After intense, last-minute lobbying by the Erie County sheriff and others, the County Legislature voted 10-1 on Thursday to pay for a 10-year, $8 million lease that enables SWAT and other special units to move out of a windowless, Cold War-era bomb shelter at Chestnut Ridge Park and into a new space.
It was touch and go on whether the lease deal would be voted on Thursday, but the new Orchard Park property owner’s willingness to throw in $750,000 toward the agreement certainly helped.
The clock is now ticking for the county to secure new space under more favorable terms before the end of next month.
Sheriff John Garcia expressed relief that the weeks-long effort to get the deal approved worked, but said he’s still going to ask the Public Works Department to have employees at the bunker moved ASAP to temporary space elsewhere. He said the Legislature’s vote is evidence that they care about the working conditions of first responders.
He also referred to lawsuits against the county due to people getting sick at the current bunker location.
While a majority of legislators were supportive of the move, a couple had lingering questions about whether the lease – originally calculated to cost more than $10 million – made financial sense.
That led to…
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