COVID-19

 Update: April 16, 10:30 a.m.

County Manager Jay Gsell said that of the nine cases that are being evaluated, none of them are due to a county employee being infected with the coronavirus.

"We have to have these policies in place because the federal and state legislation require us to be able to notify employees that deal with a circumstance that either somebody can't come to work or is caring for an individual or is in the protocol due to isolation or quarantine because they came in contact with a person who might be positive or they themselves might be positive," he said. "But the people that we're presently dealing with -- none of them at this point had a positive test as far as being a county employee and therefore being in the much more heightened County Health Department C-19 protocol."

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Genesee County management, taking its cue from recent state and federal laws that protect workers stricken by the coronavirus, has developed a COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Policy to cover its employees.

The policy is effective retroactively to March 18, the date that both New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Trump signed into law measures that provide emergency paid leave benefits.

“I think we have nine cases right now that we’re evaluating …,” Human Resources Director Anita Cleveland reported on Wednesday to the County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee.

Committee members approved a resolution establishing the policy and sent it to the full legislature for a final vote at its April 22 meeting.

The NYS COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law guarantees job protection and pay for New Yorkers who have been quarantined as a result of COVID-19, while the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act creates two new emergency paid leave requirements -- the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.

The new federal statutes allow certain employees to take up to 12 weeks of expanded family medical leave for reasons related to COVID-19 (effective April 1).

Cleveland said the local policy combines provisions of both the state and federal statutes, with her department charged with evaluation on a “case-by-case basis.”

“When we know of somebody being out, we’re sending them a letter and asking them to return the application along with documentation and then we’re reviewing that across each law to see what they qualify for,” she said. “We’re having them use their sick time at this point and if they qualify, we will go in and adjust them to the appropriate law that they fall under.”

When asked whether any of the affected employees are new and have no sick time, Cleveland said that was not the case.

“Most have had leave credits so they can use some kind of a leave credit, whatever the contract allows, and then we will be reimbursing them if they qualify,” she said.

County Manager Jay Gsell said he sees the policy as additional support to an already substantial benefit package.

“What this is, really for a lot of employers unlike county governments and local governments that don’t have a lot of leave benefit credits and things of that nature, this is a floor underneath a lot of people who because of the illness and the protocols that are established for determining a direct relationship, guarantees the employees something that they normally wouldn’t get,” he said.

“We have a fairly adroit and rich benefit package that includes paid sick leave already, but we have to adapt into this just in case – such as somebody who just started with us and came down with it.”

Cleveland noted that in most cases, employees would get up to a maximum of 80 hours depending upon the number of hours they work in a week.

“And depending on what the issue is – if it’s a child care issue – they actually would get two-thirds pay and they can supplement that with leave credits,” she said.

The county policy was crafted by its labor and relations attorneys, using guidance from the state Department of Labor, Cleveland said.

“Once the Department of Labor releases their forms, we will use their forms. But in the meantime, we’ve created our own by using their guidance – which changes daily,” she said, adding that the law will be in effect through the end of this year.

On another front, Gsell said he is waiting to hear from New York State leaders concerning the distribution of $1.6 billion in federal money “that is literally in Albany, part of which has our name on it, and I mean all 57 counties.”

“We have heard little or nothing as far as the State of New York is concerned as to what they’re going to do with what I believe is a required benefit to the counties to the tune of $1.6 billion, including the City of New York,” he said. “It’s not some kind of (money to be used at the) governor’s discretion.”

Gsell said the state is receiving $5.26 billion in Medicaid aid from the first and second federal stimulus bills and $1.6 billion of that is earmarked for county governments who are paying Medicaid weekly shares (such as Genesee).

“We need to see what the plan looks like as we make all these contingency plans for our county government to survive going into the next two quarters and what we will see likely as changes in our sales tax proceeds,” Gsell continued. “It is disappointing that the counties are not getting that kind of clarity and understanding what the plan is for that benefit to be derived into our budget.”

On another resolution, Ways & Means voted in favor of a measure establishing a pair of capital projects -- a highway department fire alarm system for $97,161 and a 5130 Main St. alarm control panel for $15,000 – to be funded by the 1 percent sales tax.

Join GO ART! for the organization's first Virtual Birthday Party at 7 p.m.

The party includes gallery tours, live performances by Jackie Siegel McLean, Theresa & Mark Kehl, Madison Hoerbelt, and the Canning Family, the Genean (Genesee-Orleans) Arts and Culture Awards, and winner announcements for its Quarantine Contest and Juried Show, “Art of the Rural.”

Genesee/Orleans Public Health Director Paul Pettit reported a bit of welcome good news related to local COVID-19 trends at this afternoon’s Genesee County Legislature Ways & Means Committee videoconferencing meeting.

“If you look at the (tracking system) mapping around you can see that although our cases climbed collectively, our active cases are actually trending downward,” Pettit said. “That is a great sign as you’ve probably seen that in the numbers that we’ve had, where last week we were pushing eight to 10 to 11 (active cases) a day and this week it’s 1, 2, 3.”

Pettit said he is “very proud” of the department’s tracking system. (See daily update story below.)

“I’ve compared it to some of our neighboring counties and around the state, and we’re able to provide great data for folks in both our counties. We have the confirmed case layer and the active case layer,” he said.

The director was in attendance to advance a resolution showing that the NYS Department of Health has awarded the Genesee County Health Department funding in the amount of $27,883 for COVID-19 investigations, data management, overtime, quarantine support and supplies.

The resolution was passed unanimously by Ways & Means and will go to the full legislature for a final vote.

This money comes on the heels of $67,490 in state funding that was received a couple weeks ago.

While grateful for state assistance, Pettit said his department has been unable to acquire the amount of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that it needs.

“We’re still terribly short, unfortunately. We’re working with emergency management closely; there is a little bit of flow coming through there (with) some reports of levels of PPE coming in for this Friday.”

He said it is a percentage of what the department has been ordering but “it still pales in comparison to what we have asked for and what we really need.”

County Manager Jay Gsell concurred, adding that finding PPE is a statewide problem.

“Our county EMO (Emergency Management Office) people have been constantly, constantly making inquiries, and asking and asking repeatedly,” Gsell said. “The state controls all this. Where is it? When is it coming here? They’ll just tell us that they’ve got tons of hand sanitizer. That’s about what it is.”

Gsell said that the county has been working with United Memorial Medical Center and other sources to get testing kits, but is getting no answers from the state Office of Emergency Management when it comes to PPE.

Pettit said the health department is fully staffed at this point (the legislature authorized additional employees through the crisis), and acknowledged a “lot of overtime, especially on the weekends with our nursing level and epidemiologists.”

He credited other Genesee County departments for assisting his agency, including county employees who are helping to drive health officials to the daily mandatory checks on those in quarantine and isolation.

“There are some tired eyes and a lot of yawning, and we’ve been going through a lot of coffee here at the health department, but beyond that we’re holding together,” Pettit said. “It’s a group effort and people are doing a great job in tracing down these contacts and containing them, which is the ultimate goal.”

In a related development, Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein said she signed an extension to Genesee County’s State of Emergency declaration to be in effect until May 12, as per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order.

Press release:

• State will begin conducting antibody tests prioritizing frontline workers beginning this week -- 2,000 tests per day using a finger prick test.
• Announces state will give 100 ventilators to Michigan and 50 ventilators to Maryland.
• Issues Executive Order requiring nursing homes to inform family members of residents of COVID-19 cases.
• Issues Executive Order allowing individuals sssisting with COVID-19 response to stay in a hotel in New York City for more than 28 days without becoming a tenant.
• SUNY and CUNY colleges using 3D printers to produce personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers.
• Confirms 11,571 additional coronavirus cases in New York State -- bringing statewide total to 213,779; new cases in 43 counties.
• Governor Cuomo: "It's going to be a phased reopening, right. And during the phased reopening, the priority is to make sure you do no harm and keep your eye on the public health issue. That is what is key in all of this. So it's going to be a calibration of reopening based on public health safety and that infection rate because what we have done, and the reducing of the infection rate, is a pure function of what New Yorkers have done and what people across the country have done. When you relax that social distancing, you could very well see an increase in the infection rate. So it's all a calibration to the public health. But it's going to be a gradual increase of economic activity in calibration with the public health, public health standards. The single best tool to doing this gauging, right, is large-scale testing. Test, trace and isolate."
• "Don't tell me that we can't do it because I know that we can do it. We can we build a bridge that takes us from today to 18 months? Yes. Yes, because we are bridge builders, that's what we do. We build bridges. Sometimes literally, sometimes symbolically, sometimes metaphorically, but we build bridges. That's what we do in New York and we're going to do this."

Previously:

• It may be a good idea to wear face masks (just don't buy masks needed by medical professionals)
• Local residents making masks for people in our community

These are the people who have contacted us to say they are available to make masks for their fellow Genesee County residents. We haven't asked what, if anything, they're charging.  

• Roxanne: alterationssewing@aol.com
• Shandra: shandamabon@gmail.com
• Bethany: betsanee@yahoo.com
• Nancy: tuniquel@rochester.rr.com
• Crystal: chavens92@gmail.com
• Shirley: snigrohill@hotmail.com
• Karen: karensyarnpaperscissors@gmail.com

If you are available to sew cloth masks for other people and would like to be listed, email howard@thebatavian.com. Here is a link to the CDC guidelines (pdf).

There are three new positive tests for people in Genesee County for COVID-19, the Health Department is reporting this afternoon, bringing the total of positive cases reported in the county since the pandemic reached our community to 80.

Earlier today, the Health Department reported the county's second COVID-19-related death, a person over age 65 living in the central part of the county.

There are currently 99 people in mandatory quarantine and 37 people recovered. A total of 48 of the positive cases are among people age 50 and younger, including three under age 20.

There are now 11 positive cases at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, an increase of six since Saturday.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the new cases are:

• Two 21-year-old Salvadoran nationals, and a 35-year-old Dominican national;
• A 24-year-old Indian national, a 41-year-old Haitian national, and a 30-year-old Guatemalan national;
• A 33-year-old Guatemalan national;
• A 62-year-old Pakistani national, a 29-year-old Somali national, a 37-year-old Honduran national and a 31-year-old Honduran national;

There are no new cases since yesterday at the Veterans Hospital in Batavia.

Contrary to some social media comments, Premier Genesee in Batavia reports no positive test cases to date.

There is one person in treatment and isolation at UMMC.

O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia, where some employees have expressed concern about positive cases among their coworkers, posted a statement on social media about its efforts to keep employees safe:

We applaud the recent measures taken by Governor Cuomo to stop the spread of the coronavirus and flatten the curve!

At O-AT-KA Milk Products, we are dedicated to ensuring that our employees, business partners, and community stay safe, healthy and supported. In addition to our normal strict hygiene standards, we have put in place additional safety measures in our plant and office. Despite being difficult to come by, we made it a priority to provide face masks to everyone working at O-AT-KA. As of April 13th, we have supplied every employee across our facility with face coverings.

People are at the heart of our business and it is because of them that we are able to ensure the stability of our national food supply chain.

Below is the full written briefing from the Genesee/Orleans Health Department:

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received three new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 80 positive cases.
    • The three positive cases reside in Batavia.
    • One individual is in their 20s, one individual is in their 40s, and one individual is in their 90s.
    • The positive individuals were not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Two of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
    • Genesee County received notification of the second COVID-19 related death.
• Orleans County: Three new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 33.
  • Of the new positive cases today, one lives in Ridgeway, one lives in Gaines, and one lives in Murray.
  • The ages include 1 individual is in their 40s, one individual is in their 70s and one individual is in their 90s.
  • Two have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Three of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and the ability to be swabbed.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

From Senator Charles E. Schumer:

As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout the country, making New York its epicenter with over 10,000 deaths, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately clarify its plan to address the lack over oversight and inspection of the American food supply system – to restore peace of mind to millions.

Last month, the FDA announced the temporary suspension of domestic routine surveillance facility inspections and the relaxation of compliance requirements for food producers.

According to Schumer, as the virus continues to spread throughout the United States, the nation’s grocery and food industries were not spared. Schumer’s concerns over the FDA’s rollbacks were exacerbated by recent reports  of outbreaks in food distribution facilities, processing plants, warehouses, and grocery stores around the nation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is reaching alarming new levels every day, leaving no part of life untouched and millions of Americans perpetually concerned,” Senator Schumer said. “In the midst of all that we are facing, New Yorkers deserve to have the peace of mind that the food on their tables is safe to eat.

"Contaminated food sickens and kills thousands of Americans every year and the challenge of this virus must not be an excuse to let our guard down when it comes to keeping our food supply safe for consumers. The FDA must not scale back essential food-safety inspections and must maintain food-production requirements and guarantee the safety of our food supply in these trying times."

Schumer’s call for adequate oversight and inspection of the domestic food supply follows reports that the FDA has suspended routine surveillance facility inspections and relaxed compliance requirements. The senator demanded to know how the FDA was guaranteeing food safety for Americans, especially during a time where New Yorkers are depending on a reliable food supply.

The Center for Diseases Control estimates that roughly one in six Americans, or 48 million people, get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne illnesses every year, even with the FDA’s usual regulations in place.

Salmonella alone causes about 1.2 million illnesses and 450 deaths in the United States, costing about $350 million annually. A salmonella outbreak linked to papaya sickened 24 people in New York last year.

Public Notice

In the best interests of the Town of Bergen and our residents and businesses I declare a new State of Emergency for the Town of Bergen as of 5 p.m. today, April 15, 2020.

The declaration allows the Supervisor discretion to use all facilities, equipment, supplies, personnel and other resources of the Town of Bergen to cope with the COVID-19 emergency.

I anticipate that it will be critical to have Town of Bergen personnel available to respond to various needs arising in the Town. I am sure we will all rise to the occasion to help each other, safely, during this time.

Thank you,

Ernest Haywood
Supervisor, Town of Bergen
10 Hunter St.
Bergen, NY
Ph: 585-494-1121
Fax: 585-494-1372

Public Notice

By order of Town of Bethany Supervisor and Chief Executive Officer Carl Hyde Jr., a State of Emergency was declared in the Town of Bethany, effective at 3 p.m. on March 19, 2020 due to the ongoing viral pandemic of COVID-19 and the existing States of Emergency at the Federal, State, and County level.

This State of Emergency is hereby renewed by the Town Supervisor of Bethany.

This State of Emergency is declared in an effort to protect public health and safety and will remain in effect for 30 days or until rescinded by a subsequent order.

As the Chief Executive of the Town of Bethany, County of Genesee, State of New York, I, Carl Hyde Jr., exercise the authority given me under Section 24 of the New York State Executive Law, to preserve the public safety and hereby render all required and available assistance vital to the security, well-being, and health of the citizens of this Municipality. I hereby direct all departments and agencies of the Town of Bethany to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance deemed necessary.

Carl Hyde Jr.

Town Supervisor, Town of Bethany

April 19, 2020

From Village of Bergen Mayor Anna Marie Barclay:

After much consideration, and collaboration with the Village Board of Trustees, Town Supervisor Ernest Haywood, and the Bergen Volunteer Fire Department, and determining what is in the best interests of the Village of Bergen and our residents and businesses, a new State of Emergency for the Village of Bergen will take effect at 3 p.m. today, April 15.

The declaration allows the Mayor discretion to use all facilities, equipment, supplies, personnel and other resources of the Village of Bergen to cope with the COVID-19 emergency.

It is anticipated that it will be critical to have Village of Bergen personnel available to respond to various needs arising in the Village. Assuredly, we will all rise to the occasion to help each other, to keep everyone as safe as possible, during this time.

Public Notice

The County of Genesee and the State of New York have declared States of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The outbreak poses and immediate danger to public health and safety which endangers the residents and businesses of the Village of Bergen.

I believe it is in the best interest of the Village of Bergen and our residents/businesses for me to issue a State of Emergency in the Village of Bergen, which will allow me the discretion to use any and all facilities, equipment, supplies and other resources of the Village of Bergen in such a manner as may be neceesary or appropriate to cope with the disaster of emergency resulting there from.

In particular, but with no limitation, I anticipate that it will be critical to have the Village of Bergen personnel available to respond to specific, but currently unforeseen, needs arising in the Village. The Village of Bergen will be coordinating efforts with the Town of Bergen.

Therefore I have exercised the authority given to me and the Mayor and Chief Executive Officer of the Village of Bergen, pursuant to Article 2B of the Executive Law of the State of New York, and hereby declare a state of emergency effective this date, April 15, 2020 at 3 pm. in the Village of Bergen, Genesee County, New York.

This state of emergency shall remain in effect for the next 30 days unless and until rescinded or extended by me for additional 30-day period.

Any residents in need of special or emergency assistance are advised to contact 9-1-1. All residents are advised to monitor the Village of Bergen website, local media reports for continued updates and advisories.

Anna Marie Barclay

Mayor

Village of Bergen

Press release:

"It is with great sadness that I am reporting the second confirmed death related to COVID-19 in Genesee County” said Paul Pettit, Public Health director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

The individual was over the age of 65 and resided in the central part of Genesee County.

“Due to privacy issues, I will not be releasing further information about this individual. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the patient,” Pettit said.

The Genesee County Health Department is conducting contact tracing. Close contacts have been notified of their potential exposure to COVID-19, and have been placed under mandatory quarantine to monitor for symptoms.

Individuals under mandatory quarantine who develop symptoms will be swabbed. The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments are following guidance provided by the NYSDOH and CDC.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread within our communities, we must do everything we can to keep each other safe,” Pettit said. “Please remain home unless you are an essential worker or need to purchase essential household items. In that case, designate one household member to do the shopping. We must work together as a community to stop the spread.”

UPDATE 12:22 p.m.: In response to questions from The Batavian, Mari Hamilton, a public information officer for the Health Department, said the victim was previously among those reported in mandatory isolation and had been hospitalized.

From Rick Mancuso, owner of T.F. Brown's Restaurant:

At this time we would like to notify the Genesee County community that we will be closing until we get further guidance from government officials as to how and when we will be allowed to open as a full-service restaurant.

We would like to thank our dedicated, hardworking family of coworkers for all of their sacrifice and efforts through these most difficult and trying times.

I am very proud to be able to work with such an amazing group of people, for they are truly the heart and soul of our business.

To our many customers, friends and family that continue to patronize our establishment both past and present: “Thank you and we look forward to seeing you here at T.F. Brown’s in the near future.”

We would like to thank all of the front line heroes who sacrifice and risk their safety each day to protect and serve this community -- doctors, nurses, EMTs, fire, police, essential food and product providers, many  that are our neighbors, friends and family. 

Please keep them all in your good thoughts and prayers. 

Be safe and healthy.

Daily COVID-19 briefing:

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received one new positive case of COVID-19 for a total of 77 positive cases.
    • The individual resides in Batavia.
    • The individual is in their 30s.
    • The positive individual was not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Two of the positive cases are hospitalized.
• Orleans County: Twp new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 31
  • Of the new positive cases today, one lives in Albion and one lives in Barre
  • The ages include one individual is under 20 and one individual is in their 80s.
  • Three have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation
  • Three of the positive cases are hospitalized.
• Mapping Update: Today we are adding Wyoming County mapping. Genesee Orleans County will not be making any statement related to Wyoming County. Please contact the Wyoming County Health Department for any inquiries.
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and ability to be swabbed.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

"This is Me," performed by participants in the Sound Foundation and the Harvester 56 Theater in Batavia.

Sound Foundations Voice Studio is a private studio run by Wendy Williams. She trains both classical and music-theater style singers, including children and adult beginners. Five of her high school students placed this year in an international young classical artists competition and sang at Carnegie Hall. 

Williams is currently conducting lessons remotely and she decided to use the remote learning tools to bring the class together in a fun and uplifting project.

The song is from the musical "The Greatest Showman."

The Veterans Administration reports that two staff members at the Batavia VA hospital have tested positive for COVID-19.

Previously the VA reported two patients had also tested positive, and that number has not changed, though it's unclear when the positive tests for all four individuals were received.

Individuals associated with federal and state facilities in Genesee County who test positive are part of the Health Department's countywide count. That count is currently 76 positive cases (one more than the reported yesterday (the Health Department will release more information later today) with 50 active cases and 25 recoveries).

There is also a new case reported at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, bringing the total to eight.

The two VA staff members are in home isolation, a VA spokeswoman said in a statement.

No further information about the two staff members would be released, said the spokeswoman, citing privacy concerns.

As for the two patients who tested positive, she said, "Precautionary measures have been taken to mitigate the risk of transmission to other patients and staff, as the veterans are being cared for in respiratory isolation by staff who are specially trained on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) treatment guidelines, including the use of personal protective equipment and infection control techniques.

"(The) VA is screening veterans and staff who present with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath who meet the CDC criteria for evaluation of COVID-19 infection. Per CDC guidance and VA protocols, patients known to be at risk for a COVID-19 infection are immediately isolated to prevent potential spread to others."

Individuals entering the VA facilities in Batavia are being prescreened, according to the statement.

Reaction to a dog barking in the background and a couple minor technical glitches couldn’t prevent a successful first foray into videoconferencing for the Batavia City Council on Monday night.

“I thought for the initial meeting, Council was a little less talkative than they normally would be, but other than that I thought everything went well,” said Council President Eugene Jankowski, about 14 hours after he presided over a Zoom videoconference that was shown on Facebook live and livestreamed on The Batavian.

Jankowski said that the board conducted a couple of trial runs on Zoom prior to the meeting. As it turned out, every Council member except for two was hooked up to video.

Early in the meeting, a comedic moment occurred when participants, viewers and listeners were distracted by the loud barking of a dog in the background. The owner, a Council member who will not be named in this account, let his feelings be known in harsh terms to quiet that dog down.

Other than that, Council Member John Canale lost his internet connection toward the end of the proceedings, but after a few minutes delay, he was back online and able to cast his votes on a pair of resolutions.

Jankowski said he and Lisa Casey, the City’s confidential secretary, had a plan in place for a situation such as that.

“If someone got kicked off, when we noticed it we would call (that person on the phone) and we will wait for you and try to get you back online,” Jankowski said. “I didn’t mind taking a minute or two recess and that’s exactly what happened. When someone got kicked off and it was noticed, we went into that plan and it took a few minutes longer, but we got him back online and he was able to cast his vote.”

Overall, Jankowski said he found it a bit difficult to make sure people didn’t talk over one another and that he missed the public input part of the meeting.

“Due to the circumstances, we just don’t have the room on the screen to have a lot of people get involved in the meeting,” he said. “We’re going to try to address that by emails and other ways, and hopefully this will only be a couple times and we’ll be back in person in a few weeks.”

At least one regular City Council observer agreed that the videoconference was effective.

“For a first time, it worked well,” said Batavian John Roach, in a comment on The Batavian.

The meeting also was shown on the Batavia News Service YouTube channel later last night and will be televised on Spectrum channel 1301 at 9 a.m. Wednesday and at 8 p.m. Friday.

City Council’s next meeting at 7 p.m. on April 27 has been set up as a Zoom videoconference.

In another development, Jankowski applauded a local business for offering to sew 200 to 250 masks for City employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“We’re supplying some of the materials to the local business and they are providing all the labor – free of charge, I guess,” Jankowski said. “They don’t want to be named right now; they are trying to do this anonymously.”

He said the homemade masks are more for others’ protection, “not necessarily the ones who are wearing them.”

“If you’re sick and you don’t know it, you’re not going to infect other people that you’re around … that’s what the governor is saying, anyway.”

City Council members are proceeding with caution after learning the Video Lottery Terminal money generated by Batavia Downs Gaming has been restored to local municipalities.

Last week, Assemblyman Steven Hawley announced that $440,000 in VLT funds will be returned to the City of Batavia – a reversal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's last-minute proposal that drove Council to pass a budget with a 7.48 percent property tax increase.

Council members discussed the new development at tonight’s joint Conference/Business videoconference that was live streamed on The Batavian.

Rose Mary Christian, reflecting the collective view of the board, said she will believe it when she sees it (in the City’s bank account).

“We can’t count on any of this unless we have it in our hand," she said. "We’re going to be hurting for quite a while because they (state lawmakers) are going to need it.” 

Responding to comments made by City Manager Martin Moore on the need to start planning now for next year’s budget – a spending plan certainly to be dealt a harsh blow by the coronavirus and its affect on sales tax revenue, Christian said she feels the residents’ pain.

“Marty, I really do not want to count on that money whatsoever at this point," she said. "I really feel our area is going to be hurting for taxes, property taxes, county taxes, water. I really feel sorry for the people throughout our community at this time, and I really don’t want to count on anything. People are having a very difficult time.”

Moore informed the board that a provision of the state budget is that “at certain times of the year they can take aid back that was approved by the legislature and signed by the governor.”

“That’s why we need to hold off on spending right now … looking at capital projects on a piece by piece basis,” he said.

Moore said it is too late to rework the budget, adding that there is no guarantee the (VLT) money will be received.

“If the money does show up, we will be very careful with that,” he said. “A most likely scenario is that our sales and use tax are going to take a hit and because of that fact, it may have to help fill some of the hole … for some of that loss in sales and use tax revenue.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski emphasized that “serious budgeting” is in store.

“We need to start planning next year for that money not being in our budget, and we need to not be surprised,” he said.

He said he does not want to have to exceed the (2 percent) tax cap again, either.

“I would like to keep it within our means and below the tax cap," he said. "That’s going to mean serious budgeting. We have 11 months to figure it out and we need to start today to plan ahead."

Jankowski also mentioned the state’s decision to fund (distressed) hospitals and nursing homes by taking sales tax before distribution to municipalities.

“The governor’s budget is taking money out of the sales tax revenue to supplement hospitals before they give it back to the county,” he said. “Not only are they taking AIM (Aid and Incentives for Municipalities) funding out of sales tax revenue then giving it to us, now they’re adding $50 million for hospitals, and then next year it’s going to be less. But this year they’ll take the biggest hit at the time we’re at the biggest hit ourselves.”

He said if the VLT money is available, the City will use it for one-time purchases or “maybe bring back some of the cuts we made this year.”

“But we’re not going to use it for the budget anymore; we can’t count on it and they’ll pull the rug out from underneath us,” he said.

Council passed two resolutions:

-- Taking $30,000 from the facility reserves to cover unexpected construction costs pertaining to the City Centre roof alternations and replacement project.

A recent design change with the skylight roof covering resulted in an additional expense of $13,040. The remaining nearly $17,000 will be available in case of a condition change that needs to be addressed right away once the main roof construction work starts.

-- Approval of the sale of foreclosed property at 697 E. Main St. to Joshua Doll for $10,000.

Doll was the highest bidder at an auction on March 14. The City’s Inspection Department reviewed the property and did not object to the sale.

While a number of capital projects have been chopped or pushed off to another day by Genesee County leaders, resulting in the deferral of more than $1 million in expenses, a plan to erect a new building to store fuel trucks and other equipment at the County Airport remains intact.

By a 3-1 vote this afternoon, the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee approved a resolution to forward a $109,000 project to its Ways & Means Committee for consideration before going before the full board.

After debating the project for about 30 minutes, John Hilchey, Christian Yunker and Marianne Clattenburg voted “yes” while Gordon Dibble voted “no.”

In reporting to the committee, Highway Superintendent Tim Hens said the new pole barn structure will replace an old farm building that has a dirt floor “and doesn’t have a big enough door for us to fit any of our modern equipment in.”

“The highway department force would be tearing the building down and we have put together a bid package for a new pole barn to be constructed on its site,” Hens said. “Basically, just the frame and the skin of the building (would be contracted out). County Highway would pour the concrete floor and we’d do the wiring for the building.”

Hens said Thompson Builds of Churchville came in with a bid of $109,000 – about $30,000 less than the next lowest bid. Funding will come from the county’s 1 percent sales tax.

“It’s a super-competitive price,” Hens said, adding that he understands the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on sales tax revenues but has set this project as a priority.

“This is one of those buildings that I’d still like to move forward. It does provide us a place to store our fuel equipment inside, which is really the driving factor for me,” he said.

The county has been storing the fuel trucks in old blue “T-hangars” that are located close to the runway and not capable of storing airplanes.

Hens said the problem with these hangars lies with the fact that they are unable to keep the cold wind from freezing the trucks’ fuel lines.

“We did have an outside area where we stored these pieces of equipment and put some plugs in … some block heaters for that equipment, but the block heater will only heat the engine end of the truck and it doesn’t deal with the fuel delivery end of the truck,” he said.

The highway superintendent also said heavy winds put the Jet A fuel truck out of commission for several days each winter, costing up to $5,000 in fuel sales profits – with a big impact on fuel sales to Mercy Flight.

Furthermore, the blue hangars are scheduled to be torn down this summer as part of a project fully funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“That project needs to move ahead. We just opened bids on it on Friday, and the FAA wants the project to move forward this summer,” he said.

Hens also noted that the new building would be able to store the large equipment used for mowing at the airport and the grader that currently is housed at the Highway Department on Cedar Street and driven through the City to the airport when needed.

Legislator Gary Maha, sitting in on the meeting, said he thought county crews could find a way to rig the heating blocks to keep the lines from freezing,

“I don’t think this is essential at this time,” he said. “I’d like to put this on pause for a year … and reevaluate it later.”

Dibble said he wasn’t against the project but disagreed with the timing.

“I would like to see us somehow make it through this winter to give us another year to see where we’re going on this whole thing,” he said. “It’s the same process we’re applying to a lot of projects across the county. I would like to see us drive the grader one more year and do what we can do to keep the fuel lines from freezing up.”

Yunker mentioned that Hens saved the county more than $700,000 in delaying projects and “made some very good arguments that it is going to be a problem with delivering fuel.”

“Between all the other dollars he’s cut out, we’ve got a very competitive bid and he’s going to do a lot of work on his own,” Yunker said. “It’s one of the more necessary projects that he had in mind, so I’m am going to support the project.”

County Manager Jay Gsell reported that for 2020 and 2021, Hens has put off $1.4 million in capital projects in response to the coronavirus’ impact upon county revenues.

Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein said she supports the project for various reasons.

“The potential that we would lose the sale of jet fuel along with a greater use of our workforce’s time and be able to shelter our equipment is extremely important because it extends its life,” she said. “And I would hate to lose the opportunity of grabbing this bid because it so competitive. I know it’s $109,000 … but the return on this is going to be sooner rather than later.”

Clattenburg agreed, noting that the blue hangars will be coming down soon.

“We’re not going to have those hangars to store them in because they have to be torn down, and we’re going to get 100 percent funding to do that,” she said. “I’m going to support this knowing that it’s a competitive bid, our workforce will have time to do this and contribute a lot of work toward this construction.”

Beyond the financial aspect, Hens said he does not want to tarnish the airport’s fine standing with aviators.

“The impact on our reputation of the ability to sell fuel in the winter months would probably be more of an issue for me than the actual dollar value loss,” he said. “We do get some big jets that rely on us (and) we do have a good runway to land on in the winter time. I would just hate to hurt our reputation we have build up in the last 20 years.”

In other action, the committee approved the following resolutions, which will now head to the Ways & Means Committee:

-- A contract renewal with Seneca Pavement Markings of Horseheads (Chemung County) for an amount not to exceed $165,000 for pavement markings – both center line and edge line. This is a 5 percent increase over the previous pact, the first increase since 2018, Hens said.

Hens said the estimated cost for this service is $300 per mile for center line markings and $170 per mile for edge line markings, which constitute the majority of road markings. He said markings last anywhere from six months to two years depending upon traffic volume.

The contract does not cover the cost of markings for roads in towns, but 11 of the 13 towns in Genesee County (except Darien and Pembroke) use the county’s bid prices, Hens said.

-- Renewal of a contract with H2H Facility Service Inc. of Rochester for office cleaning services at the Justice for Children Advocacy Center’s sties in Batavia, Albion and Warsaw. The two-year contract calls for a monthly rate of $505.82.

The cost of these services is covered by grants from the NYS Office of Children and Family Services and the NYS Office of Victim Services and are included in the 2020 Justice for Children Advocacy Center Budget.

-- Permission to apply for a State Homeland Security Program grant for $109,000 which is divided between the Sheriff’s Department (25 percent) and Emergency Management office to work together toward terrorism prevention, and Homeland Security and cybersecurity initiatives.

The county has received this type of funding for the past eight to 10 years, Gsell said.

-- The rejection of all bids for a five-year lease purchase of a new hydraulic excavator that came in at $375,000.

“I think we can probably milk another two to three years out of this piece of equipment,” Hens said. “Having the extra $75,000 (the 2020 expense), that will remain in the surplus in the road machinery fund and hopefully allow us, when we start doing 2020-21 budgeting, to not have to rely on so much revenue coming from either general fund or county road fund sources.”

-- Establishment of two capital projects – a highway fire alarm system for $97,161 and a 5130 Main St. alarm control panel for $15,000 – to be funded by the 1 percent sales tax.

This resolution, however, stipulates that six other capital projects will be put on hold, preserving $442,636 of sales tax revenue.

A similar resolution halted two more projects – an all-season pavilion and a park & forest boardwalk – returning another $180,000 to the 1 percent sales tax coffers.

Daily Health Department Briefing:

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received two new positive case of COVID-19 for a total of 76 positive cases.
    • The two individuals reside in Batavia.
    • One of the individuals is in their 30s, one individual is in their 90s.
    • One of our positive cases has been identified as an Erie County resident. Therefore, our numbers have decreased by one.
    • None of the positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
• Orleans County: One new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 29.
  • Of the positive cases over the weekend, including today, we have two from Lyndonville, one from Murray, one from Albion and one from Ridgeway.
  • The ages include one individual in their 30s, two individuals in their 50s, one individual in their 60s and one individual in their 70s.
  • One more person has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
  • None of the positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
• Mapping Update: Today we are adding the ages and the general area of where individuals who tested positive reside in the same format as our positive cases. You will now be able to see the cumulative age breakdown of the confirmed cases on the map as well as the breakdown by choosing the individual county from the upper right drop down box. Monday map updates will include the weekend data.
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and ability to be swabbed.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME!
•  Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

OPERATIONAL UPDATES

State of Emergency To Be Extended

• Due to the Governor’s Executive Order Dated April 12 extending the Disaster Emergency through May 12, both counties are extending the State of Emergency for the same time period.
• Because COVID-19 is circulating locally, we can’t stress enough how important social distancing is and that EVERYONE needs to take this seriously and stay home! It is your social and civic responsibility to protect yourselves and others.
  • If you must shop for essentials, such as food, necessary household supplies or prescriptions, shop solo! Wear a face covering and wash or sanitize your hands frequently.
• Using cloth face coverings are recommended to protect others from you. Remember to wear one when you are out in public. You will need to be careful removing them from your face so as not to be exposed to any germs from the outside. Once removed, make sure you wash them in hot water, if able, and dry in a hot dryer. Wash your hands immediately after removing the mask. For more information about masks go to reliable sights such as the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Mental Health

• Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and having to socially distance yourself from someone you love can be difficult. Below are resources that can help you connect to a professional that can help you through these challenging times:
  • Care + Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 at 585-283-5200 or text  "Talk" to 741741
  • New Yorkers can call the COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling
  • Head Space: A mindfulness app called Headspace is offering some meditations to listen to for free to ease minds in such a stressful time. The app is free to download and includes meditations, sleep, and movement exercises to help with the varying emotions you may be feeling. The app does include in-app purchases.