the end it's about what the park means to us and to the veteran's who've given their lives in defense of this country. I believe that the money was well spent and if the mayor can raise money to off set the cost of projects like improving or revitalizing city parks, then it's well worth the effort. The article title is misleading as it's only shown as a number meant to grab readers attention. Had it included or stated the bottom line cost of the project to tax payers at or around $23,000 then it wouldn't make for a good lead story. Shame on the observer for putting so little value on our veterans who are honored in Memorial park in their previous opinion editorial and this article's miss us of article title.
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