RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — Olean mayoral candidates Bill Aiello and Amy B. Sherburne met in their first and only debate Wednesday, three days before the first votes in the Republican primary are cast in early voting that begins Saturday.
Primary day is June 24, but daily primary voting will be held in the Magnano Room in the Cutco Theater building on the Jamestown Community College Campus for nine days beginning Saturday. Check the Cattaraugus County website for hours.
Both candidates have separate independent party lines. Aiello filed with the Cattaraugus County Board of Elections to run on the Lincoln Party line, while Sherburne is on the Common Sense line.
Sherburne, a businesswoman, said the city needed to have “full transparency” and “accountability for our finances,” an apparent reference to the recent city sales tax shortfall and a snafu over city tax bills.
In her opening statement, Sherburne said, “We want Olean to be successful more than anything. We want to retain our population and attract new people that want to share in the beauty of what Olean has to offer.”
In his opening remarks, Aiello, the incumbent, reminded the audience of about 75 people at the Cutco Theater on the JCC Campus, “This primary is not about who will be mayor in November, but it’s about who will be on the ballot.” Sherburne, he said, may be a Republican, but was endorsed by the Democrats “even before she announced her candidacy.”
The mayor added: “Republicans want someone in there with experience.” Aiello, who served with the Olean Police Department for 32 years and was a county legislator for eight years, is seeking a fourth four-year term.
There have been many projects in the past 12 years that have brought Olean forward. Not the least is the progress on North Union Street, which started with a TIGER grant in Linda Witte’s administration, he said. “I want to be able to continue that (progress). Olean is a great place to live, and we have a lot of issues,” Aiello said.
“We took some hits with some industries leaving us, but we’ve got industries here again,” Aiello said. “We’ve got industries that are looking to bring on more and more people.”
The mayor also alluded to more roundabouts in the future. “Sometimes that’s not popular, but it’s progress,” he said. “Infrastructure is one of the key things, so we want to continue with infrastructure.” The city has a $25 million RAISE grant to address West State Street, he said.
The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Cattaraugus and Allegany counties and Tap Into Olean. The candidates took turns answering and rebutting questions from moderator Richard Lee which had been submitted online.
Asked about new economic initiatives and how to pay for them, Aiello replied city officials plan to use the new bed tax to help promote economic development. “We’d like to see more growth. And how do you get more growth? By doing what we’re doing — continue to make Olean more attractive.” Aiello said one of his advisory groups is made up of local CEOs, the CEO Alliance. The mayor suggested the possibility of getting nonprofit groups that do not pay property taxes to pay a fee for services.
Sherburne said she’s been a registered Republican “all my life.” She said Aiello had 12 years in office “and has no plans for our future. “This R has a plan for our future that actually depends on our own decisions, on increasing our revenue.” The bed tax money “is only good if you fill those beds.”
Sherburne suggested the city needs to diversify its efforts that have been concentrated on manufacturing. “I think we need to go towards tech.” She said she’d want to get input from stakeholders and “do my own research in devising a plan and leading our economic growth.”
On the subject of drugs in the community, Sherburne said, “It’s apparent that drugs and mental health issues go hand in hand. We’re very strained in this area for resources for people. I think that that’s critical.” She said homes in disrepair can become “drug dens,” and “Our police force does the best they can.”
Aiello said, “We have a Street Crimes Unit that is doing an excellent job of addressing drug problems. Just today, they did a pickup and nine people were picked up on warrants.”
The mayor said resources are available locally including mental health resources education and rehab programs through Casa Trinity and a methadone clinic. The biggest problem is a lack of consequences of being arrested. “We have to get tougher on crime and we have to work with our state legislators to do it.”
Another question involved the city’s long history of sewage overflows into the Allegheny River during periods of very heavy rain.
Sherburne said it was “unforgiveable” that Aiello has not fixed the problem after 12 years as mayor. She said it was “great news” that the state had just announced a $500,000 grant to the city to address the problem. The Seneca Nation was responsible for the grant, not Aiello, she said.
The mayor said it is a misconception that the city is just dumping sewage into the river. When the pumps can’t handle to flow, the city is authorized to release it rather than have it back up into homes. The overflow is about 20% sewage and 80% water, he said. The city has spent $30 million to update the sewage treatment plant and reduce infiltration of aging sewer lines. City officials are working with the Seneca Nation on a task force to focus on eliminating the overflow problem.
Aiello said the West State Street reconstruction under the $25 million grant will also address infrastructure issues including the separation of sanitary and storm sewers.
On the question of fighting neighborhood blight, Sherburne suggested a property trust program be set up so people could acquire a blighted home to renovate it and get it back on the tax rolls. Instead of paying the city to buy a blighted home, the new owners would have more money available for renovation.
Aiello said the city has worked with the Cattaraugus County Land Bank to demolish blighted homes when necessary. Other homes are repaired and offered for sale. The city also has a program to help homeowners make repairs to their homes, he said.
On the question of what will happen at the site of the Olean Center Mall, Sherburne said the plan for the mall “is stalled and has taken too long. My vision for that space would be dramatically different.” Housing for higher income individuals would generate more income for the site, she said. The mall property is undervalued, she said.
Aiello said the city has been working closely with the developer. The previous owner did not maintain the 50-year-old mall, he said. The housing component includes seniors and disabled individuals. The city is also looking into moving Youth and Senior Services to renovated areas of the mall. In addition to the housing, there may be more outbuildings on the mall property.
On the homelessness issue, Sherburne said the city is not doing enough to address the problem. “Peoplem who are homeless are looking for a place to stay — any way they can,” she said. The city should provide more updates and transparency
Aiello said he appointed a Homeless Task Force to come up with plans to help the homeless. Their first contact is often with Olean Police, who refer them to the Genesis House. During a Code Blue alert in cold weather, shelter or a hotel room is offered. “It’s a very complex issue,” he said. “Sometimes people would rather be homeless,” which he called “a mental health issue.” In those cases, referrals are made to “get them to where they can get help.”
In her closing remarks at the 1 ½-hour debate, Sherburne emphasized the need for responsible change, transparency and revenue growth to address the city’s financial crisis and retain city employees.
“A vote for me is a vote for change, and not just a chance, but responsible change,” she said.
Sherburne said people are still waiting for progress from the changes on North Union Street. “I love our city. I think the potential we have is untapped. I feel this is a wonderful place to live. I think that people will be drawn to our city if we increase our events, if we increase our marketing and we actually have people notice that we are here.”
She added: “I don’t take this decision to become mayor lightly. I will work tirelessly on your behalf so that we have a vibrant future.”
Aiello thanked the League of Women Voters in his closing remarks for sponsoring the debate and Sherburne for participating in it with him. He also thanked his supporters and family.
The mayor admitted the city “is in somewhat of a financial crisis. We’re not the only ones who miscalculated sales tax over the last couple of years.” The city needs new sources of funding like the bed tax. The city will get a share of the tax revenue from its first legal cannabis shop on North Union Street, Aiello noted.”I know a lot of people don’t agree with it,” but it is authorized by the state and is a new source of revenue.
Aiello said his advisors said the city needs to be “more attractive to bring people here. We’ve put that vision in place. We’ve had a lot of great progress over the 12 years that I’ve been here.”
For those who say all he does is attend ribbon cuttings, Aiello pointed out that “ribbon cuttings mean there’s progress going on in our city. Yes, we’ve had ribbon cuttings. We have almost all the stores on Union Street that are full. And we’ve got a lot of action going on on West State Street.”
This is a YouTube video link to the debate: https://www.youtube.com/live/IkpM9xnLWZI?si=jRD8uWsXC444NARh
