Mayor Robert Restaino’s handpicked temporary operator for the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion says he’s running the facility “like a business” while conceding recent questions about his management of the public building from elected officials and some city council candidates are driving him “absolutely insane.”
Local businessman Jerry Puleo, whom Restaino identified as the ice pavilion’s temporary operator in late September, said during an interview with a reporter on Monday that the city hasn’t given him or his management team “a dime” since it took over the facility.
He chalked up recent public questioning about how the facility is being operated to people not understanding “how business works,” adding that skaters are paying to use the ice pavilion and money being collected is being used to cover the payroll.
Beyond that, Puleo described what’s been happening inside the ice pavilion in recent months as “business as usual,” saying the facility remains open for public skating hours and other events and is now drawing more youth hockey league play than it did under the prior operator. He said anybody who wants to get a close-up view of the facility should stop by when it’s open and check it out for themselves.
“It’s in good hands while the city decides what they are going to do with it long-term,” Puleo said.
Puleo refused to discuss whether he has a formal agreement to run the Hyde Park building, which houses a pair of city-owned ice rinks. He said questions about any current operating arrangements are best answered by the city itself or by his legal team.
He also did not answer a question about whether he paid or whether the city paid for a recent addition to the property — a new welcome sign installed near the building’s main entrance.
“That’s something you’d have to talk to the city about,” Puleo said.
The Niagara Gazette sent questions about the ice pavilion’s current operation in an email Monday morning to Mayor Restaino, City Administrator Robert Restaino and all five city council members.
Restaino tapped Puleo to run the ice pavilion after a majority of city lawmakers rejected his administration’s request to approve a formal operating agreement with Legacy Hospitality and Entertainment Group, an Albany company that was identified as the preferred operator following a formal request for proposals solicited by the city in June.
In a letter dated Sept. 19, Restaino’s administration informed the attorney representing the facility’s prior operator — Mike Carella of Niagara Sports Tournaments — that his client had “no contract” that permitted the company’s continued operation. The letter notified NST that its final day as operator of the facility would be Sept. 30.
In a statement provided to local media at that time, Restaino’s administration indicated that the council’s failure to approve an operations agreement with the city’s preferred vendor, Legacy, would result in the facility’s closure. The statement indicated that, pursuant to the city charter, the administration could not “unilaterally enter into a contract with Legacy” as there was “no emergency present to justify that action.”
“This is because there is no contract with NST, and the council has not authorized the negotiation of a contract with the recommended operator, Legacy,” the administration said in its statement.
In the run-up to the Nov. 4 general election, one sitting Niagara Falls lawmaker and several candidates running for city council seats questioned how Puleo could run the public ice pavilion without having an agreement authorized by the city council to do so.
Late last month, Councilman Donta Myles sent an email to the mayor, City Administrator Anthony Restaino and the city clerk, requesting “all documentation, communications and financial details” related to any “agreement or arrangement” that may have been made between the mayor, Puleo, any “associated entity,” and the city.
In his request, Myles asked for documentation related to financial terms or obligations, including payment, revenue-sharing or maintenance responsibilities, and “any correspondence, memorandum of understanding or contractual documentation” pertaining to the transition from the building’s prior manager, Niagara Sports Tournaments, to Puleo or “any other party.”
In an emailed, seven-sentence response on Oct. 27, Mayor Restaino referenced the words “transparent” or “transparency” a total of 12 times, while suggesting “transparency is not defined by one person’s opinion on a particular matter but rather by following necessary processes and not engaging in unfounded responses or comment.”
“We would never do that, rather, our transparent efforts to provide transparent answers to complex questions would require an understanding of the government processes (and in some instances personnel limitations) attendant to obtaining a transparent response to the request,” Restaino wrote. “We are sure that you agree, that in the highest form of transparency you would seek accuracy, as that is a part of the process in achieving transparency.”
In his emailed response to the mayor, Myles argued that transparency is “not a rhetorical exercise” and rather a “duty.”
“When an elected member of the city council requests documentation related to city operations, contracts, or the use of public funds, that request does not require philosophical commentary or wordplay,” Myles wrote. “It requires a factual response supported by records.”
On Monday, Myles said he’s not asking for the mayor’s opinions on transparency but rather documentation that may lend clarity to decisions affecting taxpayer dollars and resources.
Myles said the bottom line is the public has a right to fully understand the terms of operation of a public facility owned by taxpayers. He said there’s no reason why Restaino or his administration should be dragging their feet on presenting documentation in this case.
“What is the agreement?” he said. “There had to be an agreement, so what does that agreement look like. Joe Shmoe could not just walk in there and take on the position he’s taken on. If that was the case, we could go to the Yellow Pages, randomly dial a number and find somebody and say, ‘Hey, do you want to come into a public ice arena and collect money and do whatever you want to do?’ “
As to Puleo’s being driven “insane” by questions about the ice pavilion’s operation, Myles said he doesn’t see why answering them in full should be a problem for him or the mayor.
“These questions should be very answerable and he shouldn’t get all up in his feelings about people asking these questions,” he said.