McAvoy ‘offended’ by critics of projects
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ARKWRIGHT -- Arkwright Town Supervisor Brian McAvoy did not hold back at a recent meeting when addressing criticism through back channels in the community regarding the construction of new Town buildings.
"I came in here and I started picking lanes; I started scoping things; I started saying how things are going to be done. If somebody wants to naysay about that, please come and say it to my face," McAvoy said.
McAvoy's comments came after more discussion regarding the Town's new Highway Department building and additions to the Town Hall. Multiple payments have been made to CPL: Architecture-Engineering-Planning, the Town's contracted engineers formerly referred to as Clark-Patterson-Lee, and a payment to one of the contractors was approved by the Board, as well. In all, the Highway Department addition amounts to just over $850,000, with additional costs to come as the Town refurbishes the current Town Hall.
The project has been tossed around for many years, even predating McAvoy's time as Town Supervisor. At the recent meeting, Town Board member Larry Ball presented plans that were accepted by the Town Board back in November of 2012 for a new Town Hall building, but those plans were put on hold, Ball says, because of the uncertainty of the Town's wind turbine revenue source.
Now more than a decade later, the process is moving forward again, with a new Highway Department building approved and additions to the current Town Hall planned in the coming months. Still, some residents have made it known to Ball that they are not pleased with the plans. Ball said he has heard town residents refer to the new Town Hall as "Shanty Town" or "Hooterville", which sparked McAvoy's strong response.
"I'm sure they are the same people saying you can't spend that money on a Town Hall," McAvoy said. "... You've got to pick a lane here. I'm, frankly, offended. Whoever is calling us Shanty Town, come to this meeting and tell us why you think it's Shanty Town. If you don't think we can do it, and do it nicely, come here and have enough backbone to tell us to our face."
McAvoy said three residents are likely the ones spreading the criticism throughout the Town, but he declined to name the residents he blames for the comments. Ball also did not name the residents he has heard criticism from.
"They don't want things to go right; they want to complain because things go wrong. Enough is enough," McAvoy said. "... I would much rather somebody come to a meeting and tell us what you think."
The Town Board's newest member, Polly Gambino, responded to McAvoy's comments. "I think we're getting naysayers just because it's been such a long process and what we've got looks so bad," she said. "If we made some progress since 2012, there would be a lot more optimism."
Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron responded, "Everybody has had their chance to come and do it. We did it."
McAvoy reaffirmed his stance on investing in infrastructure, noting that while he would rather invest even more in a new Town Hall, the updated plans are done with a practical approach in mind considering the rising costs after the pandemic and with the increased competition with the new Buffalo Bills stadium nearby.
"The one criticism I don't want to have is we didn't get anything done," McAvoy said. He then put the blame on past leadership for the project not being done sooner.
"I'm getting more done than they did. They had a decade to do something and they didn't do anything except fight and look after their own self interests," McAvoy said. "We come in and we're getting something done. If they don't like it, too bad."