Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas, responding to criticism last week regarding the contract with Race World Offshore for the August boat competition, said in statement this week that the event accomplished the three major goals set by his adminstration.

“As far as I am concerned the boat race was a success, period,” the mayor said, countering remarks made by Shaun Heenan, current Third Ward councilman who is opposing Rosas for the city’s top spot. Heenan, in an OBSERVER article last week, stated the council and the Dunkirk Local Development Corp. had no say in the contract between the city and Race World Offshore.

However, a letter in today’s edition from Council members Martin Bamonto and Michael Civiletto — both Democrats — state Heenan’s comments were “purely political.”

“Mayor Rosas not only discussed (the race) at length in the 2018 budget meetings, but there were several resolutions brought to council for approval regarding various aspects of this event,” the councilmen say in the letter on Page A5.

Putting the dispute aside, Rosas said the main goals of the race included: Bringing people to Dunkirk to visit the waters; to showcase the waterfront — including having national telecast of the event through CBS Sportsnetwork; and to provide area merchants and businesses additional foot traffic during the weekend.

“City funds were not used to bring the boat race here,” Rosas said. “What we used was state funding and sponsorship funds. … The only city funds used for this event were to provide public safety, which include the police, fire and Department of Public Works.”

Rosas estimated the event cost to the city, which has a $23 million budget, is under $10,000 in overtime costs. He said that money was budgeted as part of the 2019 fiscal plan. “In my opinion, that’s a good deal for the city of Dunkirk,” he said.

Dunkirk’s Grand Prix event came under criticism this past August for sparse numbers of boats in the competition. Race World Offshore officials earlier this month said those numbers were due to other speedboat races taking place the week before the city event.

Rosas said Dunkirk is open to choosing a different time other than the third weekend in August for 2020. “We are going to sit down to make sure we pick the right date. … It has to do with the racers who are coming, who want to be here,” Rosas said. “If they’re involved in another race the week before, it makes it harder for them to be here.”