For this summary, we will focus on two meetings. The Caucus Meeting is where members from a specific political party, in Buffalo's case, the democratic party, meet, but official voting on issues does not occur. The Regular Meeting is the Common Council's primary meeting, where they make official decisions on issues.

During the Caucus Meeting, the Buffalo Sewer Authority revealed a series of projects between the Black Rock Canal alongside the City of Buffalo ("the City"), such as the East Side of Bailey Avenue. The project aims to improve water quality, the local waterways, and the overflow in Buffalo each year. It will use its smart sewer technology in multiple locations throughout the City. This project attempts to control water flow from Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Plant during wet weather. These systems will hold onto the overflow of water and later go downstream into this facility, and the projects would be modifications of current systems. The Buffalo Sewer Authority stated that it would go from district to district to communicate with community members about its upcoming projects.

At the Regular Meeting, Council Member Rivera expressed his concern with the Buffalo Water Authority's decision to discontinue adding fluoride to the City's drinking water. Although this decision happened seven years ago, Rivera contacted the Buffalo Water Authority to invite a representative to speak during the upcoming Community Development Committee meeting. He wants to know why Buffalo Water Authority is no longer adding fluoride to the city's water, how or when residents received information about this change, and whether or not there are severe health implications for drinking non-fluoridated water. 

Council Member Wyatt put forth a resolution for the New York State Department of Transportation ("NYSDOT") to install emergency mechanical arms along Route 33 after the winter storm that claimed over 40 lives. He recalled the skyway's closure to limit travel during the harsh conditions. Council agreed it doesn't want further instances of vehicles stuck on the highway during dangerous driving conditions and wants NYSDOT to evaluate the possibility of utilizing mechanical arms during future emergencies.

Need more than just a summary? Contact us at info@ppgbuffalo.org, or find full meeting information and schedules here: http://buffalony.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx