I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Independence Day. I enjoyed the festivities at Clarence Town Park, as well as the annual parade in Akron. It’s great to see the many speakers up along Main Street in Akron’s business district, which will help with community events and attracting more Hallmark movie shoots to the community. I was happy to work with many stakeholders in getting this project completed.
This week we kicked off Old Home Days in Williamsville, with Tuesday’s parade along Main Street. Midway rides, the beer tent, live music, food and more will continue through Friday. I hope to see you there.
I enjoyed being a part of the 2025 International Park Golf Tournament held in Akron this past weekend. The IPGAA sanctioned event, on Sand Hill Road, was the first of its kind in the United States in more than 40 years. This landmark competition celebrates the global rise of a unique and fast-growing sport and welcomed competitors from as far away as Japan.
Just a reminder that summer is road construction season, so expect lane restrictions where work is being done. This includes North French Road over Gott Creek from Dodge Road to Transit Road for bridge replacement. That work is expected to be completed in late November. Greiner Road from Transit Road to Anfield Road in Clarence will have alternating single road restrictions through October 31 for a mill and overlay project. I do rely on you to keep me apprised of county roads in need of work. Please contact my office should you come across issues with a county road that needs to be addressed.
We honored 17-year-old Brody Kaufman as Erie County’s Citizen of the Month for June. Brody was vacationing in Florida with family this past April when he helped to rescue an overturned kayaker. Using his junior firefighter training, he secured some rope from a nearby boat, then pulled the kayaker over 50 feet from the top of a bridge. He showed great humility in accepting the honor, encouraging people to become volunteers as a way to give back to their communities.
With summer now in full gear I want to remind people with pools to make sure gates are locked. For those with pets, please be sure they have plenty of water on these hot summer days.
We held mid-year budget hearings this week. Unfortunately, Mark Poloncarz has grown the budget significantly since taking office and has added hundreds of jobs. We are not a community growing in population, and the County Executive cannot continue growing the size and cost of government and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
Thank you for the privilege of serving you. If you have a county related question or concern, contact my office at (716) 858-8676 or by email at Christopher.Greene@erie.gov
