From one end of the town to the other, employees of the Town of Batavia have been extremely busy over the past few months dealing with a truckload full of building permits, construction projects, zoning reviews and maintenance issues.
That message was conveyed to the Town Board on Wednesday night by Supervisor Gregory Post, who shared a long list of projects and recent developments in a report from Daniel Lang, the municipality's senior zoning and codes officer.
"As you can clearly see, much is going on in the town," Post said.
Lang's report indicated that there are 144 active open permits in the town and that 10 single-family homes are being built.
It also provided an update on the status of several noteworthy projects:
-- Batavia Downs Gaming Hotel: Construction is expected to be completed wilthin the next few weeks.
-- Arc of Genesee Orleans: Crews are waiting for the steel to start construction of an addition on West Main Street Road.
-- O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative: Information pertaining to a flood plain development permit has been provided to the town as the Cedar Street facility looks to close out its 200,000-square-foot addition by the end of September.
-- Walmart: A new training center at the rear of the store is finished, with ribbon cutting set for 7:30 a.m. Oct. 11.
-- Chamber of Commerce, Park Road: Phase 1 of its construction/renovation (upstairs) is complete and Phase 2 is underway (downstairs).
-- Manning Squires Hennig, Seven Springs Road: Its construction project is 80-percent complete.
Lang also reported that the East Pembroke Fire Department has awarded contracts for its new 9,000-square-foot fire hall on Barrett Drive, east of the hamlet of East Pembroke, and that project updates are expected over the next several weeks from Koolatron, Fairfield Inn & Suites, L&M Fabricating and others.
Post said that the board will be receiving budget requests from department heads and other town employees prior to releasing its 2017 tentative budget at a special meeting on Oct. 5. He noted that the board is prepared to "do what needs to be done" in the areas of infrastructure and staff, as well as "the mechanics necessary to keep the community safe and sustained."
With that, he acknowledged that a deficit spending strategy that prevailed in the town for a decade and a half is a thing of the past and that residents can expect a town tax for a second straight year. In 2016, the tax rate was $1.42 per thousand of assessed valuation.
In other action, the board:
-- Approved a pair of resolutions connected to the Ellicott Trail Project, a walking/bicycle path project between the town and city of Batavia.
One measure will allocate $13,860 to renovate the CSX railroad bridge off of East Main Street Road, behind the Town & Country Restaurant, turning it into a pedestrian overhead walkway, and the other is to appropriate $30,000 to Clark Patterson Lee for structural design work of a new pedestrian bridge over Tonawanda Creek (at a site to be determined).
Post said that funds from a grant provided by the NYS Department of Transportation will be used for these projects, and added that an additional $200,000 in funding has been obtained recently through the efforts of State Sen. Michael H. Ranzenhofer.
-- Reappointed Engineer Technician Joseph Neth to full-time status effective immediately as the employee has completed a five-year commitment to further his education.
The message is clear the Town
The message is clear the Town of Batavia is business friendly. The City of Batavia's nonstop harassment of businesses and residents is not helping their tax base.