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Dunkirk: Fix-ups aren’t development

Development in Dunkirk should mean something new, an establishment that brings optimism for the future for the city.

Realistically, over the last four years, that has not happened. Sure, the Coburn Block that houses Chautauqua County Rural Ministry is getting a facelift. Wright Park is scheduled to see some improvements. The new seawall looks great on Lake Front Boulevard.

But all these examples are not development. They are, in fact, maintenance issues.

Other than the construction workers and companies handling these projects, there is no private-sector, permanent jobs attached to any of this window dressing. It is just busy work.

And busy work is what keeps most government entities from getting to what needs to be the real goal for our communities: growing our region through partnerships and more efficiency.

Dunkirk has a development department. But those projects that are regularly touted are not development, they are standard city housekeeping issues.

Let’s be honest. The development department has had four years to prove it belongs – and it was coming in when momentum was evident after the previous administration.

If development is not the current priority, stakeholders need to be aware.

Development in this city has become a misnomer. Maintenance is what is happening. In the big picture, that’s small beans.

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