By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says he is ready to reexamine a three year old City-County parks deal.
The Mayor made his comments as the City was forced to repair a splash pool at Martin Luther King Park that Erie County Erie County is responsible for maintaining.
Mayor Brown says he does not believe the 2004 City-County Parks agreement is working. Over the weekend, a 9 year old girl got her leg caught in a broken drain hole at the MLK pool. Firefighters had to use a jackhammer to free her.
The city wanted to make sure no other children would be put at risk so it made the needed repairs. The Mayor says the City will seek reimbursements from the County. That is why Brown says it is time to renegotiate the parks merger or return the maintenance and management back to Buffalo.
County Executive Joel Giambra says he is open to discussions, but is NOT willing to end the parks merger. Giambra still believes in regionalism. He says the solution to proper care of City and County parks is to create a County-wide parks department.
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