By Denise Jewell Gee
Erie County engineers want to know how well the concrete at Ralph Wilson Stadium is holding up as they prepare for lease negotiations with the Buffalo Bills.
The county plans to hire an architectural and engineering firm to assess how the stadium’s concrete has changed since it was last studied in 1996.
“We want to redo that study, to a certain extent, to now find out the condition of the concrete, how much it has deteriorated since the study was done in 1996, and how long it will last in the future,” said Jeffrey P. Zack, an engineer in the county Department of Public Works.
County legislators Thursday authorized County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz to hire Di- Donato Associates for up to $210,000 to complete professional services and design work for a package of stadium upgrades required under the team’s existing lease for the stadium.
Those improvements — which include more than 80 items — are expected to cost about $1.2 million. County officials hope to complete the work before the football season starts.
In addition to the study of the concrete, the upgrades include updating the fire alarm system at the fieldhouse, fixing concrete slabs that have become tripping hazards and a second phase of sound system improvements, Zack said.
Under the team’s stadium lease, which expires in July 2013, the county is required to pay for about $3 million in capital improvements to the county- owned stadium each year.
The study of the concrete, Zack said, also will determine its longevity and whether it needs immediate repairs as officials prepare for discussions with the Bills over renewing the stadium lease.
Zack said that the county has regularly sealed the concrete at the stadium but that the material is vulnerable to snow, rain and salt.
In addition to authorizing the design work for the stadium upgrades, legislators approved work on two other capital projects Thursday:
• Contracts for a $6.17 million project to replace the roof and the heating, air conditioning and ventilation system at Erie Community College’s Burt Flickinger Center. College officials expect the project to shut down the athletic facility for three months this summer.
• Paying up to $115,000 to Lauer-Manguso & Associates Architects for design work for a project to restore and preserve the exterior of Old County Hall on Franklin Street.
In other business Thursday, the Legislature, in an 8-3 vote, authorized pay raises for 11 legislative aides assigned to work for individual legislators and set the salaries for several new incoming Legislature employees.
District legislative aides have not received longevity salary increases since 2005, when their salaries were frozen at $35,096. The vote set their salaries at $38,128 and made them eligible for future longevity increases.
Legislator Edward A. Rath III, R-Amherst— who voted against the proposal along with Legislators Lynne M. Dixon, I-Hamburg, and Joseph C. Lorigo, R-WestSeneca— said he felt it was the wrong time to grant raises and wanted to see the issue further reviewed.
“We should have had a conversation about this and studied this before we went forward and approved this,” Rath said. “I don’t understand the rush to judgment.”
The vote also authorized a salary of $79,577 for Jeremy J. Zellner, a former Erie County Democratic Committee executive director who is now chief of staff for the Legislature Democrats. The former chief of staff would have made $83,677 this year.
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