WATERTOWN – Not everyone is excited about the construction of a new $1.5 million parking lot on Main Street. During public comment at a Town Council meeting this week, Rich Rozanski noted what he believed were some irregularities with the project at 686 Main St.
A building at the site that once housed Westbury Music and George’s Market recently was razed to make way for a municipal lot with up to 57 parking spaces. Rozanski said Town Manager Mark Raimo indicated in an October council meeting the town was buying a completed parking lot from developer Mark Greenberg and that it didn’t have any involvement with the construction. Rozanski said he later learned resident Erik Markiewicz, a former member of the town’s American Rescue Plan Act projects selection committee, is the contractor.
The committee chose the parking lot as one of its projects, Rozanski said. “Mr. Greenberg is certainly free to choose any contractor he desires to build the town’s parking lot,” he said.
“However, seeing a member of the ARPA selection committee benefit financially from a decision he participated in is very poor optics and raises questions in the public’s mind about business ethics.” ARPA guidelines and federal regulations require that any federally funded construction project be subject to competitive bidding, Rozanski said. “That is how we conduct virtually all of our grant-funded public works projects,” Rozanski said.
“Why is this project different?” In addition, Roz.