[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6482019,"mediaKeyId","5455807-761eafcb5322278682cb6cf6a04ea4bc","parentId",5455807,"title","Tonawanda council tables vote on youth bureau pay; debate focuses on $5,000 stipend and recordkeeping","audioSeconds",1935,"startMs",1704515,"endMs",3640000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5455807-761eafcb5322278682cb6cf6a04ea4bc&start=1704&end=3640","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5455807-761eafcb5322278682cb6cf6a04ea4bc/thumbnail_1704515.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6482019/Tonawanda/Erie-County/New-York/Tonawanda-council-tables-vote-on-youth-bureau-pay-debate-focuses-on-5000-stipend-and-recordkeeping","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6482019-fb2af7e72146ac8c9b7f4e7fdf6cf7f5/orig.mp4?Expires=1775698528&Signature=HxqJrAP7o7ryZ0XUHWe6Z~bCIkw2GPEz6nAhjbNzDnaupGWO~MBrlRSSjsnPfCvqxZ7Y9oyWhSys6QtoBxFkuqNOw3dM~B9sC8OLefNm~pR2sV39RKegNWMtUAoC2iUm7X2f9RNVlrj0xKm7noJCdd22KXlsWyV3w~VX9rV2K7o-LZBm4DNhQ0j0VDsQzX9fnCQJqrYzyQyuWuIz39IG~VX21s1WgXG7iWn14qon-NKYAJ8PPNOEa-VwbinrVf7LumArsIzJK78ryu07OBXbydmrfGztb0pdrrgzX~Rvsk55Ru1TwiaoZNj4gaocpAoXurPmXlHAWyJ2aCdfZVLGKA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tonawanda, NY","date","2025-07-23T13:47:11Z","article","The Tonawanda Common Council unanimously voted to table a resolution concerning pay and structure for the city’s youth bureau after a prolonged discussion on whether a $5,000 annual stipend — split between two people, according to bureau members — should remain as salary or be moved into a budget line for programming.

Council member Tom Milam moved to table Resolution 3; Council member James Sheasley seconded. The clerk called the roll and the motion passed on a unanimous vote (Sheasley, Fisher, Raubstraw, Milam, Cook — all aye). The council then continued the meeting without deciding the underlying budget question.

The debate on the record covered three broad topics: the size and use of the youth bureau’s budget, the workload expected of paid bureau staff, and the availability of records and minutes.

Sarah Miszlin (who identified herself during public comment as associated with the youth bureau) told the council she had filed a letter and explained that bureau members had concerns about the proposed change to remove or reallocate the stipend. “No one is going to do that paperwork for free at all,” Miszlin told council members, describing the administrative workload bureau officers handle and saying the stipend (she described the amount as split between two people) compensates people who perform the work.

Council members pushed back with alternative proposals. Several members — including Council member James Sheasley and Council member Tom Milam — suggested that the city could move the $5,000 from a salary line to a discretionary line for youth programming and require the bureau to submit receipts and periodic reports. Council members noted the bureau’s current budget lines include about $5,000 for salary and roughly $250 for awards, which they described as the bureau’s total operating lines in current documents presented during the meeting. Several council members said moving the money to a program line would create clearer oversight and give the bureau a “seat at the table” during budget deliberations.

Bureau volunteers and staff countered that volunteer labor is limited and that paid stipends make it feasible to complete time‑consuming work such as grant management, vendor coordination, and event logistics. A bureau representative said the stipend is modest — roughly $290 net per month after taxes, as discussed in the meeting — and described the positions more as stipends than salaries.

Council members and bureau representatives also discussed recordkeeping and liaison duties. Bureau members said minutes and annual reports historically existed in binders and on shared drives, and they asked the council to improve electronic access. Council members asked that bureau minutes be emailed to the city clerk after adoption so they can be placed on the official record and included in future budget deliberations; the clerk and mayor’s office staff said the administration could assist with scanning and uploading records.

Several participants referenced an administrative action by the city attorney in 2023 that changed how the youth entity is described on city records (the speaker described that change as converting an earlier “U4” entity to the bureau). Meeting participants said there is no record available to council staff that clearly documents that change in a single consolidated place and asked staff to search records from November 2023 for a memo from the city attorney.

Council members said they were not seeking to eliminate programming funds for youth; several urged patience and a transparent process that would be revisited during the formal budget process in October. The council’s motion to table will allow additional time for clarifying documentation, for the clerk to gather missing records, and for staff and volunteers to propose how program funds should be structured in the budget.

The discussion also included several public‑facing community announcements and praise for recent youth events. Multiple council members complimented recent events at Coler Pool and the pop‑up playgrounds; those community activities were cited by some participants as examples of the bureau’s value.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","July 22, 2025 Common Council Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Tonawanda Common Council unanimously voted to table a resolution on the youth bureau’s stipend after members and bureau representatives debated whether a $5,000 annual payment should remain a salary or be moved into a discretionary budget line for programming.","taxTitle","Tonawanda, Erie County, New York","taxId",56260,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6482023,"Developer pitches loft conversions at former St. Francis schools, asks city to sell adjacent lot for parking",1547,52885,1600000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5455807-761eafcb5322278682cb6cf6a04ea4bc&start=52&end=1600","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5455807-761eafcb5322278682cb6cf6a04ea4bc/thumbnail_52885.jpg","/articles/6482023/Tonawanda/Erie-County/New-York/Developer-pitches-loft-conversions-at-former-St-Francis-schools-asks-city-to-sell-adjacent-lot-for-parking","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6482023-4e0f32a2c5438c55e2a7c5566b8fedc9/orig.mp4?Expires=1775698528&Signature=cAdTXqmqvwbCb3Z7KBtMcfGbkbg1JrhSMMVWo0t0HY4b5PuDsn191zqFVM88StjGXDMs95-S1ViB3T3qWmluFBhVPUk6gqyE3JsZjYx9mB9~gtuSWsBxBGyEmqq3A1bj9~UwB~Iy~itrpOXTWxlUKpKKbV1HWWKoIQQMnyDnYLMp3gAmiGUFdhngbV2dXSNnfe24TlxHqISno5jF1qJK6wA~ZuB-B-mn06b6mqufwxu4EzKhZAKdm1hDgNtQ4hMgcfiyqgOs~Ve~HLSRz7WhSRPTeIRNZ3Oj3gmBHZcNvLCeOADIA1PrpdbR4LfMHVNbxfNZjriMRndGAZiyIHfxOQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","David Sutton, a developer, asked the Tonawanda Common Council during the informal session to consider selling a vacant municipal lot at 20 Adams Street to provide parking for a proposed adaptive-reuse project that would convert two former school buildings into apartments.

Sutton said the buildings — identified in his remarks as St. Francis of Assisi properties at 144 Broad Street and 76 Adams Street — are “beautiful, underappreciated, underutilized” and could be converted into about 40 high‑end, loft‑style apartments that would return the properties to the tax roll. “My goal is to bring them back to life, put them back on the tax roll, and fill them with high end or luxury loft style apartments,” Sutton said.

He told council members the project’s viability depends on securing nearby parking. Sutton said local zoning requires roughly 1.5 parking spaces per unit but that he would prefer two spaces per unit to accommodate guests and overflow; for roughly 40 units that translates to a target of about 60–80 spaces. Sutton said the city-owned lot he identified in his handout as “Parking Lot B” (addressed by him as 20 Adams Street) is 100% vacant and could be part of the solution. He also described other privately owned parcels he and his team were pursuing, and said one privately owned parking area associated with a Seymour Street building would likely be economically infeasible to buy.

Sutton described a contract under review by the diocese and said his purchase offer for the school buildings is contingent on finding adequate parking. He told council he has a contract that will go to the bishop for approval and that, if approved, the purchaser would receive a 30‑day due‑diligence period. He said he had discussed the concept informally with the mayor and would submit a formal written proposal if council indicated interest.

On design and approvals, Sutton said the final layout would be subject to planning‑board review and to easement and right‑of‑way constraints. He said he would likely close or reduce one curb cut, provide landscaping (he suggested 5–10% of the lot could be landscape), and that the final design would be conditioned on planning‑board approval. He also said he planned to abandon the existing large boiler systems and install individual HVAC units for apartment units and that if any shared systems needed to remain for the church he would work that out with the diocese.

Sutton said he must complete Phase I and Phase II environmental investigations as part of his financing and due diligence because the buildings sit near an adjacent property that raised environmental questions. He described flexibility on overnight public parking, saying he would be “open to” agreements that preserved some overnight parking if the project created a surplus. He also said he might pursue leases with nearby private property owners and referenced an option to approach a local business owner, identified in the discussion as Joe Dallas, for leased spaces and shared maintenance costs.

Council members and staff asked multiple questions about parcel ownership, how many municipal spaces currently exist, and winter overnight parking rules that restrict on‑street parking from mid‑October through March. During the exchange the council noted the city’s direct-sale process for property would require publication for three consecutive weeks if the council and mayor decided to proceed with a sale.

Next steps described on the record: Sutton said he would submit a formal written proposal to the mayor and council, continue environmental and design due diligence, and pursue negotiations over adjacent parcels or leases; council members directed staff to provide parcel assessments and noted the city’s sale process. No formal council vote on a sale or transfer occurred during the meeting.

What this means locally: If completed, the project would return two formerly tax‑exempt school buildings to the tax rolls and add downtown housing stock that Sutton described as targeted at young professionals. The plan’s immediate obstacle is parking: the developer needs assurances that roughly 60 parking spaces (his stated target) can be secured by purchase or lease to meet code and market expectations.

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Tonawanda council tables vote on youth bureau pay; debate focuses on $5,000 stipend and recordkeeping

Developer pitches loft conversions at former St. Francis schools, asks city to sell adjacent lot for parking