Szukala. Dunkirk. Irrelevant.
The LED streetlight project has taken Amherst for a wild ride. Last town board meeting (1/2/24), Michael Szukala said nothing except when he decided to conclude the 3rd consecutive standing room only, 2.5+ hour long meeting with one of the most absurd comments. Szukala told a story about Dunkirk NY and then said residents’ beliefs are irrelevant compared to his, twice. So, what was this show stopping Dunkirk NY story?
Szukala told residents that he found out that another government had switch over to LED Streetlights, the City of Dunkirk NY, and he gloated about taking a day off to go there to do his “homework”. Odd, huh? Well, it turns out Szukala has ‘family & friends’ ties to Dunkirk, Stacey Szukala was a councilwoman there. So now we know he went there to see family and friends and this LED project as a side gig. Anyways, Szukala boasted that the Dunkirk project was unequivocable proof that the Town of Amherst’s decision of spending $51 million on 9,666 streetlights to go LED was sound, better for safety, and as he said ‘more important than safety’ it was financially responsible. Szukala said he even had a big check with the Mayor of Dunkirk that proved it was a fiscally great decision, and that he was going to post it on his Facebook ‘later’ for everyone to see. The 1/2/24 meeting is long gone and Szukala has still not posted this photo (as of 1/20/24).
The mainstream media, Amherst Bee, etc. dare not to do any due diligence, investigating, questioning, getting answers for residents, or holding those in power accountable. Afterall, maybe Szukala has been so accustomed no one holding things he and the board say/do accountable that he feels he (and the board) can say and do whatever he wants and it’ll go unchecked. So, I decided to look into this Dunkirk story. I received a text with a photo of Szukala holding a big check with the Mayor of Dunkirk. Surely, this check would show significant savings for the Town of Amherst spending $51 million and a payback period of 35 years! Nope, the check was for $100k – the same grant that Amherst got. So now we know that Szukala has no concept of finance, return on investment, etc.
But wait, there’s more!
Maybe, just maybe, Szukala was still able to use the City of Dunkirk LED project as a good and relevant comparison to the Town of Amherst’s project – thus explaining his outburst of telling residents’ their beliefs are irrelevant, but his are. So, I looked into the Dunkirk LED project. It is nothing like what Amherst did. Below are some reasons why.
1. Dunkirk didn’t acquire their streetlights and just replaced bulbs and disconnects, Amherst did and cost Amherst an additional $15 million in debt for taxpayers to be burdened by.
2. Dunkirk has 1,513 streetlights, Amherst has 9,666!
3. Dunkirk (as of Dec. 2023) is having trouble with 10% of their streetlights not working after the conversion.
4. The Town of Tonawanda shares a border with the Town of Amherst and recently did a much more comparable LED project based on size (7,600 lights) and including the purchase of streetlights.
Dunkirk’s LED project was immensely less expensive & less extreme. This is not a comparable project to what Amherst did and there was a more relevant comparison for Szukala to mention too (Town of Tonawanda). For Michael Szukala to conclude the 3rd consecutive meeting of residents packed in Town Hall to demand transparency, accountability, to be heard, etc. by telling this non-comparable Dunkirk story as if it gave standing to him to say his beliefs are relevant, but residents’ aren’t (twice) and also boast that if there is one thing people can’t blame him for is ‘not doing his homework’… IS ABSURD!
Michael Szukala, your Dunkirk story is irrelevant, clearly you don’t know how to conduct proper analysis, you can’t make sound and fiscally responsible decisions, and you owe all of Amherst NY a sincere apology.
Town Board Meeting - Monday, January 22, 2024 - 7pm - Amherst Town Hall - Be There!