City/County Parks Agreement Leads to Progress

May 21, 2009

Erie County Executive Chris Collins, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, County Parks Commissioner Jim Hornung, and Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak met at Shoshone Park in Buffalo to highlight the progress Parks employees are making in getting City parks ready for the summer season.

As in many City parks, the grass in Shoshone Park is now manicured, and the baseball diamonds are ready to use. Employees are repairing slides and swings, and stepping up trash collection. County parks workers are moving as quickly as they can to get to every City park, but are asking residents to be patient, as it will take time to cover 186 park parcels. They’re working closely with the City on any recreational building issues and graffiti removal. The City of Buffalo is paying Erie County approximately $3.5 million to operate and maintain the City parks through the end of the year.

County Executive Chris Collins said, “Thanks to the extended City/County parks agreement Mayor Brown and I reached last month, the City parks will be in much better shape this summer. As part of that agreement, we’ve already hired most of the seasonal workers we need to keep these parks in the best condition possible. It’s a win for City residents and County taxpayers, because the County is being fully compensated for our costs to maintain the City parks.”

“County Executive Collins and I are committed to making the entire City park system strong and ensuring that our residents and visitors enjoy all that they have to offer,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “The consent agreement we announced in April extended the existing City/County parks agreement to the end of this year and it instituted immediate improvements to our city parks, including a new grass cutting cycle every 12 days as opposed to every 20 days under the existing agreement.”

Erie County Parks Commissioner Jim Hornung said, “City residents will notice our County parks employees will be working 7 days a week to keep these parks looking their best. With the added workers paid for through this agreement, we’ll be cutting the grass more frequently, and keeping the parks in much better shape.”

The County hired 144 seasonal staffers to work in the City Parks. City pools and splash pads will be opening on July 1st.

The Buffalo Common Council is voting on the extended parks agreement today.