LEWISTON: Marra to seek re-election in village

By Dan Miner<br><a href="mailto:minerd@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>
Niagara Gazette

May 05, 2008 08:59 pm

— Michael Marra confirmed Monday that he plans to run for re-election.
Marra, 40, a one-term incumbent on the Village of Lewiston Board of Trustees, had previously lost out on the Republican line when David Baird pulled off a surprising upset at the village GOP caucus. Baird, a Lewiston Republican Committee member, has since declined the GOP line and will run on the Democratic line he received.
Marra joins Baird, 56, current trustee and former Lewiston police chief Ron Winkley, 48, and Bob Gianetti, 66, owner of Bob’s Olde Books on Center Street, as the four people seeking the two open seats. The seats carry four-year terms. The election is June 17.
“After four years on the board I think I’m in a position to do a good job for the village,” Marra said.
Marra will not seek reinstatement on the Republican line, saying he’s not worried about the affiliation next to his name. Instead, after scouring the state’s election laws, he plans to gather the signatures for an independent line, called “Our Village Friday.”
In other village news Monday:
• SURVEILLANCE: The village is exploring security cameras at several notable structures in Academy Park. Claudia Marasco of the Lewiston Garden Club, which maintains and landscapes the gazebo at the park, spoke to trustees about the need to deter vandalism in that area.
The Garden Club would be willing to lend some of its own money toward such a venture, Marasco said. Later, Trustee Terry Collesano suggested the courtyard and stage area were also worthy of more security than they currently receive.
The logistics of getting a camera can be difficult, though. Winkley said that to have a camera means someone must watch the security feed, which could mean paying a company a monthly fee.
• SPOTTED: Two recent presentations viewed at other public meetings in recent weeks came to the village meeting Monday. Bill Boeck of the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Restoration Advisory Board, which was in Youngstown on Thursday, gave a presentation about possible future risks at the site and detailed the situation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has stopped acknowledging the group exists.
Instead, the Army Corps wants to establish a new board, prompting Winkley to say, “It’s like having a tobacco company watch the health department.”
Lee Simonson also updated the board on the proposed $230,000 bronze Freedom Crossing monument planned for the village’s waterfront. Plans are for the monument to commemorate local ties to the Underground Railroad and use Niagara River Greenway funds from the New York Power Authority relicensing settlement to do so.
Though funds are still locked up while the Host Communities Standing Committee and the power authority tussle over the way projects are approved, Simonson said the goal for construction is Fall 2009. It also might merit a security camera or live Internet feed, he said.