fix buffalo today, archive

Lauer Affidavit...

This is a sworn and signed affidavit and provides additional background information regarding "The Deal" down in Perrysburg, NY. I've deleted the residence information provided in the original.

The is filed under Index #69906 in Little Valley, NY

Trathen Land Company vs.

City of Buffalo et al....

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF NEW YORK )

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY )ss.:

Cindy L. Lauer, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

1. My name is Cynthia L. Lauer and I reside at (edited by me).
2. I am presently employed by the Town of Perrysburg as the town budget officer and am employed also by Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department as ????
3. I am making this affidavit at the request of attorney Scott D. Cannon. All of the facts stated in this affidavit are made by me based on my own personal knowledge.
4. From 1982 through 1985 I was employed by the Town of Perrysburg, New York as town clerk. From January 1, 1986 through December 31, 1985 I was employed by the Town of Perrysburg as town supervisor. In my capacity as both town clerk and town supervisor, I was intimately familiar with town business and in particular, many matters pertaining to the property commonly known as the J.N. Adam Developmental Center which is located in the Town of Perrysburg.
5. The J.N. Adam property was owned and operated during my tenure as both clerk and supervisor by the State of New York. Up until approximately March/April 1993, the J.N. Adam property was used as a hospital for the care and treatment of developmentally disabled/mentally retarded persons. This large property, comprising many acres of undeveloped land and numerous hospital buildings and support buildings, was a self contained community with its own water and sewer system and housing in which staff could live.
6. Unfortunately, the State of New York closed the facility due to financial constraints in March/April 1993, and ceased caring for developmentally disabled/mentally retarded persons on or about March???, 1993. Attached hereto as Exhibit “1” are copies of various newspaper articles that were published in local papers at the time reporting the closing of the facility.
7. I was aware that the City of Buffalo held a right of reverter on this property that was triggered when the facility closed down in 1993.
8. Since the facility closed, as town clerk and town supervisor, I devoted a substantial amount of my time and effort to get the property developed and back on the town tax roll, as the state did not pay taxes on the property and I was hoping to bring jobs into the town through the development of the property. In this connection, I met with officials from the City of Buffalo on numerous occasions to get them to release their interest in the property. I also met with state officials numerous times, and made countless phone calls and wrote countless pieces of correspondence in an effort to get the property restored and developed. Attached hereto as Exhibit “2” are copies of several newspaper articles published at the time concerning the Town’s efforts to get the property back on the tax rolls and developed.
9. As part of the foregoing, I was informed by Buffalo Mayor James Griffin and other City Council representatives that the City did not want the property, but that the City might be interested in a land “swap”, whereby the State would give to the City a piece of land down by the waterfront in Buffalo, in exchange for the release of their reverter right in the J.N. Adam property. For a variety of reasons this did not occur.
10. At no time during my tenure with the town, from 1982 through the present day, did the City of Buffalo take any steps whatsoever to assert any ownership rights in the property, and has done nothing but foil the efforts of others to put the property back to good use.
11. The property continues to sit deserted and is falling into significant disrepair. It is a shame that for the last twelve years this property has been allowed to remain vacant and to deteriorate, all to the detriment to the taxpayers.
12. The citizens of the Town of Perrysburg deserve a resolution to this problem that has plagued the Town for more than a dozen years. It is also important to the town to get this case finalized because the town will be acquiring the water system on the property to be used for a water district in the town that will be created on a portion of the property. Also attached hereto as Exhibit “3” is a period copy of a newspaper article detailing how the town would benefit by creation of the water district. This issue is still outstanding and the town still wishes to create the water district.

Dated: July 13, 2005

Cindy L. Lauer

Sworn to before me this

day of June, 2005.

Notary Public