Common Council members have approved a $2.036 million bond resolution to finance the completion of a number of projects in 2017.
The money will be used both to continue ongoing city initiatives as well as to replace aging equipment and complete infrastructure improvements.
Council president and Third-Ward Alderman Eric Zadzilka said the city looked at the projects that made the most sense to bond for at this point.
Some big-ticket items on the bond resolution budget include a total of $300,000 for use in the repairing of roads, sidewalks, curbs and drainage, the same amount the city spent on such repairs in its 2016 bond resolution. Deteriorating roads have been a consistent concern with residents of North Tonawanda over the years and Mayor Arthur Pappas has said that it will continue to be a concern for the city.
Other expenses include $235,000 for a new sanitation truck for the department of public works to replace an aging vehicle. Another $100,000 will be bonded to match a state grant to purchase a rescue vehicle for the fire department. The bond will also include $400,000 to install a fiber optic telecommunications system and to cover upgrades to the city's internet protocol and the purchase of security cameras for North Tonawanda's downtown district.
Additionally, $365,000 will be spent to make improvements to the city hall entryway, staircase, roof and electrical system. Another $350,000 will be spent to purchase self-contained breathing apparatuses for the fire department. Zadzilka said the city has applied for grant money to finance that purchase and has been turned down twice. When it comes to safety gear, he said it's simply not safe to work with devices that have outlived their usefulness.
"I think this is quite large in the fact that there's a great deal of equipment that's expiring," Zadzilka said. "In order to keep those guys safe when they go into a building, or into a fire, these things can't be expired, you have to have fresh apparatuses."
Other items on the budget include: $34,000 for a new pick-up truck with plow; $63,000 for a utility truck for the DPW; a total of $88,014 for two lawnmowers to be used at Deerwood Golf Course and $35,000 for "certain embellishments" to local recreational areas, including swing set replacements at Payne and Pine Woods parks and the replacement of a shingle roof on a pavilion at Veterans Park.
The city will also spend $75,000 to meet demand from residents for additional recycling totes. Zadzilka said that many families have found that they're recycling more than a single tote can hold. Last year, the city bonded $50,000 on recycling totes.
The bond resolution was written by the city's bond council, Harris Beach LLP.
Moving forward, Zadzilka said he hopes to encourage department heads to develop an advance plan to spread the more costly projects out instead of having to deal with several of them at the same time.
"When it comes to budgets and things of this nature, I would like to see, going forward, the city departments give us a five-year plan so we can stay ahead of those big-ticket items like the self-contained breathing apparatuses," he said. "I'd rather have them before they become expired, maybe we can stagger that over a period of years so that we don't hit $350,000 all at once."
