Deidre Williams
The Buffalo News, N.Y.
(TNS)

Jan. 4—A Buffalo Common Council member wants the Council to reject future American Rescue Plan spending unless the city amends the plan to buy more equipment and vehicles that first responders can use during snow emergencies like the Christmas week blizzard.

South District Council Member Christopher P. Scanlon recently filed several resolutions he said are aimed at making sure front-line workers are properly equipped.

“The goal behind all of the resolutions working in unison is to ensure that public works, police and fire have the necessary equipment to respond when called upon,” Scanlon said. “The men and women of these departments do fantastic work, but they have to have the tools necessary.”

Among his resolutions: Use American Rescue Plan funds to purchase additional equipment for the fire, police and public works departments.

Buffalo received about $331 million in the federal stimulus money, with millions of dollars earmarked to expand job readiness programs, forgive overdue water and sewer bills, launch a public health initiative and provide affordable housing among other initiatives.

Meanwhile the public works, fire and police departments “have been regularly underfunded,” Scanlon said.

His resolution calls for buying sidewalk snow removal equipment, fire trucks, SUVs with four-wheel drive for Buffalo police as well as snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and “other necessary equipment to right-size the departments.”

The city’s Finance Department should amend the plan and file purchase orders for the equipment no later than Feb. 2, he said.

If not, he wants the Common Council to reject any further spending of American Rescue Plan funds.

“The American Rescue Plan funds we have on hand,” Scanlon said. “The capital budget and operating budget only come up at certain times of the year. So we have this money at our disposal right now, and unless it’s flagged for some reason that we can’t spend it, I think we need to utilize some of it to right-size these departments with the necessary equipment.”

Niagara Council Member David Rivera said he agrees with the idea under the right circumstances.

“If there’s a need and it’s not covered under our capital budget or citywide budget … I would agree that we have to do it,” Rivera said.

The problem, however, may not be with equipment, he said.

“We had so much equipment because we had the National Guard. We had the county. We had the city,” Rivera said. “I’m just trying to figure this out. We had more equipment than before, so is it a question of equipment?”

Rivera wants an evaluation of the total operation “to make sure that we’re utilizing everything we have and that there’s coordination.”

Two out of the past three snowstorms in Buffalo were severe enough to qualify for federal disaster declarations, Scanlon said.

Scanlon said the Department of Public Works’ snow removal plan should include how to handle larger snowfalls and blizzards.

The current snow removal plan addresses snowfalls of 6 to 10 inches. The plan needs to be amended to include snowfalls of 11 to 36 inches and blizzards, he said.

He wants an updated plan to be filed by Jan. 24.

Scanlon wants to redirect $500,000 from the South District-specific capital improvements to be used to purchase two snowplows. But first, the corporation counsel should offer an opinion on the Council’s authority to amend the capital budget after it was adopted last month, he said.

The city has a

Nearly one year after being sworn in, Petersburg Fire Chief Tina Watkins is no longer in charge, WRIC.com reported Monday. A city spokesperson confirmed the change of leadership in an email to 8News.

Watkins made history last January as the first woman and woman of color to lead the city’s Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, the report said.

It’s unclear if she was forced out or if she resigned on her own; however, the move comes after months of complaints from within her department about staffing shortages and equipment issues, according to the report.

The Johnson Road Fire Station has closed more than once since September due to staffing shortages, the report said. The Petersburg Professional Fire Fighters Association (PPFFA) sounded the alarm about the closure on its social media pages with a picture of the firehouse with the bold word “CLOSED.” 

Today, the fire engine based at the Johnson Road station is shut down and replaced with a one-person ambulance. #StaffingMatters pic.twitter.com/vKryKzscOm

— Petersburg Professional Fire Fighters – IAFF 2773 (@PetersburgL2773) December 3, 2022

In addition to staffing, there has also been growing concern about equipment issues, the report said. In June, 8News reported that the department was operating with a limited number of fire engines, with at least one of the vehicles in its fleet still out of service.

The PPFFA posted on Instagram that the “firefighting apparatus remains broken down or partially functional.”

Petersburg has named Chris McGann as interim chief, according to the report.

The Sanibel and Fire Rescue District’s commission approved the purchase of a new replacement vehicle for towing its fire boat at a recent meeting, captivasanibel.com reported.

On December 14, a fire official explained that the district’s insurance provider has deemed the 2009 Ford F-550 — the support vehicle that it uses to tow its marine asset — a total loss as a result of Hurricane Ian and will reimburse the district $35,000 for the vehicle, the report said. He added that the district is also planning to sell the current fire chief vehicle, which is a 2017 Chevy Tahoe and is valued at $25,000.

Hurricane Ian slammed the state in September 2022.

Using the funds received for both vehicles, the district would like to purchase a new Ford F-250 for towing the boat, the report said. The estimated cost for the four-wheel-drive truck is $50,231.

The commissioners voted unanimously 3-0 to proceed with the purchase of the vehicle, according to the report.

Also at the meeting, the commission learned that a former fire chief’s staff vehicle was also deemed a total loss due to the storm and will be replaced with a 2023 Chevy Tahoe, the report said.

The commission was updated on rebuilding Station 172 on Sanibel-Captiva Road.

A Lee County Property Appraiser has estimated the fire station is worth $574,000 and the district’s insurance provider has estimated it will cost $471,000 to rebuild the station to its pre-hurricane form, which places the district well above FEMA’s 50% rule, the report said.

A fire station that opened at 1401 Selma Road in Springfield (OH) in 1959 closed this week as the Springfield Fire Division looks ahead to its four new fire locations, SpringfieldNewsSun.com reported.

The Selma Road station, known as Fire Station No. 3, was decommissioned in a ceremony Tuesday, the day after it officially shut down, the report said. The Selma Road location replaced another firehouse built in 1878.

The station, which typically housed three firefighters, was not large enough to hold modern fire engines and other large equipment, the report said. Only one engine remaining in the fire division’s fleet can fit into the station: a model from 1994, according to a Springfield fire official.

Fire services for buildings once served by the Selma Road station will now be served by crews from Springfield fire stations 1, 6 and 8, the report said.

Springfield city officials announced in November plans for four new fire stations to roll out in the coming years, with ground already being broken for the Station No. 2 project on South Limestone Street.