New resources to help Town of Niagara combat harsh winter

By Benjamin Joe

Senior Contributing Writer

Two snowplows, a Peterbilt single-axel plow truck and a Peterbilt Tandem plow truck, will be added to the Town of Niagara’s highway garage following Town Board approval at Tuesday’s regular business meeting.

Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso said “we desperately need” the new equipment.

“It’s been a rough winter,” Virtuoso explained. “The two that we are replacing are from … 1999 and 1985. They have served us well, but their parts are no longer available, and the cost of constantly fixing them and getting them towed is exceeding their worth.”

With the Town of Niagara having paid off ancillary debt, Virtuoso noted the snowplows’ $698,000 bond is less of a concern.

In other news

•The Town Board announced $700,000 will be bonded to replace 365 feet of sewer line on Military Road, by Wegmans grocery store and several additional Town of Niagara businesses.

“If we don’t replace it, we close down all the businesses in the area,” Virtuoso said. “We’ve been working it overnight” in freezing conditions, “pumping it, trying to maintain it as well as we can until the work can be done.”

Virtuoso said there is no one single explanation as to why the sewer line has malfunctioned, perhaps because of age or the increase of traffic along Military Road. The specific cause is unknown.

•Councilman Michael Lee, who is also liaison between the Town Board and the Town of Niagara Police Department, was not at Tuesday’s regular business meeting, but a resolution was approved in his absence to place him on the TNPD’s active roster.

Lee is a retired City of Niagara Falls police officer. Whether the retirement will be permanent is not certain. This action, therefore, will keep his certifications current so, if retirement doesn’t agree with him, Lee will be able to use those certifications to acquire additional employment as a police officer.