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BUFFALO NEWS Comptroller questions deal on Wendt Beach By ELMER PLOETZ News Staff Reporter 5/9/2006 Erie County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz is questioning the propriety of several elements of an agreement that would turn a renovated Wendt Park mansion into a privately operated bed-and-breakfast on the county-owned park. Developer Mark Yellen, meanwhile, says his Precision Parks Service group is considering dropping its proposal amid the "negative commentary" received from area politicians. Yellen, head of Buffalo's Appraisal.com company, had proposed investing $2 million to restore the mansion and parts of the park in exchange for a concession to run a bed-and-breakfast there. The offer received preliminary approval from the Erie County Legislature in the fall. But when Yellen and Erie County Parks Commissioner Angelo Sedita met with the Legislature's Energy and Environment Committee last Thursday, they received some harder questioning. "We met with a group of legislators who clearly did not have a good understanding of the proposal that had been put forth and who clearly did not have a good understanding of the usual and customary and reasonable processes that are used to put together proposals like these," Yellen said, "and we found it quite discouraging. "As of this moment, we are considering withdrawing our offer to the county, based on the negative commentary we have received from several local politicians. Our feeling is if they don't want our $2 million investment to refurbish and improve Wendt Beach for everyone, we're not interested in making the investment. It would be a sad loss for Erie County." Poloncarz issued a letter Monday in which he questioned several parts of the proposal from Yellen and Steven Sherman, the other principal in Precision Parks. Among the issues was how the proposal was created and why Precision Parks was the only respondent. The request for proposals for the Wendt Beach project were advertised in The Buffalo News on July 29, 2005, with a walk-through at the site on Aug. 9. The deadline for responses was Aug. 26. Poloncarz said his office contacted two companies that had received copies of the bid request, and both said they didn't have the time and resources to respond that quickly. Yellen said, "We were the only ones who even showed up for the walk-through, so we got the feeling the project was not of any interest to anyone else out there." Poloncarz also questioned why the request for proposals was never sent to Delaware North Cos., the Buffalo-based hospitality and food service company, or advertised nationally in trade magazines. The comptroller also questioned the status of Precision Park Services, since Yellen's proposal describes it as a "for-profit New York company." It doesn't show up in New York State's listings of corporations, and Poloncarz said his office was unaware of any authorization statement if the company is an out-of-state corporation. Yellen said the comptroller's office never asked for such a statement, and that Precision Park Services is a division of another company that is registered in Delaware. Other issues Poloncarz addressed include:
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