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Votes at a glance: Lackawanna council approves lighting, bridge funds, traffic change and several permits
Summary
At the March 3 meeting the council approved budget transfers for a stadium lighting project and Warsaw Street bridge repairs, selected an engineering firm for bridge design, adopted a one-way traffic ordinance for Mason Parkway, and approved multiple permits and event requests.
The Lackawanna City Council adopted several ordinances and approvals on March 3, most by unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The measures below were recorded in the meeting minutes and roll calls.
• Veterans Stadium lighting transfer — Adopted (carry 5-0). The council amended the 2024–25 budget to add a Veteran Stadium Rehabilitation Lighting capital code and transferred $467,567.40 to that budget code from the Capital Fund interfund transfers. The meeting packet said the funds will be reimbursed through an Erie County Urban Initiative grant; invoices were attached. Dan, the senior foreman of public works, said the recreation department is overseeing the project until a recreation director is hired and confirmed contractor work is ongoing.
• Warsaw Street bridge repair transfer — Adopted (carry 5-0). The city accepted a New York State grant award of $3,659,474 for the Warsaw Street bridge replacement and approved the required 5% city match of $192,604, amending the capital budget accordingly. The council also approved CPL (Clark Patterson Lee) as the engineering/design firm for the project; CPL was the sole respondent to the city’s RFP. Council discussion included a projected timeline: preliminary design 6–12 months, design approval 1–3 months, environmental review 3–12 months, detailed design 6–12 months, bidding 1–3 months, and construction 12–24 months.
• CPL (Clark Patterson Lee) contract approval — Adopted (carry 5-0). The council approved CPL for design services on the Warsaw Street bridge replacement project; minutes note CPL assisted with the grant application and was the only proposer.
• Mason Parkway traffic ordinance — Adopted (carry 5-0). The council amended chapter 2-15 (Traffic and Vehicles) of the municipal code to designate Mason Parkway, from Electric Avenue to South Park Avenue, as one-way in the westerly direction. The change was presented as a temporary outlet to help traffic flow while Erie County completes a sewer project along South Park Avenue; public safety staff indicated the change should ease congestion during construction.
• Odell Street closure for Taste of Lackawanna (June 7, 2025) — Approved and referred to public safety and public works (carry 5-0). The council approved a request to close Odell Street between Ingham Avenue and Wilmette Street for the 18th annual Taste of Lackawanna, with setup starting at 9 a.m. and the event running noon–8 p.m.
• Use of Lackawanna Senior Center for school budget vote (May 20, 2025) — Approved (carry recorded in minutes). The council approved the Lackawanna Board of Education’s request to use the Lackawanna Senior Center and Bausch Court for the budget vote on May 20, 2025, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
• Business registration and community service approvals — Approved (carry recorded in minutes). The council approved a business registration for a day habilitation program for people with intellectual disabilities and other routine business registrations.
Votes and motions for these items were recorded in the minutes; most final tallies were listed as 5-0 (carry 5-0) in the official record for each ordinance adoption. Where the minutes recorded names during roll call, the minutes list council members by surname.
