Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa gave his State of the Town address on Friday in front of members of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce and other locally elected officials.
The supervisor spoke to several big projects that completed in 2023 and earlier this year in Amherst such as the opening of the Roswell Park Scott Bieler Amherst Center, the development of 716 Health, the expansion of the Audubon Branch Library and the opening of the Northwest Amherst Community Center.
"They've taken years," Kulpa said following his address. "[With] those COVID slowdowns and everything else, [but] we've been able to get there and it's been amazing. And '24 and '25 are going to be about checking off some of the rest of those projects."
Projects like the redevelopment of the Boulevard Mall, making improvements to where The 290 and Main Street meet to make it more safer for drivers and for people to walk between Snyder and Williamsville, the biggest streetlight project in Amherst to date, and plans to build Amherst Central Park where the old Westwood Country Club once operated, which will include a new theatre for MusicalFare productions.
"Central Park not only gives us a place for people to come together and appreciate the natural elements, but on the southern end of the park, it gives us an opportunity to come together and celebrate our cultural assets," said Kulpa.
Kulpa also addressed the recent tax increase, which have upset many residents by explaining the current state of Amherst's fiscal health and stability.
"It's not easy for anybody to deal with an increase, but the reality is we're in a lot better position over the next couple of years because of it and an increase doesn't have to be forever, it just means you have to work hard to recognize the savings from the good efforts of this year," Kulpa said.
"It was a tough budget, but some of what we put into the budget really sets us up moving forward for savings. And that's what we're gonna focus on in 2025's budget, making sure that we come back to a reality. At the end of the day, we have so much good momentum, and we have so much growth and we have so many good things happening here in Amherst. We've gotten some of our fiscal woes of the past behind us, and we're gonna move forward in a direction where people see Amherst really soar."
Kulpa also responded to the "fallacy" that the big upcoming projects are adding to the increased budget and taxes.
"They're not. These are 30-year projects with bonding that's spread out for a long time, the Boulevard Mall is cash neutral or positive to the town. The park spreads out over 30 years and we're committed to a third grants right now, The projects, the cost increase is because we have seen increases in our services, we've seen a huge project with regards to streetlights that create savings moving forward and because the Fed interest rate increase decimated our surplus for one year, it has nothing to do with these projects. The reality is we are moving forward, growing our services, expanding how we service our economy and service our constituents."