Our Parks at Risk

Monroe County’s parks are at risk. The County’s shaky finances are driving all kinds of crazy schemes. The latest is to turn acres of pristine, irreplaceable parkland into fake wetlands and then sell the fake wetlands to municipal and even private developers.

 

What?

 

The deal is that federal law requires developers who destroy real, natural wetlands during construction to replace those real wetlands with artificial ones. Sometimes the fake wetlands work, most often they don’t. But, bottom-line: why do we want our parks -- where we walk, bike, ski or simply retreat  -- to be bulldozed to make way for fake wetlands? For developers?

 

Over the last several weeks, I’ve been trying to learn all I can about this plan. Seems to me voters should be informed about issues like these before Election Day. So I’ve read the feasibility study that made it’s way to me.  (Visit  Parks Preservation to read the feasibility study yourself.) And, on Thursday, October 15^th, I went down to the county offices to ask for more information.

 

I asked for the Request for Proposals, anything about the "Expression of Interest" process and all responses to the RFP. Nope. Couldn’t have it. No member of the public could. They told me if I wanted any of this critical information, I’d have to file a Freedom of Information Request.  

 

So I did that – knowing that Election Day could come and go before we get ANY information about what’s going to happen to Powder Mills, Mendon Ponds, Black Creek, Ellison or any of our public parks.

On October 21st, I got a post card from the County telling me it would be 45 business days before the Freedom of Information request would be either approved or denied. (Maybe a Christmas present?)

Take a look for yourself at the information we've managed to get. If you're concerned, please call

County Executive Maggie Brooks (753-1000). Explain that we need to know about this proposal -- before Election Day!

Here is my email exchange with Mr. Lebowitz followed by my Freedom of Information request.

RE: RFP for Wetlands Mitigation Banking in Monroe County Parks?

From:	Nora Bredes (norabredes@hotmail.com)
Sent:	Fri 10/16/09 3:53 PM
To:	nlebowitz@monroecounty.gov

Thank you for explaining this. Does the Expression of Interest Process require publication of requests for Expressions of Interest? If yes, when and where would this have been published?

-- Nora Bredes

To: norabredes@hotmail.com
CC: jmoule@rochester-citynews.com; jterreri@democratandchronicle.com
Subject: RE: RFP for Wetlands Mitigation Banking in Monroe County Parks
From: NLebowitz@monroecounty.gov
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:38:17 -0400


The Wetlands Mitigation Bank Consultant Term Services project was part of the Expression of Interest process, not a standard RFP process.  Only firms selected through the EOI received the RFP and it is therefore not available on the County website.  

Noah M. Lebowitz
Director of Communications
Monroe County
39 West Main Street, Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: (585) 753-1080, Fax: (585) 753-1068
nlebowitz@monroecounty.gov

Nora Bredes <norabredes@hotmail.com> 10/16/09 11:22 AM

To <nlebowitz@monroecounty.gov> Subject RE: RFP for Wetlands Mitigation Banking in Monroe County Parks

Dear Mr. Lebowitz,

My understanding is that RFPs are public documents and are available to citizens and businesses that request them.

Can you tell me why some RFPs are listed at this county website -- http://www.monroecounty.gov/bid/rfps -- and why this one is not? Why can some be requested online, but not this one? What is the criteria used to make some generally available but this one available only through the FOIL process?

Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

--Nora Bredes

To: norabredes@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: RFP for Wetlands Mitigation Banking in Monroe County Parks
From: NLebowitz@monroecounty.gov
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:01:49 -0400


Mrs. Bredes,

If you would like to access government records, you may submit a request under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).  The request form is available on our website, http://www.monroecounty.gov/communications-index.php#Foil.

Thank you,

Noah M. Lebowitz
Director of Communications
Monroe County
39 West Main Street, Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: (585) 753-1080, Fax: (585) 753-1068
nlebowitz@monroecounty.gov

Mr. Lebowitz,

Thanks very much for handling this request. I look forward to receiving the PDF of the Request for Proposals on Wetland Mitigation Banking from you tomorrow. I'm sorry to bother you and Mr. Cross with this request, but, for some reason, the RFP was not available on the county's website along with all the others.

Best,

Nora Bredes