Published: July 01, 2008 11:41 pm      

CONSTRUCTION: Wal-Mart debate gets dirty

Town of Niagara officials jokingly refer to ongoing construction at the Super Wal-Mart site as “the dust bowl.”

But their sense of humor appears to be running thin.

Concerned over the amount of complaints piling up, and frustrated by a perceived lack of response from Niagara Falls officials, the town’s Police Department teamed up with state police on Tuesday to monitor work at the Military Road construction site and cite any vehicles not following safety precautions.

The day-long surveillance was done to help curb the amount of dust, dirt and other debris coming off the construction site and onto Military Road, which is creating driving and health hazards, said Town of Niagara Police Chief James Suitor. A total of 12 tickets for various violations were issued to dump trucks leaving the site, including two that resulted in trucks being taken out of service, he said.

“We just want them to comply with safety issues,” Suitor said. “We’re not trying to halt any work.”

After years of controversy and debate surrounding the project, including a legal dispute between the town and city, construction began earlier this year on Super Wal-Mart in the 1500 block of Military Road, the former site of the now-defunct LaSalle High School.

While the property is technically located in the city, the portion of Military Road construction vehicles are exiting onto is a state road and located in the town, Suitor said. Supervisor Steven Richards said he’s taken numerous complaints from area residents and business owners about the amount of dirt and dust coming onto Military Road from work at the site and dump trucks coming to and from the scene.

Those complaints were brought to the attention of Niagara Falls officials but nothing was being done, according to Richards. As a result, Suitor sought assistance from the state police, which agreed to send three of its commercial vehicle enforcement units to monitor the site with a town police car on Tuesday.

“It’s a shame it had to come to that,” Richards said. “The city did nothing about this.”

However, city officials claim they were not aware of any major concerns or problems at the construction site. Inspections Director Guy Bax said the work falls under the jurisdiction of the city’s engineering department, which received a complaint Tuesday and was planning on inspecting the site and speaking with the project manager in the upcoming days.

Falls Police Superintendent John Chella said his department was not contacted by either the state or town police about the surveillance or invited to participate.

“This is the first I am hearing about it,” Chella said.

Eric Recoon, executive director of leasing for Benderson Development, pointed out there are several sub-contractors working at the site, all trying to do their job efficiently and with the least amount of impact to the surrounding area.

“It’s a very busy and active construction site, so there’s going to be dust and dirt from time to time,” Recoon said. “This is the first I’ve heard about any complaints. We have supervisors from Benderson and Wal-Mart overseeing workers on site.”

While Bax didn’t dismiss the possibility of dirt and dust becoming a safety hazard, he hinted that some of the town’s problems with the construction may be tied to the previous legal battle, during which it was ruled the city had rights to the old LaSalle High School property and not the town.

“I’m sure there may be a situation out there and if so it’s something that needs to be kept in check,” Bax said, “but we all need to be cognizant to the fact the town had an interest in that property. There may be a sense of ‘it would’ve been nice if this was our project.’ ”

Both Suitor and Richards scoffed at the accusation politics is playing a role in their attempts to clean up and monitor the construction work.

“The attitude of the city on this just shows a total disregard it has for its residents,” Richards said. “With an attitude like that, it shows why the people of Niagara Falls are fleeing the city to the suburbs for better services.”

Suitor deemed Tuesday’s police action a success and said another site surveillance is being scheduled with state police sometime in the near future.

“We just hope (the developers and city) appreciate the need for safety on that road,” Suitor said. “This is about safety — nothing more.”

Contact reporter Rick Forgioneat 282-2311, ext. 2257.