Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park

It's been the talk of the town for a couple of months -- a big food processing plant is being planned for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The plant has been described as "O-AT-KA-sized" and could employ from 200 to 300 people.

Sources tell The Batavian it's now pretty much a done deal and more information should be coming out soon.

This is the second big-win for the GCEDC's agri-business park off of Route 5 in the Town of Batavia.

Last month, Colombia-based Alpina Products broke ground on a yogurt processing plant that will start out employing 50 people.

There's an item on the Town of Batavia's Planning Board agenda tonight that deals with further subdivision of the agri-park. We may find out more at this meeting.

By this time next year, there will be a factory in Batavia turning out 4,000 tons of yogurt on an annual basis, employing 55 people and buying milk from local dairy farmers.

The first step toward that goal was taken today with a ceremonial groundbreaking by South America-based Alpina Products at the site of its planned 40,000-square-foot facility.

“Alpina’s decision to locate in Batavia is a success for the entire region,” said Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post.

Alpina started marketing yogurt products aimed at U.S. consumers in the Northeast several years ago. The Batavia plant will be its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility.

Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce said Alpina was built on European tradition and now embraces American pride in expansion in New York.

Batavia, he said, was part of a list of 50 potential sites for the plant when Alpina first started planning for growth, but quickly moved to the head of the class.

Besides a strong dairy tradition and an abundant supply of milk, as well as trained workers and easy access to a market area of 125 million potential consumers, local leaders demonstrated, he said, that they would be as committed to Alpina's success as the company's executives.

"We understood that you got the message that if we were successful, you would be successful," Ramirez said. "That was very important for us. We have no doubt we're going to have success here. This is the right location, the right place."

After the groundbreaking, attendees were invited to sample Alpina's yogurt products and there was a strong sense of excitement about this initial factory opening in the long-anticipated agri-business park.

“Today’s groundbreaking of Alpina Foods’ first manufacturing facility in the United States is proof that Batavia is a great place to do business,” said Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer. “Alpina’s $15 million investment and its decision to create 50 jobs sends a clear message that other private-sector companies should consider Genesee County for their next investment.”

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde has said previously that there are other prospects for the business park in the pipeline, but until deals are signed, he is unable to provide public details.

VIDEO: Promotional video from Alpina.

Alpina CEO Julian Jaramillo

Alpina Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce

Roger Parkhurst, who will be director of operations at the new plant

Sen. Mike Ranzenhoffer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde

Workers are busy on Cedar Street installing a new sewer line that will be one of two connections between the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and the city's sewer system.

The Cedar Street line will run from the west side of the park, through the county's highway department property and then north on Cedar to the city's main line under Main Street.

Alpina Products, the first tenant for the new business park, breaks ground on construction of its facility at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.

The plans for growth are aggressive, even lofty, according to Batavia City Manager Jason Molino, but if GCEDC is successful in building the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park to capacity, it could be a boon for Batavia's sewer system and the ratepayers who support it.

The increase in revenue could potentially allow the city to both lower rates -- already among the lowest sewer rates in Western New York -- and fund replacement of aging sewer lines.

Even though the agri-park is in the Town of Batavia, the sewer effluent flows at some point through the city to the city-operated wastewater plant. The town pays the city a fee to ship effluent from the town to the plant. Every thousand of gallons of effluent that flows to the plant will generate $2.81 for the city. (NOTE: Paragraph re-written to clarify the agreement between the town and the city.)

It would take only one O-AT-KA Milk Products-sized plant to make a huge difference, Molino said.

"If you were to see something like another O-AT-KA come in overnight, you could see a huge benefit," Molino said.

The city manager's remarks followed a special meeting of Batavia City Council where the council unanimously approved a plan to provide sewer service to the agri-business park (Councilman Bill Cox recused himself because of a potential conflict of interest).

The development of the park received a significant boost this spring when Alpina Products agreed to build a new yogurt factory on the site. Escrow on the sale of that parcel is expected to close Monday.

The sewer agreement between the city, Town of Batavia and the Genesee County Economic Development Center is key to closing the Alpina deal. 

It calls for the GCEDC, with a contribution from O-AT-KA, to use state grants to build a sewer system for the agri-business park and the O-AT-KA facility. The system would include two new pump stations -- one within the jurisdiction of the town and the other within city limits on O-AT-KA's property. The city and town would take possession of the completed pumps and sewer lines.

Just expanding capacity for O-AT-KA is a huge benefit to the city, Molino said.

"O-AT-KA is our biggest sewer user, our biggest water user," Molino said. "It is one of the largest employers in the county. It gets a larger sewer line to discharge into, so they’re not constrained anymore and they have the opportunity to grow. That infrastructure is coming to us free, no cost to the city users. The other thing is that Ellicott Street (sewer line) is going to be open now for greater growth. So we’ve got two opportunities there."

Some of the sewer lines in Batavia are up to 50 years old. 100 years old, many more are at least 50 years old. It's infrastructure that needs to be replaced pretty soon. And while the city has one of the most aggressive capital improvement projects for its sewer and water systems in the state, there is still a huge need to move quickly to replace old lines.

"To me, that’s really exciting (if the agri-park is successful), to be able to do sewer line after sewer line project, to replace aging infrastructure," Molino said. "That's really exciting."

During the council meeting, Steve Hyde, CEO of GCEDC (inset photo), told the council that the current gravity system on the Ellicott Street line, the one currently used by O-AT-KA, can only handle 500,000 gallons per year and O-AT-KA needs significantly more capacity to grow. The expansion will give O-AT-KA up to 2.5 million gallons per year of potential flow.

He said the agreement with Alpina is a huge step forward for the project and Genesee County.

"When is the last time we saw a major manufacturer come into the greater Batavia area?" Hyde said. "Maybe 40 or 50 years? We’ve seen a lot of them move out, but not too many move in. Maybe this is the start of something good for our community."

It could also be the basis for pushing forward consolidation between the town and city, one council member observed.

The joint agreement has the Town of Batavia buying sewer capacity from the city and reselling it to agri-park tenants.

The town and the city already have a joint agreement in place for processing effluent in the city's wastewater plant, but the agri-business park highlights the difference in sewer rates between the town and the city.

The town's rate is $5.35 per thousand gallons. If the city and town consolidated, town landowners, including agri-park tenants could potentially pay the city's current retail rate of $3.14 per thousand gallons.

An agri-business park plant producing 15,000 gallons per day would save nearly $12,000 annually paying the city's rate.

Regardless of the rate paid by agri-park tenants, the effluent is all flowing to the same treatment plant, and the quality and efficiency of that plant is the main reason city rates are so low, Molino said.

"That plant is a resource that I don’t think people understand," Molino said. "It’s a special plant. It’s 350 acres. It’s one of the largest lagoon plants east of the Mississippi. It doesn’t use chemical treatment. It’s natural treatment, so there’s no chemical cost. Only four people run it, seven days a week. You find me a sewer plant that has low labor costs like that, low treatment costs -- that's why our sewer rates are some of the lowest in Western New York."

The city and the Town of Batavia along with the GCEDC have come to terms on an agreement to provide sewer service to the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The agreement calls for GCEDC to construct the new sewer system and for the city and town to own and maintain one pump station each.

The city won't be asked to pay for a dime of the construction, according to GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde, but will be responsible for the maintenance of its pump station.

"In the long term, the revenue from the sewer system will be very, very significant," Hyde said. "The revenue will be into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually as we build out the ag park. The revenue will far outweigh the cost of maintaining the infrastructure."

The plan calls for two new pump stations, one within city limits serving the park and O-AT-KA Milk, and the other within the town boundaries and serving the ag park.

The Batavia City Council will be asked to approve the agreement, which must be in place before the groundbreaking for the new Alpina Products plant, at a special meeting Thursday.

The majority of the funding for construction of the pump stations and sewer lines will come from grants received by GCEDC for the ag park project. O-AT-KA Milk will also pay a portion of the construction costs. The exact costs and expense split has not yet been released.

The citys' pump station will be built near Cedar and Ellicott streets with a sewer line running north to Main Street.

The town's station will be built near Main Street Road within the ag park and connect with the main sewer line under Main Street.

O-AT-KA Milk is planning a significant expansion and needs the additional sewer capacity. Even now, according to a city memo, O-AT-KA's sewer outflow occasionally exceeds the capacity of the Ellicott Street gravity sewer line.

WBTA contributed to this report.

The management of Blue Heron Construction, out of Jordan, is a little baffled about why they didn't get the contract for the sewer project at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

Genesee County Economic Development Center awarded the contract to Sergi Construction out of East Aurora even though Blue Heron's bid was $200,000 lower than Sergi's.

"It just seemed quite strange to award the contract to the second bidder," said C.W. Gregory, chief of operations for Blue Heron.

Blue Heron bid $2,024,101.50. Sergi bid $2,227,810.

Mark Masse, VP of operations for GCEDC, listed three main reasons the agency went with Sergi over Blue Heron.

First, according to Masse, Blue Heron officials admitted that they didn't have time to fully review the specs for the job. Clark Patterson Lee, the architect of the project, raised a concern that Blue Heron's bid didn't fully account for all the possible variables in the project.

Second, Clark Patterson's staff expressed concern that Blue Heron underestimated the amount of epoxy that would be needed to complete the project. The difference could mean from $20,000 to $60,000 in additional cost, while, according to Masse, Sergi overestimated the amount of epoxy needed by $60,000.

Third, Blue Heron, Masse said, has more projects in the pipeline than Sergi.

"Blue Heron has a sizable backlog of work," Masse said. "We were concerned that they would not be able to meet the aggressive time line that we needed them to meet in order to complete the project on time."

The first project in the agri-business park, Alpina products, is scheduled to break ground before the end of summer and GCEDC is contractually obligated to deliver a sewer system up to spec and on time.

Matt Rodenhizer, V.P. of Blue Heron, said he doesn't think GCEDC can legally bypass the low bidder based on the amount of work the low bidder has under contract. He also said that even if more epoxy was need, the Blue Heron bid would still be more than $70,000 lower than Sergi's.

The company is considering legal action and is also waiting on a letter of explanation from Clark Patterson that Rodenhizer said he isn't sure they will get, even though they've requested one.

Gregory said when it came to specifications for epoxy, the bid document and the spec document weren't necessarily aligned and even Clark Patterson's reps seemed confused on the point when Blue Heron interviewed for the job.

Gregory and Rodenhizer disputed Masse's claim that Blue Heron hadn't thoroughly reviewed the documents.

They also said the company has more than enough manpower to complete the project on time.

"They don't know how big of a company we are," Gregory said. "We could have put two or three crews on the project to get it done on time."

Currently, Blue Heron has four contracts totaling more than $5 million on other projects through Clark Patterson that are closing out or well under way, said Rodenhizer.

"We've never had a problem with Clark Patterson before," Gregory said. "We've worked well with them and it was a shock after the fact not to get the contract."

In business, it often comes down to location, and Bill Cox thinks he's found the perfect location to move his business -- to the new Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

"I have the opportunity, if all the stars align, to do a significant amount of business (in the new park)," Cox said following a Town of Batavia Planning Board meeting Tuesday evening.

The board approved a site plan for Cox to build a 5,002 sq. ft. facility on two acres of land just inside the new park.

There had been some question as to whether Cox's business, Marktec, was sufficiently agriculture related to be allowed in the park, but Cox said almost all of his customers are food processing companies.

Marktec makes the machines that encode information -- the little laser-printed use-by dates -- on food and beverage packaging.  

The Batavia city councilman currently has an office on Ellicott Street across from the Chapin plant and Oatka Milk headquarters. Moving into the town, Cox said, is going to help him convert new tenants of the agri-park into customers.

Being right in the park will give Marktec greater visibility with the food processing companies anticipated to move in. (So far, only Alpina Products has committed to building in the agri-park.)  That should translate into more sales of his high-speed label machines. It will also give food processing companies a convenient local vendor for supplies and service of existing equipment.

Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for Genesee County Economic Development Center, said Marktec fits well with the proscribed types of businesses being allowed into the ag park. The parcel Marktec will build on is also not prime real estate. While it's near Route 5, it's not right at the entrance and the location is not well suited for construction of a manufacturing facility.

Cox said he is founder, sole owner, president and chief sales person for Marktec, which has been in business for 28 years.

The company currently has four full-time and one part-time employees. With the move, Cox said he anticipates hiring another salesperson and a second full-time tech within the next three years.

It's back to the drawing board for the parcel subdivision of the proposed Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

Because the first confirmed tenant for the park -- Bogata, Colombia-based Alpina Products -- has set its sights on a different plot of land than originally thought, the subdivision boundaries need to be reset.

Tuesday night, the Town of Batavia Planning Board set 7:30 p.m., June 21, as the time and date for a public hearing on the revised boundaries.

Members of the Genesee County Economic Development Center will also make a presentation about the project to the board that night.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Bruce Gerould also told the board that the revised parcel plan will include a two-acre plot right on Route 5 for an office complex for an advertising agency.

Because the agency specializes in marketing for agricultural businesses, it apparently fits the requirements of the agri-business park, Gerould said.

A South American-based dairy processing company will get $767,096 in tax incentives to help the company establish a new yogurt factory in Batavia, the Genesee County Economic Development Center announced.

The incentive package for Alpina Products includes a property tax abatement, a sales tax exemption and a reduction of mortgage taxes.

GCEDC announced in April that Alpina agreed to become the first tenant for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park off Route 5 in Batavia.

The plant, when completed, is expected to add 50 jobs to the local economy and if successful, Alpina officials said they would expect to expand their operations in Batavia.

More than half of the tax incentive package comes in the form of a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) arrangement that will reduce the amount of anticipated property taxes paid by Alpina by more than $458,000 over 10 years.

Alpina will pay property taxes on the current assessed value of its 10-acre facility, but because building the plant will increase the land's value, Alpina will get a break on that increased assessment for 10 years. During the first five years, Alpina will pay no taxes on the difference between the current assessed value and the new assessed value. Starting in year six through year 10, Alpina will pay 50 percent of the increase in additional taxes, and pay 100 percent from that point forward.

The sales tax exemption of $260,000 will be on construction materials and office equipment, but not manufacturing equipment.

The mortgage tax exemption is $48,750.

The anticipated economic benefit to Genesee County is expected to exceed $30 million over 10 years.

Alpina will invest $15 million to purchase the 10-acre parcel and construct the plant.

In other GCEDC news, Wellsville Carpet Town at 3990 Call Parkway, Batavia, will receive a $14,375 mortgage tax exemption to help the company refinance its current $1.5 million real estate loan. GCEDC says the abatement will help retain 45 jobs in the county.

There are four to five more companies that are in either early stage or mid-stage study of the Gensee Valley Agri-Business Park, and Columbia-based Alpina Products decision to set up shop in Batavia is going to help the cause, said Steve Hyde, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

"Any time you get your frist tenant in one of these shovel ready sites, it really helps create momentum, much like the rising tide lifts all sail boats," said Hyde. "So, this is something we're most excited about."

The financial details are not available for public release yet because Alpina is still completing paperwork and then the application for tax abatements and grants most be approved the by GCEDC board.  The package is expected to be presented at the board's May meeting.

The deal is contingent on approval of a set of incentives as well as some 900-feet of new roadway being completed to the 10-acre lot Alpina intends to buy.

The purchase price is $50,000 per acre, Hyde said.

"That's the sweet spot," said Hyde. "You spend that much between buying the land and putting in the infrastructure. It really is a cost recovery model."

In a meeting with the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, Hyde mentioned that a mid-level Department of Transportation staff member was holding up a grant for a rail line into the agri-business park, and Hyde said he is hopeful this announcement will help unfreeze those funds.

Some of the businesses might want to locate in the park need rail and won't consider the park "shovel ready" without a rail line in place.

Even though Alpina won't need rail in its early years in the park, Hyde is hopeful Aplina's signing will shift the conversation about the grant.

"Hopefully, it will enable a different conversation," Hyde said. "I'm hopeful it will show this site is real."

Hyde said the GCEDC had four meetings with either staff of Alpina or the company's site selection consultant and the final meeting occurred with the company's entire board of directors, who all flew from Columbia to Batavia to visit the area and hear why this was the right site for them.

The full court press included a meeting attended not just by GCEDC staff, but staff from Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Cornell, RIT and Town of Batavia. Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy was on a speaker phone for key parts of the presentation and really tried to sell the executives on what a great area Western New York is, Hyde said.

GCEDC officials then gave the executives a tour of the county, showing off its amenities and areas of growth and revitalization, and then showed off some of the amenities of the region.  The tour concluded with a dinner at the Wine and Culinary Institute in Canandaigua.

Chefs there made a cheese cake in front of the dignitaries using an Alpina product for the topping.

But in the end, Hyde said, it's all really about the jobs.

"We're delighted that this came through because more than anything, it's going to create 50 jobs for 50 families," Hyde said. "And you know what, in this time, in this economy, every job our business community creates helps."

GCEDC has landed its first business for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in Batavia. It is a Bogata, Colombia-based dairy product company that will use the plant to expand its yogurt business into the United States.

According to South American news reports, Alpina Productos Alimenticios will invest $15 million in the project and will initially hire 50 people at the plant.

Established by two Swiss entrepreneurs in 1945, Alpina runs nine industrial facilities across Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and has commercial presence in more than 12 countries. 

The product line, which generates about $740 million in annual revenue, includes beverages, milk, baby food, desserts, cheeses, cream and butter, and fitness food products.

"The Alpina brand is a symbol of pride not only to Colombians but to the entire Andean region," Alpina President and CEO Julian Jaramillo (pictured) told La Republica. "We hope to build a new frontier for growth in the U.S. market, based on the properties of innovation, quality, nutrition and sustainability associated with our products and our presence in places where we already operate."

But it's not a 100-percent done deal, according to Genesee County Economic Development Center CEO Steve Hyde.  

The company intends to purchase a 10-acre parcel with a phase I construction plan for a 28,000-square-foot yogurt manufacturing facility.

The company picked one of the newest parcels in the park, so there is still a little bit of work to be done to get it completely shovel ready, including extending one of the roadways.

The purchase is contingent on that work being completed on schedule, and if it is, Hyde said, construction on the plant should begin in August.

The 10-acre parcel will give the company room for expansion.

"They've got a real footprint for future growth," Hyde said.

According to the La Republica article, Alpina has achieved growth rates in Venezuela and Ecuador of 15 and 20 percent and his hoping for the same level of success in the U.S.

Jaramillo believes per capita consumption of yogurt in the U.S. is low, which he sees as an opportunity to capture new consumers.

Hyde said the company, which he described as really family oriented, has done a lot of market research and has determined the northeastern part of the U.S. has a fast-growing Hispanic population, so they were looking at five sites in New York and three in Pennsylvania.

Batavia having a nearly shovel ready park combined with the region's high number of quality dairy farms were attractive to Alpina.

"It kind of proves the thesis that you've got to have that shovel ready site that clusters industries or companies won't even come," Hyde said. "They won't take the risk. They've got to be able to build and go."

The project is part of a $50 million plan by Alpina to expand its business.

“We’ve been waiting for exactly the right moment to make a major push into the U.S. market, and today we found the right location to achieve our strategic goals,” said Alpina Foods, LLC, Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce.  

Below is a video the company produced for YouTube that has received more than 500,000 views.

Genesee County will soon be home to the first shovel-ready agri-business industrial park in New York, according to Chad Zambito, spokesman for the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

GCEDC breaks ground on the project Tuesday and expects the first tenant to start building a $15 million food-processing facility in the spring.

"These are expensive ventures and private developers aren't willing to do it because of the cost that’s needed up front and the long-term return, so it’s something we have to do and we need everybody’s participation to make it happen," Zambito told WBTA.

The groundbreaking is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Kennedy Building of the Genesee County Fair Grounds.

The 200-acre park is located between state routes 5 and 63 in Batavia and sits in close proximity to O-AT-KA Milk Products. 

At full build-out, the park is expected to provide 1,200 jobs in Genesee County and generate $2 billion in revenue over 25 years.

The first tenant, a Canadian-based food processor, will hire 100 people to work at its facility.

When the infrastructure installation is complete, the site will contain nearly 200 acres  serviced by industrial-class electric, gas and rail. The park is dedicated to agri-business applications including food and bio-fuels processing and is owned by a unique public/private partnership.

It also has access to 6 million gallons of aquifer water daily, ideal for food production applications, and sits in an Empire Zone.
 
The GCEDC, along with its real estate affiliate the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation and an affiliate of Farm Credit of WNY share ownership of the park.

It was largely made possible by a state grant recently approved by Empire State Development and a matching grant from Genesee County. The GCEDC, Town of Batavia, National Grid and National Fuel are also providing funding. 

Phase 1 construction, being completed by Zoladz Construction Company Inc. of Alden, NY, will include water, sewer and roadway base installation. 

LeRoy police have identified the body discovered in Oatka Creek Wednesday afternoon as that of 41-year-old Glenn Kanaley, according to the Daily News. No cause of death has been determined, and the body has been taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office where an autopsy will be performed.

LeRoy Police Chief Christopher Hayward dispelled rumors on television that the death was a suicide. "Nothing indicated he was suicidal," writes reporter Scott DeSmit.

In other news, the New York State School for the Blind opened its "Sensory Park" playground Wednesday. The park is designed to"stimulate senses (and) help students with motor skills" and includes an herb garden, slides and a swingset, pedal cars, go-carts and a "spongy carpet, which gets thicker under any areas where students are apt to fall."

The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park was approved for a $225,000 grant from the Batavia Town Board at its meeting last night.

Consolidation is under way as city police officers begin training on the new computer system they will share with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Once the consolidation is complete — should be in September — there will no longer be a dispatcher in police headquarters. Instead, "the city will have a clerk on duty during day-time hours."

Investigation into the fire that scorched Cristina's Restaurant Saturday continues, though "the probe has shifted ... to interviewing people," writes Paul Mrozek. Cristina's owner Charles Brumsted has declined to comment to the Daily News and has not returned messages left by The Batavian.

Pick up your copy of the Daily News at local newsstands — such as Main Street Coffee. Or, better yet, subscribe online at BataviaNews.com.

From the Daily News (Wednesday):

• Conehead the Vendor was on hand to distribute beer and snacks to the crowd of 1,298 who showed up for the Muckdogs' home opener last night that started with rain, ended with a loss, but was nonetheless chock full of good cheer. Nor was he the only one. Officials from the Rochester Red Wings were there to get things in gear for the new season. And John Mozeliak, general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, even came out to speak before the game. Reporter Brian Hillabush has a pair of great articles on today's front page covering the home opener. Check them out.
• Batavia's Town Board will host a public hearing on July 16 to get comment on the town's proposed contribution of $225,000 for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
• An article on the front page covers Council's planned discussion on the relocation of the city's youth football program that was covered in detail by The Batavian earlier today.
• Today's opinion page features a column by Tom Rivers about Tim Russert, the Buffalo native and host of Meet the Press, who died suddenly last week. Rivers found that as much as Russert was in the national spotlight, he still had time for small-town, small-press America. It's a great column. Worth a read.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

From the Daily News (Tuesday):

• United Memorial Medical Center reported a $3.4 million profit for 2007, its fourth straight year in the black, according to President and CEO Mark Schoell. For more facts and figures check out the article by Paul Mrozek.
• Agricultural reporter Tom Rivers has an interesting piece on the front page about the not-to-friendly named 'armyworms' and their threat to local wheat harvests.
• I had some trouble working out the details of an article about the Genesee County Public Defender's Office that could lose "hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds." Reporter Paul Mrozek writes that in order to receive the state funding, the county "must spend at least one dollar more for the two programs than it did in the previous budget year." It seems strange, but apparently the state is demanding that the office spend more money in order to receive more money. What's more strange is that the threshold is measured by a single dollar.
• The town of Batavia dedicated a new guardrail erected at a curve in Stegman Road near Route 5 last night. That curve was the site of an accident that injured one friend and killed another nine years ago. After much petitioning by one of the accident victims, Jamie Beedham of Oakfield, the town finally put up the guardrail two weeks ago. "My goal is if the guardrail can save one life, I will have been successful," she told reporter Kristen Kotz.
• Among the items on the Batavia Town Board agenda for its meeting Wednesday is a potential contribution of $225,000 by the town to aid the development of the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park that is planned to go up near the fairgrounds. You can download the complete meeting agenda by clicking here.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.