WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

COUNTY LEGISLATURE DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY REAFFIRMS ITS SUPPORT FOR OLMSTED PARKS CONSERVANCY

Erie County Legislature Chair Lynn M. Marinelli (D-Buffalo, Tonawanda), Majority Leader Legislator Maria R. Whyte (D-Buffalo), and County Legislator Betty Jean Grant (D-Buffalo) are asserting their support for and value they hold for the Olmsted Parks Conservancy in its efforts to maintain the Olmsted Parks in Buffalo.

The Olmsted Conservancy, under the current intermunicipal agreement between Erie County and the City of Buffalo, maintains the major Olmsted parks: Cazenovia, Delaware, Front, Martin Luther King Jr., Riverside and South Park, as well as the adjoining parkways, circles and smaller spaces.

"The conservancy staff has done an excellent job in maintaining the green spaces with gardens, ball fields, a golf course, lakes, trails, meadows and woodlands, including Delaware Park, which lays within the 11th District I represent," Legislature Chair Marinelli said. "The Olmsted Parks also play a role in Erie County regaining its proud standing in the community as well as become an increasingly popular cultural tourism attraction."

"I am pleased and proud to support the Olmsted Parks, with Front Park and Riverside Park in the 6th District, which I represent, not only for their natural beauty and the recreation they provide, but for the opportunities they offer people," Legislator Whyte said. "Erie County residents can use these parks and their offerings for programming, special events and even employment and job training."

"My support of the Olmsted Conservancy, its mission and actual performance are derived in part from the good work I have witnessed at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in my community, and as chair of the Community Enrichment Committee," Legislator Grant said. "The Olmsted Parks give the City of Buffalo and its residents a sense of community, peace and recreation, and we support continuing this."

The three legislators were pleased that the Olmsted Parks Conservancy had raised more than $6 million for the operation of the parks, not including the county's matching grant. They agreed that the staff, board and volunteers have achieved major successes in the operation and maintenance of the 1,200-acre Olmsted Park and Parkway System since the intermunicipal agreement was approved in July 2004, and hope for continued success.

The County Legislature Democratic Majority approved the $360,000 matching grant in the 2009 Erie County budget, and will continue to work with the County Executive to allocate that funding to the Olmsted Parks.

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