The make-up of the Niagara Falls Water Board continues to shift entering the new year, with Mayor Robert Restaino tapping a relative unknown to a new three-year term on the board.
Restaino confirmed on Tuesday that he has appointed Matthew Cole as his representative on the board. Cole replaces Ralph Aversa, who had been serving as an interim board member following the resignation on July 30 of long-time board member, and then chairman, Nick Forster.
Current Water Board Chair Richard Sirianni said Aversa, a former director of what was the Falls Department of Water Facilities (pre-dating the now independent Falls Water Board and Falls Water Authority), “will be missed.”
“He brought so much to the board with his experience and his intelligence,” Sirianni said. “We’re gonna miss Ralph.”
Sirianni said he doesn’t “know much about” Cole.
“I reached out to him and congratulated him,” Sirianni said. “I’m looking forward to having a conversation with him and learning more about him.”
Restaino described Cole as “a guy we’re close to.” The mayor said he was a “real estate manager” who has been involved in a “number of property projects.”
“He had always indicated to us that he wanted to volunteer and would be available to serve on boards or commissions,” Restaino said. “I know he’ll ask a lot of questions.”
Cole is expected to meet with Water Board Executive Director Sean Costello later today to tour the water and waste treatment plants.
In an online post, Cole describes himself as a “fifth-generation resident of the Falls”, whose family traces their roots in the Cataract City “back to the 1800s.”
In 2014, it appears that Cole circulated petitions to run for election to a state Assembly seat.
At that time, Cole said he was “a small business consultant and former personal assistant for actor Nicolas Cage.”
The arrival of Sirianni and new Water Board Member James Dean in July, may have played a role in Forster’s decision to leave before his term expired on Dec. 31. Forster was ousted from the board chairmanship on Sept. 23, but an undated letter, addressed to Restaino, and City Administrator Anthony Restaino, indicated that he had tendered his resignation effective at the “close of business on July 30, 2024.”
Sirianni is a former Town of Niagara Board member and the town’s current highway superintendent. Dean is an employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Buffalo.
On July 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul shook up the water board with the appointment of Sirianni, to replace long-time board member Gretchen Leffler whose term had expired. At the end of July, the Falls City Council removed its water board appointee Michael Asklar.
He later resigned his post. The council then appointed Dean as his replacement.
Sirianni has promised to undertake an aggressive oversight of water board operations.