By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – It appears Erie County Park will be open this summer.
The County Legislature voted ten to five yesterday to re-open the parks, which have been closed since the onset of the county budget crisis in January.
County Executive Joel Giambra had proposed using $1 million earmarked for All High Stadium improvements for the parks. Parks officials say there's much work to be done to get the parks ready but that they hope to do that by Memorial Day.
Legislators also voted 12 to three to increase a fee in the county clerk's office to pay for the re-opening of a second auto bureau downtown.
Still, legislators took no action Thursday on resolving the deeper problem of how to close a massive budget deficit. County Executive Giambra is renewing his push for a sales tax increase. There was no discussion of that at the Legislature meeting.