Common Council - Regular Meeting

Hearing of the Dunkirk Common Council for Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026.

The time is 5.30 PM. This public hearing has been duly noticed for the following matter. Clerk, please read the public hearing notice.

Notice for a public hearing held by the Common Council on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026 at 5.30 p.m. in the Dunkirk City Court for intro to local law number 4-2026, a local law providing for the discontinuance and abandonment of a portion of Main Street northerly from the northwesterly corner of lands of 820 Main Street to the southerly line of Marsden Street.

Thank you. This public hearing relates to, again, local law number four of 2026. And I'd like to remind everyone that comments during this hearing should pertain specifically to this local law and its contents. If you have questions or concerns about other matters pertaining to city government, please reserve those for the privilege of the floor portion of tonight's common council meeting. So with that, if you wish to speak, please approach the podium, state your name and address for the record, and keep your remarks concise and relevant to the subject at hand. We'll now open the floor for public comment. Okay, seeing no public comment at this time, I will now close the public hearing on local law number four of 2026. Clerk Dobek, please record that the public hearing has been completed. I'll now adjourn the hearing and we'll move forward with tonight's common council meeting. Okay, I now call the regular meeting to order on the second day of June 2026 at 5.32 p.m. Clerk, please conduct the roll call.

Council member LaStoria. Aye.

Here.

Here. I'm sorry. Councilmember Terrain.

Here.

Councilmember Fredrickson.

Here.

Councilmember Civiletto. Here. Councilmember Atlarge-Weiser.

Here. Thank you, clerk. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

OK, thank you again for joining us tonight. Before we proceed with the business of tonight's meeting, I'd like to take a moment of silence for the recent passing of Gene Dill, a former City Hall and City Court employee of more than 35 years. So let's please observe a brief moment of silence. Thank you. Next, we have the certification of prior meetings.

This is to certify that an official copy of the minutes of the Common Council meeting of Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 was presented to the mayor on Friday, May 29th, 2026. Pursuant to section 3.03 of the Dunkirk City Charter, all items presented to the mayor are now in full force and effect. In witness whereof, I have here to set my hand and seal of the City of Dunkirk, New York, the second day of June, 2026.

Okay, is there a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and approve them as presented? Moved by Councilmember Terrain, seconded by Councilmember Fredrickson. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Laskowiak. Aye. Councilmember Terrain. Aye. Councilmember Fredrickson. Aye. Councilmember Civiletto. Aye. Councilmember at large, Weiser.

Aye. The minutes are approved as presented. We now move to privilege of the floor.

The privilege of the floor shall be extended to any person appearing for themselves, in which case each individual appearing shall be limited to three minutes, and to any person representing any group who shall be limited to a maximum time of five minutes. The privilege of the floor is reserved for members of the public to speak on any subject pertinent to the affairs of city government. The city clerk shall have the duty of maintaining such time limits. The chair may determine in their discretion whether individuals are speaking for themselves or representing groups. The chair shall maintain good order and may require any speaker to cease speaking if remarks are made in bad taste or slanderous or not germane. The time limit specified shall be adhered to except that the chair may allow any person speaking to complete a statement or a thought started before such time expires. A longer time may be allowed by the chair with the approval of the majority of the council.

OK. Privilege of the floor is now open. If there are any members of the public who wish to speak, please step forward, state your name and address, and address the council.

Good evening. County Legislator Bob Bankowski representing the residents of the City of Dunkirk. I'm here to speak this evening on pre-filed resolution number 46, resolution of the Common Council of the City of Dunkirk appointing the City Comptroller Tracy Smith-Dangler to a six-year term. lot of scuttlebutt going on and was brought to my attention. Some several cares and concerns regarding this and I don't think anyone that I've spoken with doubts that we should move forward with this. Everyone has agreed that it's the right thing to do and that we should hire this comptroller person. But a lot of concerns were out there that why have not we advertised for hiring of this person? Nothing was listed in the paper, nothing on the city's webpage as far as hiring someone. There was nothing listed in the job description of minimum qualifications as far as what's required of this person, what they're supposed to do, what what the salary range is listed, what we're going to pay, a minimum, maximum, depending on their job experience, their education, so on and so forth. I guess looking for some answers to take back to constituents why we haven't done any of this stuff. It seems like You know, we agreed that we're going to do these things, and we're just rushing ahead, and we waited. Now it's been going on six months. I think we could wait another couple more weeks that we do this transparently and do it correctly and hire the right person. I don't even know who this... Tracy Smith-Dengler person is. Maybe she is the right person for the job. Maybe not, but who knows who else is out there that may be even more qualified that could do a better job or not. There's nothing listed in there what the salary is going to be for this person other than it says it's in the budget. I, where in the budget can, Ellen, do you know anything salary range wise where this is going, what this?

I think that's something that a personnel director should be answering.

Or the mayor. She's not coming to any more council meetings anymore.

In general.

I can't answer that. Okay. So I guess probably the best case scenario is that we should probably look at tabling this resolution to get some more answers before we go ahead and hire somebody for six years that maybe this person may not be the right person. Maybe we should go about it and be transparent. come up with a job description, list it in the paper, on our webpage, and take some applications, interview, you know, maybe get a, you know, being a legislator, when we've hired an airport director, a DPF director, you know, we've had, I've sat on these committees where we've had three, four people that were sat on these committees and interviewed three or four people and picked one or two and then moved them up to interview with the county executive. Maybe that's something that we should, an avenue that we should do, advertise, get applications in, vet them, and then get a committee together and then hire that right person other than just, I don't know where, how we determine that Tracy Smith-Dengler is that person and we want to hire her for six years. It's just mind-boggling that within two weeks, this is the right person for the job. And again, I don't know this person, and maybe she's more than qualified, but it seems like we should be doing better than what we're doing right now. Thank you. Thank you, Legislator Bittenkowski.

My name is Melissa Zastrow, and I'm a resident of Dunkirk. First, I'd like to thank the council for providing a non-threatening environment in which our residents can freely express their concerns. The passage of the resolution banning the service of legal papers during public council meetings is greatly appreciated. Second, I read with concern of the recent NRG transfer of ownership of the Dunkirk Power Plant to Genova. Genova's website posts a perspective of, quote, unlocking value of former energy sites, specifically mentioning former coal plants. Genova states, quote, the new class of buyers entering the market for former energy sites is different from the developers of a decade ago. The new entrant is the hyperscale data center developer. He has a data center for the future we envision for Dunkirk. While I realize no plans have been announced for the repurposing of the Dunkirk plant, I encourage the council to right now be proactive. Research how a potential data center would impact our community and survey your constituents to learn of their feelings and concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Sastro. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak this evening?

Going once.

I had one other thing. I'm just speaking for myself. Bob Bankowski, 407 Lakeshore Drive East. The other topic was last week there was a couple gentlemen that came to speak regarding the amphitheater in Memorial Park. Myself, I'm a veteran, served in the Army for 20 years, and my wife and I, we attend the music on Thursday almost every week. And I find it not offensive for the proposed amphitheater in Memorial Park. The proposed site, which is at the far eastern side, would not infringe upon the monuments. Several years back, when we had the water plant, had its reconstruction, I don't know if people can remember or not, but the water tower at that time was on top of the plant. Right, Randy? When we did the reconstruction, now the water tower sits in Memorial Park and it's fenced in. And now there's also a gravel parking lot in the park for the people at the yacht club to park in. Before there used to be just a little access road there for the yacht club people and the sheriff's department to just drive to drop off supplies and stuff to get to the yacht club or for the sheriff's department to drop off stuff and then you would have to exit and they would park on Lakeshore Drive. So now, you know, hence years later we have a water tower and a parking lot on the west end. It hasn't bothered anybody and now we've got a proposed amphitheater which would be very nice at the east end and definitely not encroaching on the monuments. I mean this is not Sacred ground, there's no one buried there. We have other events there throughout the year. Juneteenth is there and other things that happen. When we have the music there, it gives people ample room to spread out. I like sitting underneath a tree, you know, when it's hot and sunny in August instead of sitting on the pier where the sun's beating down on you. The kids play cornhole and frisbee and stuff like that and people bring their dogs and stuff and it's really a better venue than the pier. We've kind of outgrown the pier with the events that the city hosts now with the music. So I am in favor of, and I'm just speaking as myself and my family and as a veteran, that I'm not offended by that and I think it's a great use of the park and it allows everybody to enjoy it. And I like commend Mr. Terrain last week saying about possibly having a veteran's theme to the amphitheater. I think that would be great also. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bankowski.

Is there anyone else who wishes to speak this evening? Going once, twice. The privilege of the floor is now closed. Next, we move to communications from the mayor, including disapproval messages. Given that the mayor is not here, we will move to communications from the public and petitions.

Notice of claim from Ann Bowers for alleged injuries caused by falling on raised sidewalk in the walkway in front of Central Station and Link Street.

Any discussion, counsel? Okay, I need a motion to refer this to the Law Department and Department of Public Works. Moved by Councilmember Fredrickson, seconded by Councilmember Laskoviak. Clerk, please call the roll.

Council Member Leskowiak. Aye. Council Member Terrain.

Aye.

Council Member Fredrickson. Aye. Council Member Civilletto. Aye. Council Member Atlarge-Weiser.

Aye. Motion carried.

Notice of claim from Leslie Valentine Jr. for alleged damages to his basement caused by sewage backup in basement by city repaired sewer drain.

Okay. Any discussion, Council? Again, I need a motion to refer this to the Law Department and Department of Public Works. Moved by Councilmember Fredrickson, seconded by Councilmember Laskowiak. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Laskowiak. Aye. Councilmember Terrain.

Aye.

Councilmember Fredrickson. Aye. Councilmember Civiletto. Aye. Councilmember at large, Weiser.

Aye. Motion carried.

loudspeaker permit requests from Lillian Devine on behalf of the Juneteenth Celebration Committee to use amps and speakers for live bands on Saturday, June 13, 2026, and Sunday, June 14, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the annual Juneteenth Celebration in Memorial Park.

Any discussion, Council? Hearing none, do I have a motion to refer to the appropriate departments as well as approve? Moved by Councilmember Laskoviak. Is there a second? Seconded by Councilmember Terrain. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Laskoja. Aye. Councilmember Terrain. Aye. Councilmember Fredrickson.

Aye.

Councilmember Civiletto.

Aye.

Councilmember at-large Weiser.

Aye. Motion carried.

Loud speaker permit request from Hugh Graves of 175 Fizell Avenue to use speakers and microphone for live band from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for a July celebration with friends and family.

Any discussion, Council? Okay. Do I have a motion to refer to the appropriate departments as well as approve? Moved by Councilmember Laskowiak and seconded by Councilmember Terrain. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Laskowiak. Aye. Councilmember Terrain.

Aye.

Councilmember Fredrickson.

Aye.

Councilmember Civigletto.

Aye.

Councilmember at large, Weiser.

Aye. Motion carried. We'll now move to reports of standing committees, boards, and commissions. Councilmember Laskowiak.

Yes, I wanted to first speak about the recent news that NRG sold its plant to a private company, Genover. It's respectable news. And I know our economic development director, Vince, has been working on the marketing aspect for this property for years. Vince, did you have any words you wanted to share?

Yes, thank you. It has been a number of years that there's been several planning studies that have occurred looking at potential reuse for the power plant. And we recently completed one last summer, a just transition program that was funded by NYSERDA. Basically, what's happened since then is NRG has been actively marketing the site. We've had several site selectors that have inquired about it, including Genover, after their inquiry about two and a half years ago really didn't hear anything. We knew that there was some type of sale that was going to happen. We didn't know up until we, meaning myself and Mark Geiss from the Chautauqua County IDA, So what we were introduced to Genover's team about three weeks ago and they wanted to wait until the sale had been completed. Genover has been doing due diligence for nearly six months on the site. They don't have a firm project to propose this time. Anyone asking about a pilot is premature because pilots are project driven. So basically the assessment taxes would remain the same because nothing has changed. And there's probably $100 billion worth of environmental liability on the property given the nature of what happened there. What's happening next is myself and Mr. Geis are going to be meeting with officials from Genover tomorrow for an initial meeting. Kind of just throw out things and discuss what could be there. In terms of a data center, the one thing I can tell you is that we would not be interested in any type of crypto... mining type of operation. When you think of a hyperscale data center, you think of an Amazon, you think of a Microsoft, you think of a Google. They're not bad things to have. It would be billion dollar projects. And what comes with those is power. You have to build power on the site. And I think everybody in Dunkirk wants some type of power generation there for the future. So, again, you know, everything, all the speculators out there, have at it and have your fun. But there's nothing that is firmly proposed. And, you know, we're going to do our best to get the best and highest use out of this project. And that's about all I know, to be honest with you, at this point.

Thank you. Also, I wanted to thank the Parks Division of the DPW Department. It is no small undertaking to put up the hero banners during their busy season. There are approximately 30 more to put up and they will be put up soon. We needed to find new places as there were 50 new banners this year. So please know that now makes 297 banners. 20 people have agreed to take their banners back personally. Thank you for that. 297 is all myself, the small committee, and the Parks Division can handle. So going forward, only if there's an extra spot will we be able to put up another. The committee and I are working on how to proceed, perhaps just asking every year who would like their banner personally and we will keep a waiting list. Each week, I wanted to address and express my concern about an issue we have with our city of Dunkirk administration. Each new employee has a salary or an hourly wage and a benefit package, all of which are within the budget. I investigated to make sure this is so. So whenever one decides to take an insurance buyout for 50%, it is actually a savings that occurs after the end of the year. So I do not understand why they were ever withheld or now I hear adjusted. And it doesn't matter whether I agree with one side or the other. Unions and the Taylor Law deserve respect and dignity. Thank you.

Thank you.

Council Member Terrain. Thank you, Council Member Lars-Weiser. I did have a meeting with the personnel director and we went over a few things. One of the things I was very interested in is our the how negotiations are going with the 616 and we don't have another meeting scheduled but I just want the public to know that we are trying to push through to through the process so we can reach a resolution for the contract negotiations with them. I'm also I'm going to be going out with Mike on Thursday at 10. He's going to take me out to the wastewater treatment plant. And I want to take a tour of that. I'm happy to hear that we've hired somebody to work in the Clerk Treasurer's Office. Welcome Jen Jalkowski. She started the day before yesterday. And little did I know, I already knew who she was when I walked in. I know who you are. I didn't connect the name until I saw her, but we're glad to have her on board. And as we move forward, we're looking to, of course, fill other positions that are vacant, and hopefully we'll get that done. Personnel committee meeting is gonna be June 17th at 11 o'clock and looking forward to having all of the department heads there so we can share and see how we move forward with personnel.

Thank you. Council Member Fredrickson.

Vince, do we know anything about AmeriCold, maybe cutting back on their hiring plans or anything? Just what has been reported in the paper. Okay.

Just to know if maybe you had anything more than what was already out there.

I have nothing else. Thank you. Council Member Civiletto.

Yeah, I'm not going to bother you again, Vince. Are there any reports on any of the DRI projects or anything that you'd like to let the public know about? If you've heard any questions, I haven't heard any big concerns.

Things look like they're moving forward. Yeah, we have a couple of projects that are moving forward currently. We're hoping to have a groundbreaking for Regan Development, Dunkirk, the landing at Dunkirk, I can't remember what they call it. The Homesteads at Dunkirk landing project with 78 units of affordable workforce housing and 10% of it will be veterans housing and a daycare center. on 4th and Washington. People may have noticed those sites have been cleared. They've been demolished and there's a brownfield cleanup program that's going on at the Washington Avenue site and cleanup is continuing on 4th. The other project that we have been working on is the marina and new docks. So the engineering group, coastal engineers, are doing their basically surveying work and seeing what we have there, seeing if the pilings can support new docks and try to determine a good configuration so they can come back with a design. So those are the two projects that are really active right at the moment. And there's others that... our small project fund. Some of the projects are happening there too. So there's progress being made. Great.

Thank you very much. You're welcome. I also wanted to do a shout out to the new project that Revitalize Dunkirk is doing at the Point, at Point Gratia. In association with Kaboom, they got a grant, and they are looking for volunteers. So if anytime this week, they start at 8.30 in the morning and go till about 3, breakfast and lunch is provided, but you can help them create a trail through the, it would be the north side of, or actually the northwest side of Kaboom. or northeast side of Point Gratiot and the trail goes through the wooded area and they're laying down a trail and different spots for kids and adults to enjoy climbing and research and having little places to have lectures and it looks like a really fun thing and they're doing some heavy work out there, but they need volunteers. So if you have the chance, head out there about 830 in the morning or anytime during the day. They said they'll take people to come in if you have an hour. That's great. I wanted to talk A little bit about the comptroller questions that were brought up by legislator Bankowski. The law itself is a local law that was written as an appointment. Being that it's a mayor's appointment, In my view, that would mean that she has the ability to bring forward people that she has searched for. It doesn't necessarily have to be on a website and put out because it's an appointed position. This person, Tracy Smith-Dengler, was presented to us. We've reviewed her qualifications. We've reviewed her experience. In the resolution, it does say exactly what she's what her responsibilities are. Proper financial management, oversight of municipal funds, preparation of financial reports, compliance with state and local fiscal regulations. The first two years are covered by a grant that we have, which also covers part of GovSense, which is a software program that's going to be applied to all of our fiscal departments throughout City Hall. And in this it says, be it further resolved that the salary and benefits of the position shall be established in accordance with the city's adopted budget and applicable personal policies. So that third year is we would have to budget it because the Common Council is in charge of the purse strings. And if we come up with a number that's smaller than what it was before, so be it. And if that's unacceptable to Tracy in her third year, then she can accept her or not accept her, whatever we offer her. So at this point, the first, now that we've gone, half a year, the first year and a half here is going to be covered by a grant so it doesn't actually infringe on the budget that we have. So it is something that I believe, I mean I will be voting for just because of all of those listed things. Besides that, I don't want to put you on the spot, Randy, but one of the things that people do call me about are the streetlights. And since we took, I know it's a, since we took, ownership of the street poles and the lights and there's been problems with them. Is there a process that you would like me, the other councilman, to present you with streets that are, street lights that are out and what the process is? I mean, do we have to wait for a hundred of them to be out before we fix them or do we have, do we as a city have the actual equipment to fix them or not? Do we have to hire somebody? Can you just go through that real quickly?

Absolutely. We have a list of the lights that are out right now and we've hired a contractor, Peck Electric, a very reliable local contractor. We find like three points of failure on some of the installed LEDs. We're in order. We've got a pretty good stock on the disconnects that have some issues possibly with the install. And then we also notice now that we have the photo cells. There's quite a number of those. It's going to be several thousand dollars to get those in. Those are on order. But Beck is about halfway through the list of out lights, so you're going to see more on every night. And they're going to keep working to that, and then we'll figure out a way to keep it up. We did have a thought of doing it in-house. We have a master electrician. that could do that. We don't have enough of a bucket truck to do that and an assistant to do that, but the master electrician, if we had that person do that, we probably would save money over the BEC. That person gets in the Navy 20-some dollars an hour, and BEC is hundreds of dollars an hour. not to criticize either one of them. That's just the way it is. Also, the city attorney is taking a look at, we did have a 10-year guarantee on some of these things, and we think we should be compensated for some of the costs. The important thing is to get these things fixed because traffic, I'm sorry, street lights are a safety issue. And it used to be that the police helped us notice them out at night. And I think we probably, once we get caught up, we could go back to that. When they're on patrol, they could give me a poll number. I'll talk to the captain about that, and I don't want to surprise him with that now, but it used to be a system where it worked like that, and it worked very well. And I think we could work our way back toward a very rapid response. We're kind of disappointed that they're not lasting the 10 years that they were guaranteed to last. That's a question for the legal department. And I want you to ask that question to the legal department where we are. And Public Works is ready, willing, and able to help legal try to make a claim that would be held up and get us reimbursement. I hope I answered your question.

Yeah, if I have a street light and I know the number, do I just come to your office and ask if it's on the list?

You've got my cell phone number. Send me a text message with all that information. I'll make sure it's on the list. Okay, thank you. So if people are listening... I would say if the council could be the clearinghouse for these for now, they've all got my text number, so if they could, for their ward, take the information, text it, and have the council people text it to me. You would overload me if you gave my text number to everybody. Please don't do that. But I'll try to answer them all and get them done as quickly as possible. So with your help, we'll get this done.

All right. And for those watching on YouTube or on cable, my phone number is 716-672-9912. You can text me and I'll forward that to Randy. Or any other problems you want to call again, 716-672-9912. All right, that's all I have.

Thank you. Before I issue the Finance Committee Report to Assessor Munson, I understand there's something you'd like to say.

Thank you. I just wanted to announce Tuesday, June 9th is grievance day for the city. Our hours this year will be 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on the first floor of the Stearns building in the training room. There is an entrance in the breezeway between City Hall and the Stearns. for the easiest access to that room. It is right across basically from the elevator door. So you do not have to come in to City Hall to get to that entrance. Thank you.

Thank you. As chair of the Finance Committee, I'd like to briefly update the public on several matters related to the city's financial recovery and long-term fiscal stability. Over the last several months, the Common Council has taken a number of significant steps to strengthen the city's financial structure, improve accountability, and position Dunkirk for a more stable future. Most recently, Council adopted Local Law Number 3 of 2026, which modernizes the city's financial management structure following the voters' decision to abolish the elected treasurer position. This evening, council will also consider the appointment of the city's first comptroller under that new structure. I know there's been considerable discussion regarding the purpose of this position, so I want to take a moment to explain it in practical terms. The Clerk Treasurer's Office is responsible for accounts receivable, functions such as tax collection, utility billing, and the receipt of city revenues. Fiscal Affairs Office oversees accounts payable, purchasing, budget administration, and implementation of the city's new financial software systems. Comptroller position is intended to provide an additional layer of professional financial oversight, reporting, compliance, internal controls, and long-range fiscal management. While there may be overlap in qualifications and familiarity with city finances among these offices, that's by design. Multiple sets of eyes reviewing financial information, preparing reports, monitoring revenues and expenditures, and ensuring compliance with state requirements creates the kind of checks and balances that residents expect and taxpayers deserve. Of all the investments we can make as a city, I believe ensuring the integrity, transparency, and long-term stability of our financial operations must be among our highest priorities. Comptroller position will initially be supported, as mentioned by Councilmember Civiletto, through outside grant funding, which reduces the immediate burden on local taxpayers while helping the city build a stronger financial foundation moving forward. The Council has also reviewed the recently proposed Fiscal Recovery Act legislation, and I think it's important for the public to understand that the proposal currently before us is not simply an extension of the original Fiscal Recovery Act enacted by the state last year. Last year, once the state comptroller certified the city's debt, the Common Council acted promptly and took all steps necessary on our end to position the city to utilize the deficit financing authorized under that legislation. The proposal now being discussed contains additional provisions and conditions that were not part of the original act and which require careful review and clarification before this council could responsibly act. Council remains committed to pursuing every reasonable avenue available to address the city's financial challenges. At the same time, We have an obligation to fully understand the long-term implications of any legislation presented to us, especially legislation of the magnitude of the Fiscal Recovery Act, before we take any formal action. Finally, some good news. I'm pleased to report that the adopted New York state budget includes approximately $548,000 in temporary municipal assistance for the city of Dunkirk. That's three times what it was last year. And these are funds that were not originally included in the city's adopted 2026 budget. So they should provide additional financial flexibility as we continue working through the remainder of the year. So as a city, I think, and as a council, I think we're grateful for that. The challenges facing our city, again, are significant but meaningful progress, require structure, accountability, and a willingness to make thoughtful long-range investments in good governance. And this council remains committed to doing that work. Next Finance Committee meeting will be held Monday, June 22nd at 9 a.m. in the Stearns Building first floor conference room. With that, we'll now proceed with unfinished business. Clerk, please introduce local law number 4 of 2026.

Local law number 4-2026, a local law providing the discontinuance and abandonment of a portion of Main Street northerly from the northwesterly corner of lands of 820 Main Street to the southerly line of Marsden Street.

Is there any discussion, counsel? Okay, hearing none, clerk, please call the roll for the vote.

Council Member Laskoliak. Aye. Council Member Terrain.

Aye.

Council Member Fredrickson. Aye. Council Member Civilletto. Aye. Council Member at-Large Weiser.

Aye. Local Law Number 4 of 2026 is hereby adopted. We will now proceed with the pre-filed resolutions. Clerk, please introduce Resolution Number 45 of 2026.

Resolution 45-2026. Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Dunkirk appointing the City Clerk-Treasurer.

Any discussion, Council?

I think, now just to make sure that we're clear on this, the city clerk treasurer, the reason why we're doing this is because once we put into effect, we passed the local law three, that meant that we had to go back, the mayor had to go back and reappoint the city clerk treasurer, the clerk treasurer, the physical affairs officer, and to appoint a controller. That's the reason why we're taking this action tonight, because they have to be reappointed.

Any further discussion? Okay. Seeing none, clerk, please call the roll for the vote.

Council Member Laskowiak. Aye. Council Member Terrain.

Aye.

Council Member Fredrickson. Aye. Council Member Civiletto. Aye. Council Member Large-Weiser.

Aye. The resolution is hereby adopted.

Resolution 46-2026. Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Dunkirk appointing the City Comptroller.

Any discussion, Council?

Again, first of all, I would like to say, excuse me if I stepped on you, but I would like to say that, first of all, the controller. I want to emphasize, re-emphasize what Councilman Weiser said. We're doing this for financial stability. The state is evaluating how we proceed in instituting systems that assist the city to come in and stay in compliance with the Physical Recovery Act. So it's necessary to put those layers in in order to make sure that we are in compliance and we stay in compliance. We, on a personnel side, We had an opportunity to meet with Tracy Smith Dingler. She's a very, very impressive woman, not only from a from her qualifications, but also her tenacity, how she look at things, how she views things. She has a history of going in and solving problems in a very, very quick manner. And she has a deep background. I'm not sure if we could come up with anybody more qualified than her. In fact, I was wondering why she even wanted to apply for a job here at the city of Dunkirk and ask that question. And her answer, which was also impressive, was she saw a need in the city of Dunkirk to come in and help. And so she's foregoing a job she already has to come here to help the city of Dunkirk come in compliance financially, which I found to be very noble on her part because she doesn't have to do this, but she's deciding to do this. I believe that, and it's my belief after meeting with her and talking with her and looking over her qualifications, that the city of Dunkirk is going to be, we're going to be very, very thankful if she can do the things that she's done in her past positions. We'll be very thankful for what she'll be able to do for the city of Dunkirk and that it's a risk well worth taking in order to get her in here and get her started on doing the things that she's capable of doing. Thank you.

Further discussion, counsel?

I just want to put on the record that I spent the afternoon today in this building trying to get the specific salary number for the controller position and left without that answer. It seemed that nobody in this building was able to give me what I thought should be a relatively simple answer to a question. How much are we going to pay the controller per year? And I couldn't get that answer from anybody in this building. That troubled me a little. I understand that the salary is paid by a grant for the first two years. My concern is in years three and outward that we don't get into a situation that causes more than we're benefiting from. But I was not happy that I wasn't able to get what I thought was a simple answer. I just wanted to put that on the record though. I'm good. Can I say something?

In the local law number three, in revising the city charter, it says in article 12 that the city controller shall be independent officers of the city who shall be appointed by the mayor with a majority vote of the common council and shall serve six years. They're appointed by the mayor and also they are approved by the council, the majority of the vote of the council. If we run into a situation where, you know, Again, the budget does not support what they want. At that point, they have a choice. They can either continue to do the job, or if we run into a situation where they're not living up to their expectations, then the mayor has an opportunity to take action with support of the council. And so I'm pretty satisfied with that clause in Local Law 3.

Is there further discussion, counsel? To Councilmember Fredrickson's point, I would just reassert the fact that this position is covered for the first two years by a grant and will be fully funded by that grant. I'd like to believe that the efficiencies we'll find, both in terms of added revenue and the potential for expenditure savings, would at least offset over time some part of the salary for a position like this. Again, I believe it's worth the investment. in the city's financial future, and I think if we're going to put money somewhere, it ought to be in our finances. Any further discussion, council? Okay, seeing none, clerk, please call the roll for the vote.

Councilmember Lascogne. Aye. Councilmember Terrain. Aye. Councilmember Fredrickson.

No.

Councilmember Civiletto.

Aye.

Councilmember at large, Weiser.

Aye. The resolution is hereby adopted.

Resolution 47-2026. Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Dunkirk appointing the City Fiscal Affairs Officer.

Any discussion, Council? Okay, seeing none, Clerk, please call the roll for the vote.

Council Member Leskowiak. Aye. Council Member Terrain. Aye. Council Member Fredrickson. Aye. Council Member Civiletto. Aye. Council Member Atlarge-Weiser.

Aye. The resolution is hereby adopted.

Resolution 48-2026, resolution authorizing execution of a service agreement for the marketing and sale of surplus fire apparatus.

Is there any discussion, counsel? I'd just like to thank Chief Barter for your work. organizing this and coordinating the logistics to get this accomplished. So thank you for looking for all of the avenues we have to generate a little extra revenue. Appreciate it. Anything further, council? Okay, seeing none, clerk, please call the roll.

Council Member Leskowiak. Aye. Council Member Terrain. Aye. Council Member Fredrickson. Aye. Council Member Civiletto. Aye. Council Member Lars Weiser.

Aye. The resolution is hereby adopted. Thank you. Is there any new business to be discussed this evening? Hearing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Moved by Councilman Terrain, seconded by Councilmember Luskowiak. Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Luskowiak. Aye. Councilmember Terrain.

Aye.

Councilmember Fredrickson. Aye. Councilmember Cimoletto. Aye. Councilmember Largewiser.

Aye. The meeting is now adjourned. Thank you, everyone.

I thought you were going to say something.

My pencil probably went like that right now.