BUFFALO
Capital budget includes splash pad
The troubled splash pad at Martin Luther King Park would be rebuilt as part of Mayor Byron W. Brown’s proposed capital budget.
The budget, which requires the approval of the Common Council and control board, also includes money for more housing demolitions.
“We have less money to work with, and that’s a reflection of the fiscal crisis we’re dealing with,” Brown said at a news conference in the park announcing his $21.5 million capital budget.
Perhaps even more indicative of the fiscal crisis was the large number of requests — $98 million — from community groups, city departments and others.
Of those that made the cut, the splash pad, which has been plagued with problems since it opened four years ago, is among the most expensive.
“It’s an unused asset in a vacant and declining state,” said David J. Colligan, chairman of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, the nonprofit group managing the park.
Colligan said the $2 million set aside by Brown is welcome, although the project may still be $1 million short of its overall goal.
Nevertheless, he expects to move forward with the first few stages of work if the money is approved by the Council and control board.
The mayor’s laundry list of capital projects is made up of a handful of large initiatives and dozens of smaller ones, such as park improvements, street reconstruction and community center repairs.
The budget, which is down from $22 million last year and $23 million the year before, includes:
• $2.3 million for housing demolitions.
• $642,000 for an upgrade in the electrical systems at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society.
• $1.9 million for new fire equipment.
• $535,000 for a citywide evaluation of the condition of city buildings.
• $202,000 for reconstruction of the Marcy Casino at Delaware Park.
• $2.1 million for a new fire and police radio system.
• $112,000 for improvements to LaSalle Park.
