This afternoon I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Cathy Rybczynski regarding the proposal by Jeff Walker to take over management of the Hamburg Ice Arena. This request was made as public information request to be published upon receipt.
This is the text of the request:
To Hamburg Town Clerk,
As a citizen of the Town of Hamburg, I would like to ask for a complete copy of the paperwork submitted to the town by a Mr. Jeff Walker regarding the privatization/lease management of the Hamburg Ice Arena.
I am making this request as the editor/owner of www.HamburgFirst.info and by the Freedom of Information Act. This information is of public importance and will be used for publication.
Thank You,
Ford Beckwith
I received a response from the Town Attorney about the FOIL request today. He basically said he got the request and it will take him 20 days to get the info together. I find it a bit ridiculas since Jeff Walker wants a vote on his proposal by the end of March. This is starting to look as if this proposal is being kept in the dark until the deal is sealed. That is not the way to properly use the Recreation Advisory Board.
Ford why are you surprised about this. You are dealing with a bunch of rookies. Thay cant see what a great deal this can be. I know Tom Best will come through for the town. He is the only one with any brains of the three. Who is the town attorney? I never heard of him before and the other guy works full time down town
The Ice Arena owned and/or managed by Jeff Walker is a scary thought! Knew the guy years ago and he was a moron.
Wasn’t the Ice Arena well managed under Pat Hoak. What has happened since the good old days. Why hasn’t more money been put into the facitlies. WHY, where’s the money gone? SHOW ME THE MONEY! Did the Town Board starve off the cash flow, get the money flowing again to the recreation dept.
Lets use names here…sounds like Anonymous is a really smart guy..he hides behind a name…who are you
People should use names….Anonymous who are you? I know Jeff Walker FOR A LONG TIME and he is far from being a moron. You sound like a moron. This guy is the first one to step up and try to make something happen for the arena. Residents have been calling for a second pad for years and now we GREAT solution, we can’t stand up and support the idea. He is not just looking at the ice demand he is also looking at the demand for our kids to play winter soccor and lacross. He is far from being a moron. It does not take a masters degree to run a sports complex. Look at who we have running our recreation departments today. So don’t be so simple minded. Jeff has come up with a plan and he has alot of support. Lets all help put ideas forward instead of bashing something that is AWESOME for the town. USE A NAME SO WE ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE…..
This is currently only a part-time facility. I can’t see adding another ice surface without some real hard info that it will be marketable year round.
The facility is year round. They use what is called a sport court for roller and floor hockey. There are also other sports that use this facility in the summer. Years ago they used the rink for tennis in the summer.
We need another rink..The travel outside out town for home practices and home games is horrible. The indoor soccor field that is being talked along with another rink is an awesome idea. This facility will be used at least 10 months a year. Lets do something right for a change. This idea I dont know much about, but my understanding it is going to bring in alot of traffic into our Town for our businesses that are hurting now. It is about time we have people that is looking to do things in this community, BUT THEN WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE AGAINST EVERYTHING …Give it up people..lets loose and let things happen…This sports complex is an AWESOME IDEA…LETS SUPPORT THIS IDEA INSTEAD OF bashing it….
“Concerned Parent” and “Hockey Parent”, I recently sat down with Jeff Walker and he said almost the exact same things in the exact same words. If this is you Jeff then use your real name and quit hiding behind anonymity. If it’s not you Jeff then I apologize.
Jeff can’t even spell soccer and lacrosse correctly!