The Kaisertown Coalition Community Meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM on 9/3/24 & John welcomed those in 30 people in attendance.

John Poniewierski, President, led the members with the pledge of allegiance and a short moment of silence.

John requested the Board members to do a short introduction of themselves.

Secretary, Cynthia Lawson, started and spoke about her affiliation with Kaisertown.

Vice-President, Kevin Mason, continued how he was chosen for the position.

President, John Poniewierski, was next and gave an update on his involvement and he also spoke for Dan Larussa, Treasurer, who was working and unable to make the meeting & Bobby Jo Meyer, Sgt at Arms, was introduced – who has held the position for a few years.

Community Police Officer Lindsay Zgoda introduced herself and stressed the importance of contacting 311 for making complaints and requesting non-emergency assistance.  

  • She gave her cell phone number for texting and said it is very helpful if you leave your name and best contact phone number so she can get back to you.
  • When making a complaint, they assess the quality of life that is being called on and respond accordingly.
  • She invited all to attend the Chief’s meeting, the 3rd Friday of the month @ 10 am – this month it is at the A-district.

Councilman Bryan Bollman was next on the agenda. 

  • He spoke on the Lovejoy/Kaisertown picnic at Fontana’s Grove on Thursday September 5 from 5-7.  Please call 716.851.5151 to RSVP – there is no cost for the event. 
  • Bryan announced the Clinton St library will not be closing on Saturdays due to the overwhelming response from the area with a petition and phone calls.
  •  He reminded us of the small business loan that is being offered for local business. All-Access Builders on the corner of S. Ogden and Clinton has been remodeling to open their business and granted up to $700,000 to do a building make-over. Other businesses in the area are also taking advantage of the funds to upgrade their older businesses.  
  • The floor mats for the Machnica Center gymnasium floor have been ordered and should arrive by the first of October. This will assist with the warming center and protect the gymnasium.  He thanked the Coalition for pushing this and making the contacts to have this completed.
  • Bryan updated us on Houghton Park and the changes being proposed.  The city is aware of the dumping issues and the parking lot is going to be restructured and landscaping added.  The city is aware of the vandalism, and he recommends that citizens call 911 if there are people in the park after dusk. There are additional cameras & lighting that should be installed by the end of the year to help avoid some of the issues, but definitely needs the community to assist.

 

Kevin Coyne & Tom Carter, Building Inspectors, Department of Permit & Inspection Services

  • Their primary responsibility is to speak to/write tickets to homeowners and landlords that have properties with peeling paint, high grass, vacant buildings, gutters that are falling off etc.  He recommends calling 311 to report any of these issues.  They primarily concentrate on absentee landlords that are not taking care of their property in Kaisertown. They try to work with the homeowners to advise them of grants/loans that are available in the area to assist with repairs that are necessary to bring up to code.
  • If no action is taken by the property owner, the mayor’s impact team will come in to board up windows & doors to secure the structure so no squatters can move in.
  • There will be a new judge (Judge Dabney) appointed in January when the current judge retires from the bench. Expects the new judge will be tougher on the notice of repairs required and issue higher fines.
  • There is a law in place that allows the fines to be placed on the property tax bills, however, it is not currently being enforced. This applies to non-owner-occupied homes.
  • Weiss St Bridge was brought up with the major dumping issues.  The mayor’s impact team is currently working on it. They suggested getting the plate # of the vehicle if a community member witnesses the dumping and a citation will be issued.  Call 311 with any information
  • A property located at xx Kelburn Pl has been identified as an issue and has been referred to housing court at this time.
  • A property located at xxx Spann St has been issued a stop work order due to not having the correct permits to be working.  If activity is identified, please call 311 to report
  • A property located at xx Gorski St. has been identified as someone that feeds the rats intentionally.  A letter recommending the behavior be stopped has been issued and is being monitored.  There is a code for rodent harboring that the homeowner can be cited and fined.

 

Quinn Wright, Worthington Business Complex

  • Quinn updated the members of the proposed roadway that is being considered; introducing a new way for the trucks to enter/exit the complex without bothering local residential areas
  • A petition was passed around to get the support of the local community
  • A sign-up sheet for those interested in getting the proposed layout requesting email addresses was also passed around.

John Poniewierski updated the group on the Veteran’s Day Event that the Kaisertown Coalition has planned for November 11 at Hero’s Grove at 11 am.

  • We will have a small ceremony – looking for input/ideas
  • 2 small buffalo’s have been purchased – 1 has been purchased as a courtesy from Bryan Bollman’s office and 1 from the funds of Kaisertown Coalition
  • Danny Derfert will be assisting with planning

Kevin Mason updated the group on the Christmas in Kaisertown Event that is planned for December 6 from 5-9 at the Machnica Center/ Autumnwood Center.

  • Currently about 65 vendors/food trucks have signed up
  • Looking for local businesses/individuals to sponsor some of the events to keep the cost of the event free
  • Looking for volunteers to assist both in the planning stages, the night of, and clean-up on Saturday December 7th

Questions & Answers from the speakers

  • Could you explain a little more about the details of Houghton Park make-over
    • 7 million dollars have been requested for the updates
    • Phase 1-2 is the landscaping & some infrastructure initiatives.  Parking lot will be moved by 2025
    • Phase 4 or 5 will be the shelter house/pool area. There is a lot of asbestos and mold in the shelter house. The ceilings are falling down, windows have been broken and it is in deplorable condition.
    • Rich Fontana brought up the 7 million dollars that have been approved for the park and reported by the Buffalo News, however, Bryan said that isn’t 100% just yet.
  • What about getting moveable camera’s – there is a lot of wrong way traffic on Spann St and other streets, People treat the stop sign as a yield sign, etc
    • Bryan has checked into the moveable signs – they are about $60k
    • Officer Zgoda mentioned getting the plate # and calling 311 with the approximate time of the issue and someone can look it up on the street cam and possibly issue a citation.

There are homeless that have settled into Houghton Park – they move picnic tables together and tarp them

Call 311 when you see it; or call 911 and report it if it is after dusk and they will be removed. There is a homelessness problem that is being identified in the area and the Mayor’s Impact Team is addressing the issue.

Cameras on Clinton St are being monitored in a camera room; however, they don’t catch everything. Officers that cannot be in the field for one reason or another keep a close eye on the cameras.  Call 311 if you see something. Note the time, date and any other information (if it is an individual – get their approximate height, weight, what they are wearing etc) and what they are doing wrong (breaking into cars, vandalism, harassing the community) and a police officer will be dispatched.  Please help keep the community safe – this can be done anonymously – but leave your name and telephone number so the officer can reach out to you with any questions – your contact information will be kept confidential.

Next meeting will be October 1 at 6 pm at the Machnica Center

Meeting adjourned at 7:04 PM

Respectfully submitted

Cynthia S Lawson

Secretary for Kaisertown Coalition