Parks remain dangerous

In response to the growing criticism of the Village Parks Committee's utter failure to maintain the parks which was crystallized in the Buffalo News, Ms. Fessard nevertheless continues to defend that committee's record in last week's Amherst Bee without offering us any facts to support her position. Perhaps the most glaring example is Fessard's dismissal of the criticism involving the Village Parks Committee off-site meeting with the Village Square Apartment complex promising tax dollars to the private entity while most of Garrison Park is still left unusable and in a dangerous condition.

Setting aside the political motivations of such a move (Mayor Mary Lowther and trustee candidate Brian Kulpa attended the meeting), the principal question is: why is the committee spending hours preparing for and delivering a rare off-site, and perhaps illegal, meeting while far more important issues are left undone? Focusing attention on the Village Square meeting is, at best, a complete lack of judgment on behalf of the Village Parks Committee and, at worst, it is utter incompetence.

Finally, I reject Ms. Fessard's notion that simply placing "tape … around (the Garrison Park slide) to identify that it should not be used" is a valid solution to the unattractive nuisance it has become let alone an adequate safeguard while the unit is either being repaired or replaced. It would take only a curious child bypassing the loosely held tape around the slide to be severely injured. Ms. Fessard's general defense to the mounting criticism is of course that the committee is doing the best it can to address these problems. Does that justification provide comfort to any of us? I know that as an aunt of a 3-year-old who loves slides, it certainly doesn't for me.

Angela Callizo

Main Street