Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Speaker after speaker appeared on the Zoom screen Wednesday evening as the Buffalo Common Council's finance committee held a public meeting on the city's snow removal efforts.
"I'm just so totally frustrated with all of this," said Buffalo resident Kim Schechter. "We get so much snow ever year and every single year it seems we are experimenting all over again."
Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Michael Finn was part of the meeting and listened to speakers as they vented their frustrations and offered possible solutions and ideas for city snow clearing crews.
Finn, too, is frustrated, pointing a finger at Mother Nature during the session that lasted more than 90 minutes. "The volume of snow that has fallen on city streets could fill over three NFL stadiums and there has been little reprieve from Mother Nature in terms of snow melt."
Many of the ideas presented by residents and council members have been previously discussed and include a GPS tracking system for the city's plow fleet, partnering with neighboring municipalities and partnering with vendors to help clear snow from city sidewalks.
"There's some certainly good ideas," said Finn.
North District Councilman Joe Golombek, not a regular member of the finance committee, appeared during the session and is the city lawmaker who was initially outspoken about snow clearing efforts and brought Finn before the council following the first major storm of the season.
"I don't think there's any of my colleagues on this council that were pleased with the snow removal," noted Golombek. Golombek announced during the session that public works officials would be before the Community Development Committee meeting next week to continue the dialogue.
Even as temperatures moderated somewhat Wednesday, residents expressed frustration over the recent snow clearing effort and took their turn to speak directly to city officials.
"I didn't have a plow down my street until 10 O'clock Friday night," claimed South Buffalo resident Ugene Blowers. "There has to be a better plan."
