Every decade, Erie County assembles a Charter Revision Commission to collect and vet recommendations to alter or modernize the Erie County Charter, our guiding local document comparable to the US Constitution. These recommendations are received from appointed representatives made by elected officials, as well as through open public hearings. Shockingly, the County Executive pushed for this body to approve the ballot measure that overwhelmingly failed last November which would have stripped public voter oversight for the extension of “temporary” sales tax. Thankfully, the Commission voted to not recommend this measure to the legislature. The voters have clearly spoken regarding this measure and hopefully, there will be no further attempts to circumvent the will of the voters and sneak this initiative through in some other manner.
The Administration also called a news conference recently to announce a partnership between Erie County and the Town of Amherst to transform the former Westwood Golf Course into a 9-hole course, along with public greenspace. The opportunity to take over greenspace is an extremely rare opportunity and I fully support ensuring this land remains undeveloped public space. However, the conversion of the front nine holes into a passive park will require considerable environmental remediation. The Legislature needs to do our due diligence to understand the total long-term costs associated with this project.
The County Executive has a habit of announcing plans and making promises with Erie County taxpayer dollars without first addressing his plans with the Erie County Legislature, a co-equal branch of government that is ultimately the body required to fund such undertakings. At this point, the Legislature has not been provided with any substantive details regarding the current plans for Willowdale Park (Westwood County Club), how extensive the remediation will be, and if any significant future investment will be needed. Additionally, Erie County has not conducted any study as to how the public would prefer the park to be designed. Should there be a 9-hole course or should we preserve the existing 18-hole course? Additionally, will the Town of Amherst maintain the development rights to ensure that this remains greenspace in perpetuity, or will a future administration have the ability to sell the park for development? In other words, without being a part of these discussions and asking these questions, legislators can’t know what project we are being asked to fund and if we are properly protecting the greenspace and the taxpayers.
Lastly, the Legislative Democrats’ promise to treat all Erie County taxpayers equally lasted for a total of four months under Chairman Tim Meyers. After receiving notice that our budget surplus was $26 million for 2024, a package was presented and passed along party lines to squander the money on pet projects for reelection campaigns, rather than on much needed infrastructure. This money could have been used to repave Greiner Road, rather than just the section from Transit Road to Eastern Hills Church, as is budgeted right now.
I hope you can get out and enjoy the warmer weather. A reminder that you can make shelter reservations at any of the county parks by going to our website at www.erie.gov. The Spring Reservoir Exploration program at Akron Falls Park is scheduled to take place this Sunday, May 18 from 10a to noon.
If you have any county issues, contact my office at 716-858-8676 or by email, Christopher.Greene@erie.gov
