BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Erie County Legislature could vote next week to allocate additional funding for the ongoing Buffalo Niagara Convention Center feasibility study, due in part to the consulting firm's desire to research "alternative sites."
County legislators already voted last year to hire HVS Consulting at a cost of $150,000. Then, this winter, County Executive Mark Poloncarz proposed paying the firm an extra $65,000 in order to "adequately assess expansion of the existing Center and potential alternative sites," according to the language of a resolution currently under consideration by the Economic Development Committee.
A spokesperson for the county executive's office said the final study will be released to the public upon completion, likely within the next few months. The findings are sure to be highly anticipated in Western New York, where convention center upgrades has been on the public's wish list for decades. The building at Franklin and Genesee streets first opened in 1978, but a feasibility study hasn't been conducted since 1997.
Until the latest study is released, however, neither the county nor the consulting firm will reveal which alternative locations they may be researching.
Joseph Lorigo, a Conservative who serves as the legislature's Minority Leader, said he'll vote against the spending because he thinks a new convention center is unaffordable and unrealistic. He voted in favor of the original $150,000 agreement, but he said he was under the impression the firm would primarily research ways to upgrade or expand the existing site (The language of the original resolution described both a "new or expanded convention center" as possibilities, but it did not elaborate).
"If I was told it was just a study to look for something new, I never would have voted for it, knowing we don't have the money to build a new site," Lorigo said, estimating a brand-new facility would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lorigo has now filed Freedom of Information Law requests with the county to determine which new sites are under consideration.
"If [Poloncarz] is going to release the names of those sites in two months, why not let the legislature know those sites today?" said Lorigo, who frequently clashes with the Democratic county executive's administration on political matters.
Erie County Legislator Patrick Burke, a Democrat who is also running for State Assembly, said there's a good reason why the county cannot release site locations currently under consideration.
"My concern is that land speculators are going to find out what we're trying to do," Burke said, "and they're gonna buy up properties."
In a phone interview, Burke blasted Lorigo and said the $65,000 in additional spending would be well worth the money. Although a new convention center would be costly, it's possible the state could step in and help, Burke said, pointing to cities like Rochester.
"I think we all universally know this region has made terrible, terrible planning errors," Burke said, referencing the Peace Bridge saga in particular. "Why wouldn't you spend the appropriate amount of money to make sure you don't do it again?"
Peter Anderson, the spokesperson for Poloncarz's office, said in an email that all parties involved would like to see a convention center "that's more functional than the current one, that has greater floor space and demonstration space that's easier to access, and that puts Buffalo on par with other markets of similar size that have such facilities."
As legislators debate the merits of the feasibility study, the Erie County Department of Public Works is engaging in a separate bidding process for routine maintenance and upgrades inside the convention center. The work, which will cost an estimated $600,000, will go toward improvements in the ballroom and restrooms. Modern features like LED lights will be included, according to Bill Geary, the DPW commissioner.
The county will be selecting a bid within the next week or two, Geary said. It is entirely unrelated to the feasibility study funding.