One Bradford City councilman expressed at Tuesday’s meeting that
he felt he was put between a rock and a hard place by what he felt
was misleading information about the intentions of a concrete plant
which leases space from the city.

When approving an invoice for Wayne Concrete for sewer repairs
on Abbott Road, Councilman Tom Riel stopped to comment on what he
believed was the company’s original intention in leasing property
from the City of Bradford.

“We were assured they were only going to be providing concrete
for the highway and that’s not the case,” Riel said.

Mayor Michele Corignani disagreed with Riel’s assessment of
Wayne’s business, saying “There were no stipulations in the
agreement.”

She said that the company had located there because of the
proximity to the highway.

“They are in the KOZ (Keystone Opportunity Zone), they have ‘el
cheapo’ rent. I can see why (the owner of Bisett’s Building Center
and Concrete) is mad,” Riel said. “Bisett’s is paying
$60-some-thousand a year in property taxes.

“They pay no taxes,” he said, referring to the fact that Wayne’s
plant is in the Keystone Opportunity Zone, which is tax-free for 10
years, “reduced utilities … almost with the city’s help.”

Wayne Concrete leases a portion of the city’s Holley Avenue
complex where the Department of Public Works is located for $1,000
a month in one year renewable leases through at least a five-year
period.

“I wish with hindsight I hadn’t voted for it,” Riel said. “I
apologize to George Gigliotti (an owner of Bisett’s) for someone
pulling the wool over my eyes on that one.”

Riel did approve the invoice for Wayne Concrete, saying it was a
legitimate bill.

Following the meeting, Riel said, “Bisett’s has been in business
over 100 years, employs over 30 people and pays over $60,000 in
property taxes.”

And now the city is leasing property to another company, based
in Shinglehouse, “for chump change to undermine them,” Riel
said.

And before Riel initially agreed to support Wayne Concrete
coming to Bradford, he questioned City Clerk John Peterson about
the company’s intentions, he told The Era.

“I was told by the city clerk that they would be providing
concrete for the bridges only because Bisett’s had expressed
concern about them going in down there. I went straight from a
meeting in George Gigliotti’s office to the city clerk’s office and
was assured that concrete was for the 219 project only,” Riel
said.

“It’s wrong. It’s wrong that city council was lied to. Shame on
me for not checking on the lease to see what it said,” he
added.

Riel explained that he had checked with Sara Andrews, executive
director of the Office of Economic and Community Development,
recently about the lease, and was told it was not handled through
the OECD.

“That lease came out of city hall, it had nothing to do with
OECD,” Riel said. “It’s just another case of the city using
taxpayer resources to compete against private enterprise. It’s not
even close to a fair playing field.”

“Someone should be held accountable for the fact that we were
lied to,” he added.

Back in February, when the city approved the lease agreement
with Wayne Concrete, a local resident questioned why the city was
leasing to the company. It was explained then that Wayne Concrete
had gotten the contract for the Route 219 highway project.