BUFFALO (WBEN) - In a rather contentious meeting, the Erie County Legislature passed a resolution Thursday that calls on the county executive, governor, and Pegula Sports & Entertainment to release the PSE study concerning a potential new stadium for the Bills.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz took to social media in response to the resolution passed by the Legislature:
However, Republican Minority Leader Joe isn't necessarily convinced this is the case.
"I've been dealing with the county executive for 10 years in my role as a legislator," said Lorigo. "I don't necessarily believe that he's always dealt with me in good faith, and I also think that word play is important. The county executive may not be in possession of it, but his agents or his designees certainly may be, and if he's not in possession of it, then he should be because he's dealing with the Pegulas on a potential $1.4 billion ask. He should know exactly why they're asking for a new stadium; he should know what the Pegulas are basing that ask on, and he should have every tool at his disposal as well. He should have the study, or his representatives should have the study, and if they do, the public should have it as well."
The Republican Caucus also wanted to get individual legislators in the room for negotiations, but that aspect of the resolution did not pass.
"We voted on a resolution that directs the county executive or his designees to releases the Pegula Sports & Entertainment study if it's in their possession, and we also tried to get seats at the table for the Legislature in any negotiating meetings," Lorigo continued. "My colleagues in the Democratic Caucus voted 'no' on having a seat at the table - I think that's wrong; I think we should have as transparent a process as possible..."
Democratic Legislator John Gilmour explained his reasoning for voting 'no' to having a seat at the table in meetings.
"I've negotiated contracts for the Buffalo Fire Department, the Buffalo Police Department, and that's just not how it works, that's not our job," said Gilmour. "The county executive, he was elected to negotiate contracts for the people of Erie County, and were elected as a separate branch of government to make sure that those contracts are above board.
"We're not elected to sit in on negotiations and chime in," Gilmour continued. "We are an oversight body only. We will look at the final product, and if we have questions, we'll bring people in to answer those questions, and if we want to propose changes, we can. Otherwise, it's not our job to sit in on negotiations."
Both Lorigo and Gilmour said they were caught off guard by Governor Kathy Hochul's comments Wednesday, in which she said the results of a separate stadium study will likely be released in the coming weeks.
"I'm a little confused by it, but it's not surprising that the state would want to have its own study when dealing with negotiations with the Pegulas on a new stadium, especially when the Pegulas have already made it perfectly clear that they're not going to sign a lease extension without an agreement for a new stadium," said Lorigo. "If the state is doing one, that study should be made public as well..."
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