Erie County Legislator John Mills turned on his radio Tuesday and was greeted with news that construction at the new Highmark Stadium was paused because of graffiti and vandalism.
He was not happy - on many levels.
Ditto for fellow Legislator Frank Todaro.
While acknowledging there are a lot of moving parts and the graffiti issue was paramount, Mills and Todaro felt there should have been some form of communication with the 11 county legislators.
"They needed to be more proactive," Mills said.
Both Mills and Todaro said since the legislature approved a $250 million allocation for the $2.2 billion stadium development project, they do have a vested interest and stake in Highmark Stadium.
Until, the Abbott Road property is transferred from the county to New York state later this summer, the county - and by extension the legislature - are the de facto landlords.
"The legislature has a right to know what's going on," said Mills, whose district covers Orchard Park and the stadium site.
In recent weeks, there has been a wave of targeted graffiti and vandalism inside the stadium including a series of pornographic graffiti painted on walls, suites and other parts of the stadium. The latest wave happened during this past weekend.
That prompted the construction team - led by the Gilbane/Turner team - to pause construction on Feb. 16 and begin an investigation that is being overseen by the Erie County Sheriff's Department.
"Another reason why we should have been told," Mills said.
It is believed the graffiti and vandalism is coming from one, or just a few, of the more than 1,300 constructions workers on site.
Where the damage was reported is in a secure area of the stadium that can only be accessed by a fob or swipe card.
Todaro said the vandalism is no different than if any other county-owned building or real estate holding was damaged.
"We are the wards of the taxpayer's dollars," Todaro said, "At this point, we have a lot of questions and not a lot of answers."
Meanwhile, even with the construction pause, the stadium is on pace to be completed this summer, says Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.