Yes, folks, I said it. Now let’s do something about it. This Kumbaya relationship we have with two top decision makers in the City must end. Last week’s presentation by Donna Owens to a group of small business owners was an embarrassment.
Ms. Owens has been attempting to communicate a new program for refuse collection and recycling that will require some major changes in behavior, spending, and household management by city residents and businesses alike. It is not the program we should be concerned with; all proposals meet with discussion, and rise or fall accordingly. It is her presentation and communication skills, or lack thereof, and her professional demeanor that leave us to question her ability to manage the duties of City Administrator. It wasn’t just last week either. Though she rambled on in a condescending manner to her taxpayer “bosses,” she left most questions unanswered and became combative with those who had spoken to her previously on the phone. Looking at it simply, she admitted talking to them on the phone, so why were they at this meeting with the same questions, and at times receiving different answers?
It became obvious she hadn’t a clue as to what she was addressing, and had made several mistakes in planning this program without the input of small businesses, waste management professionals, or elementary school English teachers.
After sitting through several Monday evening council meetings and counting the “Umms” in her presentations, between confusing narratives and incorrect statistics, I finally hit the wall and decided to offer her an out. I couldn’t suggest she quit while she was ahead, because she was far from that. I could only suggest she stop digging herself deeper, adjourn the meeting and consider resigning from her position.
Last year, the council tried to encourage her to vacate with a salary cut. She stayed. Why shouldn’t she? If you can get paid for something you haven’t shown you know how to do, why leave? Let’s look at her profile on the City website:
Donna began her career in public service in 1988, in Baltimore Maryland, as a Mayor’s Representative and then later a Solid Waste Analyst for the Department of Public Works. As Solid Waste Analysts she became first female to ever hold this managerial position in the field of Solid Waste Management in Baltimore City. She later in 1999 became the first women to become Chief, of the Street and Alley Cleaning Division, in Washington, DC. In 2003, Donna became the first Deputy Commissioner, for Public Works in Atlanta, Georgia, thus breaking the glass ceiling in Solid Waste Management and environmental services, blazing a trail for women in non-traditional careers.
She may have blazed a trail in Georgia, but I think she burned some bridges in Niagara Falls. She is touted as the guru of solid waste, but had a hard time explaining tipping fees. She chastised a person in the audience because they didn’t understand the tipping fee structure, but she may have been confused herself with notices on the restaurant menu that it is 18% for parties of 6 or more.
Hey folks, I have other things to do and do not intend to make this some pet project of mine. I put it out there; if anyone cares to comment, write a letter to the mayor or the editor of your favorite newspaper, perhaps we can shed some light on the obvious. If we want to get this City going again, we need leadership that we would be proud to follow.
And while you are at it, take a look at this City. The City planner, Tom DeSantis, has been making decisions and directing development traffic here for somewhere near thirty (30) years. The summation of his efforts is right in front of you. If we think his work has been good, let’s name a holiday after him. If you think we should be better off after 30 years of his planning, then send the same message to the community. We need a change of leadership and decision makers before any progress can begin in Niagara Falls. These two individuals are responsible for discouraging new investments into our community. They are both very nice people and I have enjoyed pleasant conversations with each of them. But let’s face it, a quick evaluation of their records show we could do better.
The Niagara Hub is always available to post your thoughts, or air your concerns. Let’s get our City back on track. Pump it up and let your thoughts be known.
– Craig Avery
Desantis is a pro. Unfortunately, the city’s economic woes have had the planning dept. putting out fires as the city hemorrhaged its industrial base. DeSantis is an advocate of good design principles and sustainability, a difficult position to maintain, but certainly in the best interests of the city.
I fortunately or unfortunately have no idea what the City planner has been “advocating” for the last 20 some odd years. Having been away fighting other wars and earning bronze stars I can only judge this “planner” by his results and whatever he has planned has ended in utter disaster and I fear I spent those years fighting the wrong war. Lots of people can talk a good game especially hustlers. I was younger than 12 when I knew the industrial base was fleeing this city but I was about 5 when I realized we had a world wonder the world wished to see. Now I sit nightly in my apartment staring across the Gorge at what real planning results in – RESULTS! Multi-hundred-million dollar hotels, paved streets, global notoriety. Everywhere I have been people had heard of Niagara Falls but as I began transitioning back to the home of my youth I was flabbergasted by more than one person being genuinely surprised to learn that there is a Niagara USA they believed it was a Canadian thing and I almost believe it myself. Don’t make excuses and judge his words, there was plenty of hemorrhaging on the other side of the Gorge as well yet the canadians managed to develop a sustainable economy that has quadruapled their population. They had plenty of hurdles to over come too but I judge them by their results. The plans on our side have netted untold unpaved roads, untold losses in property value….. His planning has apparently resulted in idle zealotry surrounding his advocacy of sustainability while the same zealot will make excuses on why this sustainability was impossible. His plan has resulted in the 600 block of 3rd street being one of the City’s ugliest slums while siting across the street from the Aquarium one of the 5 main attractions on the Discovery pass and the only one siting on City land. His planning has resulted in that same eye soar being one of the main reasons the majority of tripadvisor and other tourist review sites state that people enjoyed the staff, the comfort and everything under the control of most of the hotels but those same hotels are being dinged in their ratings for tourists comments like “the city looked sad” or “I didn’t feel safe” While this may sound like a rant it isn’t; it’s an observation of what the “planning” of the last 20 years has resulted in. Hemorrhaging is an excuse, what did he do to stop it, to stem it, when did he realize it, what did he recommend to change it? What were the results? I don’t give a crap what he advocated, what did he implement? Where is the evidence of good design principles? The Roads aren’t even paved its a basic expectation. The city is still trying to figure out parking! I wasn’t here but I understand the City’s initial “improvements” on 3rd street were a disaster and frankly I am unimpressed by the end result of the redo, you can’t even see our “entertainment district” from a block away with the dim lights and heavy foliage due to far more leaves vs. wattage. Meanwhile I can see Signs of Canada’s entertainment district from several miles. Now you can say you don’t want the level of Canadian commercialization here. You don’t want to make another Vegas. Ok great what is your alternative? What other industry has any near term or sustainable future in this city? Whatever retort you might have for that question mine is this: “if that is a sustainable alternative then why wasn’t that planned for?” I know your answer “hemorrhaging” putting out fires blah blah blah EXCUSES. If your planning yields unpaved roads, negative population growth, generational welfare, increased per capital dependency, massive taxation of a dwindling tax base with less and less results well be a good Samari and fall on that sword. Get out of the way you have petered out, you have a responsibility beyond your capacity and you have nothing but advocacy to point to. YES I’M ANGRY!!!! And I’m really starting to narrow down who deserves my anger because there seems to be only one person who had a position of responsibility related to this mess for decades, only one person who should have obviously been focused on it and instead of getting ahead of the fire he just stomped it all over the city. I don’t need NF history lessons the obvious evidence of planning failure is everywhere I walk, it’s in nearly every tourist review I read and is screamed by every statistic one would use as a metric for planning success. I really didn’t want to entertain this so emphatically but the lunacy of defending such dismal failure is beyond the pale I can’t stand it. “A difficult position to maintain” WELL IT CERTAINLY SHOULD BE A DIFFICULT POSITION TO MAINTAIN FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS ONLY ONE SUCCESS — PERFECT FAILURE. GET OUT OF THE WAY – RETIRE. That is something that would be in the best “interests of the city.” Now I anticipate one more blant and logically fallacious defense for this obvious failure. He didn’t have the authority and administration after administration messed up his “good design principles” and sustainable plans. PURE FALLACY, I didn’t have to be here to know that is a fallacious argument simple reasoning demonstrates it is not a defense of efficacy on the part of the city planner. If that is the reason for failure then why didn’t he run for office? What kind of a wizard is this genious if he couldn’t convince one administration to follow good design principles. I highly doubt officials come to office or sit in office thinking their job is to ignore good design principles. It appears to be quite obvious this “planner” has only one skill and that is NOT BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING and perhaps equally skilled at doing nothing. You simply can’t kid me so stop kidding yourself this guy is not up to the task anyway you slice it.
i hope the hub doesn’t become another reporter
I read this last night just before going to bed and I woke up thinking about it. I listened to Vince today with great interest. I concluded some time ago that the many of the issues in NF are symptoms of a few diseases. 1. Lack of leadership 2. Lack of transparency 3. Lack of responsibility. Now transparency is totally on the government. Leadership and responsibility is rampant in both the private and public sectors. No one is responsible, the City Planner for more than 20 years?!?!?!?! I’m sure he has often said that he isn’t “responsible” and the fact is I totally agree there is no way he is a responsible city planner. Time to demand a RESPONSIBLE PLANNER BE NAMED. Ms. Owens isn’t responsible for this new garbage issue!? Well I’m sure she IS NOT a responsible city administrator. Time to demand a RESPONSIBLE CITY ADMINISTRATOR!!! Where is the leadership?
Well finally I have seen some Craig! Thank you! That’s leadership — you have stepped up, taken a position, are standing by it, and trying to rally people to it. Keep it up and let me know what I can do to help advance the cause.
Change in our leadership is way overdue…we keep recycling the same problems over and over with just bandaids and never make gains on the cause…its a shame to see a good city in such shambles
Craig I really agree with you. I can not believe how much Ms. Owens does not know or understand about what going on in the city of Niagara Falls. Please tell us what we can do to put a end to this mess. We need good leadership in this city. For over 30 years this city has only gone down the drain. The governor of this State should step in, and see that this city is a major component to the State of New York. This city is in such a bad way. No one wants to go or live in the downtown of Niagara Falls, its referred to the “Ghetto”. Lets get rid of the people in office that is just collecting a pay check and trashing this city. Please guide us in the right direction. There must be something done and done now.
I have a house in Lasalle and they sent me a notice about paying for garbage removal but the shit bags on welfare won’t pay for it they will just throw it in the street or alley until it gets picked up anyway , so why should us the only people paying taxes pay for it ???????????
I’m with you Craig. Thanks for bringing this to light.
totally agree with the dump Donna No-Wins (Owens), effort, but, it won’t happen. She’s too entrenched, it seems. I support you Craig … It’s about time someone spoke up about this moron. She didn’t even know Niagara Falls HAD an energy from waste plant here !?! (Covanta)… Maybe, just MAYBE, they could have bid or been asked about using them, NO, she just gave MODERN a 5 year extension ? psst , something besides GARBAGE smells here in Nigeria Falls ,,,
NEVER SAY NEVER. If you think it won’t happen, it never will. you have to stay positive.
We can make this happen.
Anyone going out for pizza?
I agree whole heartedly, this city needs to make some big changes and hire some people who are actually part of the solution, not part of the problem. I thought from the beginning that the idea that we need to hire people from out of town is insulting to the people of our city. And as for Mr Desantis I havent seen much evidence of any great planning going on in the last 30 years ….
Hallelujah Brother!! Continue to call out the “Pretenders”! I originally thought you were out of your mind doing business in the Falls, but have since done a one eighty! Who better than you!
You can have Frederick Law Olmsted as your city planner and if the state, which owns 80% of the city’s waterfront, ignores you and the money isn’t there for other things, he’s not going to be in a position to do much good. That’s what Mr. DeSantis is, a planner. If the bozos ignore his plans, and citizens don’t hold the bozos to account, it’s not DeSantis’ fault.
James makes a great case for firing the city planner. Basically we don’t need a City planner because who ever that poor sap is, he’ll be ignored &/or wont have the funds to execute anything. I move to get the cost savings of firing the planner who plans nothing that is executed. Either he’s incompetent or he’s simply impotent either way his {lack} of services are not needed.
Mark it on the calendar, Craig just kicking off the 2015 campaign against Dyster.
This isn’t my battle, we’re all in it. The more voices, experiences, and comments that are made, the better chance we have to light this place up. Don’t just “like” this, join in and help create mass. Tell us what you think.