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By Tom Flannery
When Mayor Justin Taylor ordered the demolition of two South Main St. buildings last week, it ignited a firestorm resulting in an emergency meeting of City Council, and one councilman resigning from two council committees in protest.
The two buildings in question, located at 33-35 S. Main St., are among the downtown parcels which have been acquired by the city for the Pioneer Plaza project and will be sold to project developer Daniel Siniawa for $150,000.
During a meeting on Oct. 19, City Council members reaffirmed their position that the buildings should not be demolished until the parcels are transferred to Siniawa for the $150,000 payment, which is supposed to take place later this month.
Councilman Dr. Joseph Marzzacco stated at the meeting that he was concerned Mayor Taylor was planning to move forward with the demolitions prior to the property transfer. Marzzacco cited a “conflicting e-mail” from the administration, circulated within the city, as the source of his concern. He said the e-mail suggested that the city was prepared to proceed with the demolitions despite council’s edict that the property transfer take place first.
Marzzacco polled his fellow council members to ensure that they were still in agreement with council’s longstanding decision about the buildings, and they all were. None of the council members expressed a change of heart or a desire to authorize the administration to proceed in advance of the transfer.
Marzzacco then asked that the polling of council on the issue be included in the meeting minutes, as reported in a NEWS article about the meeting in the Oct. 28 edition. He told the NEWS that he polled council because he wanted another official record of council’s position “to make sure there was no misunderstanding.”
Council members could not question Taylor at the meeting that night because he was not in attendance. Marzzacco stated that he sent an e-mail to Taylor the following day to let him know that council was still in agreement on the matter.
Nevertheless, Marzzacco learned on Monday, Oct. 26, that the demolitions were indeed about to begin. He said he went to the South Main St. site and attempted to stop the work from progressing, then ended up contacting Taylor about it.
“I told him that he had agreed the buildings wouldn’t be demolished until the properties were turned over to Mr. Siniawa, and I said what he was doing was illegal,” Marzzacco related. “He told me that he knew he had an agreement with council but he was still going to tear the buildings down.”
Taylor told the NEWS that Marzzacco and Councilman Francis Lagana warned the workers at the demolition site that they weren’t allowed on the property and wouldn’t be getting paid.
“That didn’t even make any sense because Mr. Siniawa is responsible for the demolitions, as outlined in our developers agreement with him,” Taylor related. “He’s paying the contractors, not the city.”
Marzzacco called for an emergency meeting of council, which was held on Monday afternoon, Oct. 26. He said he wanted to seek an injunction and stop the demolitions from going forward. However, when he saw that the other council members wouldn’t support that move and were willing to allow the demolitions to proceed, Marzzacco said he walked out of the meeting.
He subsequently resigned in protest from the two council committees on which he served, the finance committee and the revitalization committee.
“It doesn’t make any sense to put in all the time and hard work on these committees when this administration just does whatever it wants to regardless of what conclusions we reach,” Marzzacco explained. “It’s ridiculous.”
Both Taylor and Marzzacco identified the primary sticking point as being the $1.1 million that the city paid for the Pioneer Plaza properties, and whether the city will be able to recoup that money if the project falls through at some point [see article on page 5].
However, Taylor also argued that it was a matter of council members operating outside of their authority.
“Whenever someone comes to them with an administrative problem at a council meeting, they’re always quick to point out they’re the legislative body and that as the mayor I’m responsible for the administrative, day-to-day operations of the city,” he stated. “Now on the flip side they’re out trying to run the city.”
“They have no business telling contractors or city employees what they should or should not be doing, because things just don’t work that way,” he offered. “The problem is they don’t what their job is, but the fact of the matter is they agreed to sign the developers agreement with Mr. Siniawa and it’s my job to administer it. So I’m going to do my job, let them do their job, and we’ll work together where we can.”
As for Marzzacco, who voted in favor of the Pioneer Plaza project when it came before council, he said he still supports the project but he’s tired of trying to work with Taylor.
“I won’t have any further dealings with this administration from this point forward outside of our public meetings,” he related.
Taylor said the demolition work at the South Main St. site should be completed in about two weeks. He said the demolition of a building and clearing of another Pioneer Plaza parcel, this one located on 7th Ave., will get underway this week.
By Tom Flannery
When Mayor Justin Taylor ordered the demolition of two South Main St. buildings last week, it ignited a firestorm resulting in an emergency meeting of City Council, and one councilman resigning from two council committees in protest.
The two buildings in question, located at 33-35 S. Main St., are among the downtown parcels which have been acquired by the city for the Pioneer Plaza project and will be sold to project developer Daniel Siniawa for $150,000.
During a meeting on Oct. 19, City Council members reaffirmed their position that the buildings should not be demolished until the parcels are transferred to Siniawa for the $150,000 payment, which is supposed to take place later this month.
Councilman Dr. Joseph Marzzacco stated at the meeting that he was concerned Mayor Taylor was planning to move forward with the demolitions prior to the property transfer. Marzzacco cited a “conflicting e-mail” from the administration, circulated within the city, as the source of his concern. He said the e-mail suggested that the city was prepared to proceed with the demolitions despite council’s edict that the property transfer take place first.
Marzzacco polled his fellow council members to ensure that they were still in agreement with council’s longstanding decision about the buildings, and they all were. None of the council members expressed a change of heart or a desire to authorize the administration to proceed in advance of the transfer.
Marzzacco then asked that the polling of council on the issue be included in the meeting minutes, as reported in a NEWS article about the meeting in the Oct. 28 edition. He told the NEWS that he polled council because he wanted another official record of council’s position “to make sure there was no misunderstanding.”
Council members could not question Taylor at the meeting that night because he was not in attendance. Marzzacco stated that he sent an e-mail to Taylor the following day to let him know that council was still in agreement on the matter.
Nevertheless, Marzzacco learned on Monday, Oct. 26, that the demolitions were indeed about to begin. He said he went to the South Main St. site and attempted to stop the work from progressing, then ended up contacting Taylor about it.
“I told him that he had agreed the buildings wouldn’t be demolished until the properties were turned over to Mr. Siniawa, and I said what he was doing was illegal,” Marzzacco related. “He told me that he knew he had an agreement with council but he was still going to tear the buildings down.”
Taylor told the NEWS that Marzzacco and Councilman Francis Lagana warned the workers at the demolition site that they weren’t allowed on the property and wouldn’t be getting paid.
“That didn’t even make any sense because Mr. Siniawa is responsible for the demolitions, as outlined in our developers agreement with him,” Taylor related. “He’s paying the contractors, not the city.”
Marzzacco called for an emergency meeting of council, which was held on Monday afternoon, Oct. 26. He said he wanted to seek an injunction and stop the demolitions from going forward. However, when he saw that the other council members wouldn’t support that move and were willing to allow the demolitions to proceed, Marzzacco said he walked out of the meeting.
He subsequently resigned in protest from the two council committees on which he served, the finance committee and the revitalization committee.
“It doesn’t make any sense to put in all the time and hard work on these committees when this administration just does whatever it wants to regardless of what conclusions we reach,” Marzzacco explained. “It’s ridiculous.”
Both Taylor and Marzzacco identified the primary sticking point as being the $1.1 million that the city paid for the Pioneer Plaza properties, and whether the city will be able to recoup that money if the project falls through at some point [see article on page 5].
However, Taylor also argued that it was a matter of council members operating outside of their authority.
“Whenever someone comes to them with an administrative problem at a council meeting, they’re always quick to point out they’re the legislative body and that as the mayor I’m responsible for the administrative, day-to-day operations of the city,” he stated. “Now on the flip side they’re out trying to run the city.”
“They have no business telling contractors or city employees what they should or should not be doing, because things just don’t work that way,” he offered. “The problem is they don’t what their job is, but the fact of the matter is they agreed to sign the developers agreement with Mr. Siniawa and it’s my job to administer it. So I’m going to do my job, let them do their job, and we’ll work together where we can.”
As for Marzzacco, who voted in favor of the Pioneer Plaza project when it came before council, he said he still supports the project but he’s tired of trying to work with Taylor.
“I won’t have any further dealings with this administration from this point forward outside of our public meetings,” he related.
Taylor said the demolition work at the South Main St. site should be completed in about two weeks. He said the demolition of a building and clearing of another Pioneer Plaza parcel, this one located on 7th Ave., will get underway this week.
