VISIONARY QUESTIONER - City Councilmember Liz Allen
FOR THE PEOPLE - Councilperson Kathy Schaaf
Councilwomen Liz Allen and Kathy Schaaf listened to the PEOPLE and voted NO Wednesday night, October 21, 2020 in opposition to giving up the only leverage the City Council has to protect the people and the Bayfront. PennDOT now has a green light to proceed as they wish. In a symbolic gesture, PennDOT has agreed to seat members of council on some review committees, with no actual authority.
Expanding on the overwhelming resident opposition to a YES VOTE, During CITIZENS TO BE HEARD on Oct. 21, no one asked for a YES vote while eleven people asked for a NO vote: 1 Lisa Austin, 2 Adam Trott, 3 Jeffrey Nechleba, 4 Veronica Rexford, 5 Art Leopold, 6 Freda Tepfer, 7 Kevin Pastekwa, 8 Sydney Zimmerman, 9 Maxwell J Hentosh, 10 Elspeth Koehle and 11 Vivian Karuba.
Four Councilmen voted YES (Brennan, Bzrezinski, Winarski, Witherspoon) and Keys abstained, allowing Erie’s “business as usual” to continue. These five Councilmen - all Democrats - failed to protect residents, ignored the will of the PEOPLE, the voters, small business owners, community organizations, environmental and design experts - and the direct urging of the ERIE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY - by voting to allow PennDOT proceed on their Bayfront roadway expansion plan without the appropriate Environmental Assessment:
Dave Brennan worked hard to create some guarantees to protect residents and the environment, but his efforts failed. No enforceable conditions were attached to the Resolution. Thus, community-based planning, place-making, protection of the people and the environment lost out as Mr. Brennan sullied his reputation by voting YES to a waterfront highway.
Mike Keys, who ran on a platform of being “the voice of the PEOPLE” disappointed many of his staunchest campaign supporters.
Ed Bzrezinski, silently voted to support the waterfront highway.
Jim Winarski said it was time to “move on” and voted for the waterfront highway.
Mel Witherspoon, without comment, voted for the waterfront highway.
Additional claims made to justify their YES vote:
CLAIM 1 Erie "might" lose the funding if we don't move forward now.
No document on record was cited to justify that concern - despite Councilwoman Liz Allen asking for it multiple times.
CLAIM 2 PennDOT will allow Council to be part of the process moving forward.
Since there are NO enforceable provisions forcing PennDOT to care what Council thinks after approval, this simply means that some member(s) of Council will be informed and invited to comment - they have been granted no authority over PennDOT’s plans for the City’s waterfront.
CLAIM 3 - PennDOT "told us" you can't revisit the Federal Highway Administration’s action granting a Categorical Exclusion.
No documentation supported this claim, and, since PennDOT’s application included critical, false information, there must be some remedy.