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Pledging to fortify security measures while maintaining a user-friendly environment for employees and residents alike, Genesee County Information Technology Director Michael Burns on Wednesday updated Ways & Means Committee members on his department’s objectives for 2022.

“My goal for Genesee County is to not only support the infrastructure that we already have but do things that our employees see – to see what we’re doing – and doing things that the public sees … seeing that we do things the right way,” said Burns, who was hired in May 2021 after a 20-plus year career at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Burns said he doesn’t want IT to be a “barrier” to employees in the county’s 31 departments and agencies.

“IT is there to support what they want to do,” he said. “We don’t want to be the department of ‘no.’”

Burns, in his written report, outlined some of the things he’s looking to accomplish this year without (for security reasons) getting into too much detail:

• Integrate the Department of Social Services into the county’s IT structure, giving DSS employees the same permissions as county personnel.

• Continue to focus on cybersecurity as external threats continue to pose a significant risk to systems availability and data integrity. Use operating and grant funds to procure software/hardware that supports the inclusion of a cloud-based strategy, continued end-user training, system log reviews, vulnerability scanning, data classification and patch management.

• Continue to review and update data recovery solutions the county uses in case of natural disaster, computer virus or ransomware.

• Support departments’ staffing needs as staff may have to change to working remotely with very little warning. This includes the expanded use of video conferencing and the ability to connect from anywhere at any time, which creates the request for added laptops and phones.

• Review internal support processes and, where feasible and cost effective, enter into more managed services agreements that offload work from the in-house technical staff.

Previously: Batavia resident accepts Genesee County information technology director position after long career at RIT

The Genesee County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee this afternoon passed a resolution opposing a bill in the New York State Senate that would reconfigure the makeup of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting governing board, thus eliminating a standalone vote by the Genesee County director.

“It’s an outrage,” said Committee Chair Marianne Clattenburg, who represents the City of Batavia. “I’m really concerned about this power grab.”

Clattenburg said Genesee County has a significant stake in WROTB, the public benefit company that operates Batavia Downs Gaming and harness track in Batavia and Off-Track Betting locations throughout Western New York.

She mentioned that Genesee County provides law enforcement and public safety services to the Park Road facility.

Richard Siebert, (photo at right), the county WROTB director for the past 28 years, brought the matter to the legislature’s attention two weeks ago and he was present at today’s meeting at the Old County Courthouse in support of the resolution that would retain the longstanding board structure – one vote for each director representing 15 counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo.

Kennedy’s bill calls for the following:

• Three members to represent the counties of Monroe, Wyoming, and Orleans;
• One member to represent the counties of Chautauqua, Cayuga, Genesee, Livingston, Schuyler, and Seneca;
• Four members to represent Erie County;
• One member to represent Niagara County;
• One member to represent the counties of Oswego, Cattaraugus, and Orleans;
• One member to represent the City of Buffalo;
• One member to represent the City of Rochester;
• One member appointed by the governor;
• One member appointed by the temporary president of the senate;
• One member appointed by the speaker of the assembly.

Kennedy said that his intent is to “provide more equal representation of the people of the area who benefit from proceeds from said corporation.”

Siebert, in disputing that contention, said “this is just a blatant takeover of (by) very powerful people.”

“In my estimation, we have a very good thing going here. You know what we’re doing here in the casino ... the race track, with our concerts,” he said.

With a year-by-year revenue distribution list in hand, Siebert said WROTB has distributed more than $12 million to Genesee County since 1975.

“When we joined OTB in 1974, we had to give them $13,700 seed money. To date, our investment for Genesee County – the cash we have paid – is $12,683,000 and change,” he said. “If anybody in Albany is saying that we’re not doing a good job, for a $14,000 investment and getting $12 million back speaks (for itself).”

Siebert said the key issue is that Genesee County “has the most to lose” by not having its own vote on legislative, purchasing, personnel, and other topics.

He said with the casino and horse racing track in the Town of Batavia, local municipal leaders are available to handle situations that come up from time to time.

“If there's a problem with Redfield Parkway, or noise or horse manure, which we’ve had in the past, people can come to you and can come to me and say, ‘What’s going on over there and why are we doing this or that?’” he said. “Not having one director to represent our count and everything we’ve got going on here, is just, I think, a travesty.”

Siebert said WROTB directors in other rural counties also are going to their legislators and council members in expectation of similar resolutions, and that the corporation is looking to hire a lobbying firm to exert political pressure on senators and assembly members in Albany.

“And a third thing is to basically go back to the position that we’re a public benefit corporation set up under Home Rule, and if they want to take us apart, they have to do it the same way we started – take us apart by Home Rule and let you people (legislature) decide,” he said.

The resolution points out that WROTB has generated more than $250 million in operating and surcharge revenues to the taxpayers of the participating municipalities, with Siebert adding that the board sends $3 million per month to New York State for what is supposed to go to support education.

Passed unanimously by the committee, the resolution will be addressed by the full legislature at next Wednesday’s meeting.

Previously: Genesee's WROTB director slams state senator's attempt to restructure board of directors, place a cap on perks

Genesee County officials are asking citizens to make their voices heard as the quest for a more efficient emergency and fire response network moves forward.

County Emergency Management Services Coordinator Timothy Yaeger today announced that a series of questionnaires and surveys – including one targeting county residents – are ready to be distributed.

Over the last several months, the county has been working with representatives of Municipal Resources Inc., a Plymouth, N.H.-based consulting firm that specializes in finding solutions for municipalities dealing with emergency services staffing shortage and other issues.

“This is pretty much the public's chance to have a voice and give their views and be a part of this process,” Yaeger said this morning. “This is a very important part because although fire and EMS does a great job providing these services, rarely do we get the input from the public unless they’re receiving those services.”

Yaeger said most people aren’t familiar with the level of service or who’s delivering this service to their community.

“I think it's important for them to understand the severe staffing issues that we're having, so they can be part of the solution,” he said. “And we really want to hear what they have to say. What level of service do they expect from us? Can we meet that need? We need to figure out how we’re going to meet that need.”

While questionnaires and surveys will be emailed to fire responders plus fire, county, town and village officials, the surveys developed for the public are available online (see below) and through traditional and social media, Yaeger said.

CONSULTANTS REACHING OUT LOCALLY

Yaeger said MRI consultants have made two site visits thus far, talking to 30-35 local officials and fire personnel as well as to owners of some of the county’s larger business and representatives of the Genesee County Economic Development Center and the Chamber of Commerce.

The questionnaires and surveys will be received by MRI, which will then compile the data and issue a report, likely in late spring. The deadline to fill out the surveys has been set for the end of February.

“Their goal is to get a very broad viewpoint of fire and emergency services in the county and how they're delivered in light of the awareness of these individuals, agencies or citizens,” Yaeger said. “We believe these surveys will go a long way to helping us find a way to meet the expectations and provide these services in the most efficient manner.”

In a press release, Yaeger reported:

About 85 percent of the fire departments in the United States are volunteer. This includes all the departments in Genesee County, except for the City of Batavia. The core issue is the decrease in the number of people able to volunteer at their local fire department.

There are many reasons for this, but the primary reason is the amount of time that people have available. Daily lives are hectic with people working extra to provide for their families, juggling home life and kid’s activities, leaving little time for other pursuits. As a result, our ability to recruit and retain members becomes more difficult every year.

CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CITED

In addition, the community composition has changed and the days when multiple family generations make up the ranks is almost gone. People used to grow up, find work, raise a family and retire in the same community.

This is rare today as many people are leaving for opportunities in other parts of the country. The average age of the community members is also increasing, limiting the number of people available having the physical abilities to perform the stressful duties of a volunteer.

The Genesee County Task Force was established to develop a vision and implementation plan that will help ensure the residents and business owners of the community receive the highest level of emergency services. The goal is to enhance the services we provide by evolving to meet the needs of community with the changing levels of resources (staffing, equipment, funds, etc.) that are available to us.

HERE's HOW TO ACCESS THE SURVEY

Yaeger said you can help by reaching out to your local volunteer fire department and ask for an application or by completing the public survey by clicking on the following:

GENESEE COUNTY EMS SURVEY

Paper copies of the survey will be available at the following locations: Richmond Memorial Library, Batavia, NY; Woodward Memorial Library, Le Roy, NY; Haxton Memorial Library, Oakfield, NY; Corfu Public Library, Corfu, NY; Hollwedel Memorial Library, Pavilion, NY; Byron-Bergen Public Library, Bergen, NY and the Office of the Aging, Batavia, NY.

Previously: Consultants are meeting with as many people as possible in effort to fortify county's emergency response model

All 13 school district superintendents in Genesee and Orleans counties have signed a joint letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul asking that local control over public health protocols be fully restored to school districts.

The letter was written in response to a request from superintendents from Saratoga Springs for the NYS Health Department to develop a "Pathway to Normalcy" so that schools have an "exit strategy" from universal masking.

The letter states that local superintendents support the request but suggest it doesn't go far enough.

"We believe the pathway should come in the form of guidance that school districts, working closely with their local health departments, can use to develop plans that work best for their respective communities," the letter states. "With that in mind, local control should be fully restored to all school districts in New York State because the needs of each region differ, and we are fully capable of navigating the remainder of the school year with input from our local DOHs, as needed."

The letter notes that over the past two school years, the state has implemented "one-size-fits-all mandates" that caused unnecessary challenges for the predominately rural districts in Genesee and Orleans counties.

"As the pandemic transitions to become endemic, those unnecessary challenges are becoming more acute," the letter states.

To read the full letter, click here (pdf).

In a situation where someone has committed an unlawful offense against someone else, reconciliation isn’t something than happens very often.

However, if the both parties – especially the victim – are willing, it’s worth the effort, says Diana Prinzi, the new coordinator of the Genesee Justice restorative program that is a division of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re working on our first restorative justice reconciliation meeting in the near future and it’s something I would like to see more of,” said Prinzi, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisor who started in her county post on Jan. 3. “It’s one of the items on my bucket list.”

Prinzi (pictured at right) was hired to replace Catherine Uhly, who retired last February.

The Le Roy native and current resident of Alexander spent 22 years in various capacities with ICE, mostly at the federal detention center in Batavia, before taking a part-time victim’s advocate position at Genesee Justice early last year.

She said she has been doing her best to learn about the various programs that Genesee Justice has to offer, including victim advocacy, offender accountability, DWI conditional discharge, release under supervision and risk assessment.

Being able to “restore” broken relationships is at the heart of Genesee Justice, an innovative approach to navigating the legal system that has been a hallmark of Genesee County for about 40 years.

“We haven’t had any instances of where the victim, offender and a facilitator have gotten together in quite a while,” Prinzi said. “It’s a process that takes place after the fact, after sentencing, where we try to get them back on track; to be able to move forward with their lives, but the victim has to want it.”

A 1986 graduate of Notre Dame High School with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Brockport State College, Prinzi said she enjoyed her time as a victim advocate and jumped at the chance to lead the agency, which is located at 14 West Main St.

“I’m excited for the opportunity and feel that the qualifications of the job fit mine pretty well,” she said, noting that she scored well on the Civil Service exam that preceded the interviewing process. “Being in law enforcement, I understand that you have to follow the laws, and I believe that my 15 years of supervisory experience is an asset.”

Prinzi oversees a department that, when fully staffed, has 11 full- and part-time employees – case managers, community service victim’s assistants, victim advocates, DWI conditional discharge specialists, principal clerk and financial analyst. Currently, three part-time positions are open.

Genesee Justice serves the community in a number of ways, she said.

“We offer victim advocacy – services to crime victims, such as help with court proceedings, orders of protection, compensation claims, emotional support and referrals to other agencies,” Prinzi said. “Then there is community service, where a person’s sentence might include working at a nonprofit agency with complete oversight by Genesee Justice.”

Services to victims are provided at no charge, Prinzi said, adding that the department interacts with 450 to 500 persons annually.

She said the agency’s first-time DWI offender program has enabled those charged with driving under the influence the chance to complete several requirements over a year to possibly gain a conditional discharge, with a judge having final say in the matter.

Prinzi said the state’s bail reform has affected, to some extent, other programs such as pre-trial release (RUS) and risk assessment.

“Bail reform is being debated (by state legislators) and we’re still reviewing and researching that,” she said.

Outside of the office, she said that she and her husband, Samuel, look forward to spending time with their five grown children and one grandchild, and enjoy hiking and walking outdoors.

For more information about Genesee Justice, go to www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/geneseejustice/index.php.

Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Without a facility to provide intervention services for pre-school children in Genesee County, annual costs to transport these young people to regional facilities are exceeding a half-million dollars, County Public Health Director Paul Pettit said on Monday.

“We still do not have any local center-based services in Genesee County, and once Rainbow Preschool was shut down a little over a year ago (due to financial difficulties) that has resulted in having nothing available for our kiddos,” Pettit said at the Genesee County Legislature’s Human Services Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

“So, any kids in the county that require full-day, center-based services, they're getting bused out, which is partly why our transportation services are as costly as they are.”

Calling it a “very challenging” situation, Pettit said it costs about $550,000 in 2021 to bus these children to programs and services in neighboring counties – to places such as the Mary Cariola Children’s Center in Rochester and centers in Livingston and Erie counties. He said last year’s cost likely was less than anticipated due to COVID-19 and the curtailing of travel.

Pettit said about 25 children participate in the county program that offers services such as speech, occupational and physical therapy.

“It’s unfortunate when you look at the cost, typically our transportation is as much as it is for the actual services,” he said. “It would be great to have some more local services, but we’re looking at different things.”

He said the merger of GLOW ARC into a regional organization could open a door to services in Genesee County.

As far as reimbursement on some of the preschool programs, the county receives 59 ½ percent of the cost from New York State.

“The program costs for preschool, in general, are about $2.1 to $2.2 million, which includes the transportation piece (and) related services,” he said. “Kids may be in their home environment, or where they are just in need of speech (therapy) or OT, center-based are usually more involved, where they're receiving the full cadre of services.”

Pettit said the out-of-county children’s centers have a larger population of kids and are financially stable to the point where they could be – with more funding – persuaded to open a site in Genesee County.

“But, at the moment, we haven't had anybody knocking down the door. But I mean, we're definitely looking at it,” he said.

In an effort to control busing expenses, the health department is looking into creating a transportation coordinator that would work with Orleans and Livingston counties.

“This actually would be a three-county collaborative to oversee the busing program that we have and to try to keep costs in check and make sure we're routing and doing the best to get kids where they need to be in the most fiscal appropriate way,” he advised.

Representatives of EDP Renewables North America on Monday night laid out a roadmap for the Alabama Solar Park Project, a 133-megawatt, 940-acre solar system in the Town of Alabama.

Speaking via a Microsoft Teams webcast, Kaylen Olwin and Wendy Kingsland, project managers, and Katie Chapman, senior project manager, said the Houston, Texas-based renewable energy company is in the early stages of the process of developing the solar farm.

Anticipated to be operational in 2025, the project would fall under the NYS Office of Renewable Energy Siting Section 94-c guidelines (a revamped version of the former Article 10).

About 24 people were on last night’s videoconference, including Town of Alabama board members, residents and the company officials.

Olwin said EDP Renewables currently has 58 wind and nine solar projects in North America, with five wind systems in New York producing 704.65 megawatts of power and 66 permanent jobs. She said the Alabama Solar Park Project would create 250 construction jobs and four permanent positions.

A look at the map presented last night shows the project covering several roads, including Batavia-Oakfield Townline, Galloway, Macomber, Maple, Gorton, Hutton, Wight, Judge, Morgan and Knowlesville, plus the vicinity of Maple Avenue.

Olwin said the company has 2,000 acres under lease at this time but the current plan is to have 940 acres of solar panels “inside the fence.” She added that EDP Renewables plans to comply with state and town setback regulations – up to 300 feet from homeowners’ property lines.

“Putting solar panels too close to homes is not a good thing,” she said.

The timeline for 2022 as proposed lists completion of land leasing – they did not disclose the current number of leasing agreements – as well as commencement of project design and finalizing environmental studies pertaining to winter grassland raptor surveys, breeding bird surveys, wetland delineations, archaeological studies and geotechnical studies.

The EDP Renewables reps said they plan to conduct quarterly meetings, preferably in person, while waiting for completion of the New York Independent System Operator study.

If all goes according to plan, an application to ORES would happen in 2023, construction would start in 2024 and the project would be online in 2025, they said. Olwin said the financial benefits to the Town of Alabama, Oakfield-Alabama School District, and Genesee County have yet to be determined.

Similar solar farms in Byron and Oakfield/Elba are at various stages, also as part of the Article 10/ORES process.

Contacted by The Batavian this morning, Alabama Town Supervisor Robert Crossen said the Town Board has been communicating with the three EDP Renewables’ managers for more than two years about the project.

He said EDP Renewables was one of three solar companies that provided input into the town’s solar law that was adopted in 2020.

While not opposed to the project, Crossen said he and the board are aware of the power granted to ORES to override any local solar regulations.

“The biggest thing the town board is wrestling with is the (compatibility with) our Comprehensive Plan and the loss of farmland – prime farmland and prime farmland when drained,” he said. “There could be up to 25 to 50 percent more land needed than what is inside the fence.”

Crossen said the major question is “how do we rectify agriculture and our Comprehensive Plan and the loss of farmland? It’s contrary to that plan.”

One provision of the town’s solar law is that it puts a cap of 2,500 acres for solar panels.

“We figured if we made it less than that, they (ORES) would just throw it out,” he said.

While the town does allow for more than 50 percent of prime farmland for solar, the law stipulates that if the solar developer exceeds that percentage, then it has to go somewhere else in the town and purchase development rights on a farm so it can’t be used for anything other than farming, Crossen added.

“We’re hoping that 94-c won’t throw that out,” he said.

Crossen said he understands that EDP Renewables “is serious” about this project as at least one of the three project managers attends each of the board’s monthly meetings.

Photo from EDP Renewables website.

Previously: In the hopes of curbing some state power over solar farms, Town of Alabama adopts solar ordinance

The voices of local health officials pleading with the powers that be in Albany to boost support for county programming are finally being heard.

That’s what Paul Pettit, public health director for Genesee and Orleans counties, communicated to members of the Genesee County Legislature’s Human Services Committee today as he presented his department’s annual report.

“Ever since I’ve been in my position, we’ve been seeking an increase in Article 6 funding,” said Pettit, (pictured at right) speaking about the section of the Public Health Law that authorizes funding for core services delivered by local health departments. “But, if anything, that has deteriorated over the years as they’ve (state lawmakers) have made more things ineligible.”

Things seem to be changing for the better, Pettit said, as a result of his review of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2022-23 state budget.

“As this is our main funding stream … we continue to advocate for (increased funding) on an annual basis,” he said. “Now, (for) the first time the (governor) actually proposed increases in Article 6 funding in her executive budget.

“Again, this is fairly unique. It's never been in the executive budget; we've always lobbied the legislative side for when they put their packages together and it never makes it to the end. So, we are very happy to see that it is in on the front end. And it's fairly significant.”

Pettit said that Article 6 funding for full service health departments (such as Genesee-Orleans) is set to increase from $650,000 to $750,000, and money for “fringe reimbursement” also will go up.

“Public health through Article 6 has never received fringe reimbursement on any of our costs,” he advised. “It's all been local or written off on different grants. We’ve always advocated for it, but it's never been realized. So, the biggest thing in here is that it included up to 50 percent fringe reimbursed on any eligible expenses.”

Fifty percent translates to about $230,000 more to the county health department – bringing the total of state funding through Article 6 to around $1.1 million. Pettit said that kind of money will enable his department to implement key programs, such as lead immunization.

While not official yet, Pettit said he has attended advocacy days in Albany and “everyone we've talked to seemed very supportive; there doesn't seem any appetite of reducing it or taking it out.”

In addition, county health is set to receive $22,000 in performance incentive funds this year, which also can be used for any Article 6-eligible reimbursement, Pettit said.

Pettit touched upon several other aspects of the Genesee and Orleans department, which has been a merged agency for nearly 10 years:

-- Lead poisoning intervention: With the Centers for Disease Controls dropping the permitted levels to 3.5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (and NYS expected to adopt that measure), more people will be eligible for the county's lead program.

Pettit said the department is receiving three grants for its lead program: $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, $250,000 from the CDC and $100,000 annually for five years from the Healthy Neighborhood program that is targeted for the City of Batavia.

“That’s … where you can go in and work with landlords and homeowners ..., making sure their house is safe – smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and those different things,” he said.

-- Cross Jurisdictional Services: The shared services agreement with Orleans County has worked well, both financially and programmatically, Pettit said.

“I think our response to the pandemic and how we've been able to leverage resources and just share our media and our … information that we share with the public -- our public interface with a website -- those have all allowed us to be more efficient and streamlined with our responses,” he said.

Financially, he said the CJS agreement (shared staffing and programming) has saved $275,000 a year over the 9 ½ years – which equals $2.5 million over that time.

Pettit said he hopes that both counties will receive full accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board by early next year.

-- Community health assessment: Every four years, local health departments are required to conduct a full community health assessment. In Genesee’s case, it is being done in conjunction with Orleans and Wyoming counties.

“This is a very collaborative process where we work with all the health systems in the counties, and we bring in our different community partners and other departments … to put together our assessment of basically what's going on in our community, as far as access to health care, other types of services that are available,” Pettit said.

A spinoff of that is the Community Health Improvement Plan that utilizes a survey to obtain the public’s views on health care, transportation and other vital health-related subjects.

-- Septic replacement program: More than $110,000 has been given to Genesee County residents in eligible areas in reimbursement costs for upgrading their septic systems, and that program will continue this year.

“These are along definitely some of our higher tributaries and creeks and streams in the county where, again, we don't want to see incidental discharge occurring,” Pettit said.

-- Adult use of cannabis: The state is ramping up its marijuana legalization guidelines, meaning that the health department will be called upon to provide educational information and, possibly, compliance checks along the lines of tobacco enforcement.

Cases of people who have contracted the omicron variant of the coronavirus are trending in the right direction, giving Genesee-Orleans Public Health Director Paul Pettit cause for optimism that COVID-19 could become an endemic rather than a pandemic in the coming months.

“We’re seeing that decline … which is good,” Pettit said at this afternoon’s Genesee County Legislature Human Services Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse. “The numbers now are the same that we saw in October and November.”

Pettit said that typically in the spring – when people get back outdoors and “change behaviors” – the numbers will stay low.

“Hopefully, we will see it go down back to a baseline level,” he said.

When asked by legislators if the pandemic could be over, Pettit said that he and his colleagues were talking about the endemic stage last summer, before the new strain came into being.

He said that he thinks that COVID will not go away totally, but eventually would be treated like the flu or other respiratory illnesses.

Pettit said the local health department is focusing on education and the utilization of “tools that we have now that we didn’t have last year,” primarily vaccine boosters, anti-viral medications and natural immunity as well as the continued practice of layered mitigation strategies such as staying home when sick, distancing and masking as indicated based on current public health guidance.  

“We’re providing an ongoing component of education; knowledge and information on how to protect yourself,” he said.

Responding to Legislator Gary Maha’s observation that servers and patrons at many restaurants are no longer wearing face coverings, Pettit said the mask mandate instituted by Gov. Kathy Hochul remains in place – at least for a couple more weeks due to a stay on a decision by a downstate judge who ruled that Hochul did not have such authority.

County Manager Matt Landers said that he is expecting another 2,500 in-home rapid antigen test kits by the end of the week and will be reaching out to towns and villages to see who wants to distribute them to their residents.

According to data on the county health department website, the number of new cases from Jan. 19-25 was 745, down from 1,848 from Jan. 5-11 and 1,104 from Jan. 12-18.

Matthew Zakrzewski

Matthew Zakrzewski, 42, of Batavia, is charged with arson 3rd and criminal mischief 3rd. Zakrzewski, already in custody on unrelated charges, was arrested on new charges stemming from an incident reported at 9:30 p.m., Jan 16, on Bank Street, Batavia. He was jailed on nominal bail. Previously: Batavia man accused of setting fire in Washington Towers, stealing a bike

Laura Lee Pacer, 36, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Pacer is accused of harassing a neighbor at 10 a.m., Jan. 24, on Jackson Street. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Bleyke Z. Culver, 25, is charged with harassment 2nd. Culver is accused of hitting another person in the face during a fight on Pringle Avenue at 5:31 p.m., Jan. 11. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Heather Nicole Holbrook, 36, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Holbrook is accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart in Batavia at 3:49 p.m., Jan. 28.  She was released on an appearance ticket.

Michael David Hazzard, 31, of Morgan Road, Scottsville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, driving with an open alcohol container. Hazzard was stopped at 4:11 a.m., Jan. 23, on Dublin Road, Bergen, following a complaint of a disturbance by Deputy Trevor Sherwood.

Joshua M. Bratcher, 31, of Pavilion, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs. Bratcher was stopped at 5:24 p.m., Jan. 30, by State Police in the Town of Bergen. He was issued an appearance ticket. No further information released.

Alonzo A. Dillard, 29, of Medina, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Dillard was stopped at 2:46 a.m., Jan. 30, by State Police in the Town of Alabama. He was issued an appearance ticket.  No further information released.

Jordan E. Brodie, 32, of Le Roy, is charged with possession of sexual performance of a child. Brodie was arrested in connection with an investigation that started on Jan. 13, 2020 by State Police. He was arrested on Jan. 29 and released on an appearance ticket.  No further details released.

Bobbi M. Bane, 45, of Batavia, is charged with welfare fraud 3rd and three counts of filing a false instrument 1st. Bane was arrested by State Police in connection with an investigation that began Jan. 25 in the Town of Albion.

John M. Toal, 46, of Oakfield, and Andrea L. Osborne, 37, of Oakfield, are charged with petit larceny.  Toal and Osborne were arrested by State Police in connection with an incident reported at 4 p.m., Jan. 28, in Albion. They were issued appearance tickets. No further details released.

Kenneth Harris, 26, of Tonawanda, is charged with two counts of grand larceny 4th. Harris was arrested in Cheektowaga by State Police in connection with an incident reported at 10:24 a.m., Oct. 23 in the City of Batavia. No further details released.

Jordan R. Rose, 21, of Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt  1st. Rose was arrested by State Police in connection with an incident reported at 3:10 p.m., Jan. 25, in the Town of Royalton. He was ordered held. No further details released.

According to the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention, about 100,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses in a year’s time through May 2021 and that number only will increase unless treatment providers emphasize the human aspect of substance use disorder.

That was the message conveyed from Haymarket, Va., by Rob Kent, general counsel for the White House Office of National Drug Policy, during last week’s GOW Opioid Task Force quarterly meeting via Zoom videoconferencing.

“We need to understand in that 100,000 number … that’s 100,000 people who have brothers, sisters mothers, fathers, grandparents and kids themselves. It’s human,” said Kent, who previously served in a similar position for the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports and frequently worked with personnel at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

Kent said that when people view addiction beyond the human element, “we just we lose the opportunity to do what we need to do -- which is to help people stay alive.”

During his time with OASAS, Kent was instrumental in creating the Certified Recovery Peer Advocate program that enlists people, primarily, who are in recovery and can relate to those in need.

“That’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” he said. “We mandate that insurance -- both Medicaid and private insurance -- pay for them because they help engage people and they're even more critical right now.

“People respond positively to others who can come to them and say, ‘I know what you're going through, I walked that walk before -- I know what it's like.’ I'm not saying they're the end-all, but they’re certainly a key component of what needs to be done.”

GCASA has woven CRPAs into its recovery policy, utilizing peers at The Recovery Station on Clinton Street Road and in other programs in both counties.

Kent pointed out that illegal fentanyl has become a major problem.

“I know there's an uptick with meth (methamphetamine), but illegal fentanyl is being mixed into everything,” he said. “And I think it's important for us to understand that it is lethal; it kills people easily. And it it's changed the ballgame.”

Of that 100,000 number, more than 5,000 are dying in New York State, Kent said.

Kent said the federal government has sent billions of dollars to the states in supplemental block grant funding. In March 2021, New York received $104 million from the stimulus package and, a few months later, received another $90 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

He said another $50 million to $100 million is expected to flow to the states over the next few years.

While the money is vital, spending it properly is just as important, Kent said.

“I’m not paying enough attention to New York to know how much has been spent, but they should be spending it because people are dying right now,” he said. “I’m very optimistic with the new (OASAS) commissioner (Chinazo Cunningham) that she gets what's going on. She has a heart; she cares and she will try her best to do the right thing.”

Kent said the Biden Administration has made harm reduction a key element of its comprehensive approach to addressing substance use disorders through prevention, treatment, and recovery where individuals who use substances set their own goals. Federal funds are being used to purchase fentanyl test strips and other testing equipment, sponsor syringe service programs, expand access to Naloxone and create guidelines for streamlined and expanded buprenorphine prescribing.

“I know there's reactions (from people) to harm reduction generally into the services I just talked about,” he said. “Some folks will tell you, you're enabling the drug use. I say that when we don't do those things, we're ignoring that it's happening.”

Connecting with those dealing with substance use disorder in genuine and meaningful ways ultimately will make the biggest difference, Kent said.

“We need to understand that we can continue to sit here and talk about drug use as a failure of will – a lack of personal strength, whatever you want to call it -- and we can continue to do that and watch more and more people in this country die from drug use, or we could embrace people,” he said. “We could understand they're human beings. They have families, they have loved ones, and when we focus on it from that perspective, everything then becomes possible.”

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

Jameson Arland Crocker, 35, of Godfreys Pond Road, Stafford, is charged with DWI, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration 2nd, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and unsafe backing of a vehicle.  Crocker is accused of being leaving the scene of a property damage accident at 12:22 a.m., Jan. 23. He was arrested by Deputy Jeremiah Gechell. He was issued an appearance ticket. 

Harold P. Gage, 78 of Le Roy, is charged with DWI, failure to keep right, and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle. Gage was arrested by a trooper out of SP Warsaw on South Road, Town of Covington at 7:36 p.m., Jan. 25. Gage allegedly failed a field sobriety test and recorded a BAC of .14.  He was issued an appearance ticket.

Michael David Hazzard, 31, of Morgan Road, Scottsville, is charged with assault 3rd.  Hazzard allegedly hit a person 15 times in the face with a closed fist while at a location on Dublin Road, Bergen, at 2:30 a.m., Jan. 23. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Siavaija Treyevionna Lewis, 20, of Clifford Avenue, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Lewis is accused of stealing merchandise from the Target Store in Batavia at 5:11 p.m., Jan. 25. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Jeryn Chanel Boggs, 28, of Clifford Avenue, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Boggs is accused of stealing merchandise from the Target Store in Batavia at 5 p.m., Jan. 25. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Jerome Dwane Hightower, 22, of Princeton Street, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Hightower is accused of stealing merchandise from the Target Store in Batavia at 5:11 p.m., Jan. 25. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Todd Alan Brumber, 57, of Sumner Road, Darien, is charged with DWI, moving from lane unsafely, speed not reasonable and prudent, and failure to keep right. Brumber was reportedly involved in a property damage accident at 8:31 p.m., Jan. 23, at 9434 Alexander Road, Batavia. He was arrested by Deputy Trevor Sherwood.

Updated, 1/27, 4 p.m. with Karas and Richmond comments:

---------------

Jeremy Karas has confirmed that he is stepping down as a member of the Batavia City Council.

Council's Feb. 12 meeting will be the final one for Karas, who was elected last November to begin a second two-year term as Council member-At-Large.

Karas (photo at right) is an Elba native who is employed as service manager for Temp-Press

He told The Batavian this afternoon that his work responsibilities have increased significantly in recent months.

"Like I told Gino (Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr.) and (City Manager) Rachael (Tabelski), the last three meetings I was unable to make because I was out of town or still at a job site late at night," he said. "So, I just had to make that decision. It's the City of Batavia and the people deserve somebody who's going to be there -- although I had really hoped that I could have."

Karas said the COVID-19 pandemic actually has resulted in more business at Temp-Press, a company that deals with process control and instrumention wilth roughly 120 municipal and private business customers.

"With shortages and other things, they're relying on outside contractors like us more and more," he said. "Usually, this time of year is the slow time, but it just hasn't backed off one bit. I could be down in Erie, Pa., tomorrow and the next day over in Saratoga County.

He also said he wants to be able to spend more time with his family, which includes two boys, ages 14 and 12, who are involved in sports at Notre Dame.

In September 2019, Karas was appointed by the City Republican Committee to fill the seat vacated by Adam Tabelski.

The seat became available when Tabelski resigned due to the hiring of his wife, Rachael, as the city’s assistant manager. Rachael Tabelski now is the city manager.

Karas said he believes the city is heading in the right direction thanks to "good management and good support" from its employees.

"Council is in great shape, too, as far as I'm concerned. Everybody works together very well," he said."They all bring different things to the table, different types of experience and I am very proud to have served with that group. And hopefully, maybe 10 to 15 years down the road if things slow down, I might be able to get back in."

City Republican Chair Richard Richmond issued the following statement:

"Jeremy has been a good asset to the City of Batavia Republican Committee. I've worked with him over the years. He's reliable. I understand his work problem these days with COVID. But when he was on Council, he was quiet. He listened. He was studious. So, we're sorry to lose him

"The next thing is that we're going to be looking for somebody to replace him, and I will have a press release coming out soon. We're inviting people to be interviewed for the job."

Genesee County Manager Matt Landers is urging legislators and key staff members to strike while the iron is hot as far as funding opportunities from New York State are concerned.

“Just a couple of years ago … former Governor Cuomo was telling us that they had a four-year projection of something like $80 billion in the hole. A year later, they were down to $20 billion in the hole, and then $3 billion,” Landers said.

“Now, they're looking at something like over $50 billion to the positive in a four-year projection outlook. So, the state is looking at different opportunities to fund. If there’s ever a time to ask for stuff – this is the time.”

Landers made his comments during this afternoon’s County Legislature meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

With Genesee moving ahead with Phase 3 of its Countywide Water Project, Landers encouraged County Engineer Tim Hens and his team to “put together some aggressive ‘asks’ on the water side because it's never going to be any better than right now to be asking for funding for some of our projects.”

Landers said that in reviewing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $216 billion spending plan for 2022-23, the path seems to be clear for the county to receive its 1 percent sales tax as well as the cash generated by video lottery terminals at Batavia Downs Gaming.

“At this point in time, it looks like there's more good than bad, and not necessarily all financial,” he said. “Just having the ability to not have to go back and beg Albany for our extra 1 percent sales tax is a nice provision that's in there. It isn't tied directly to financially -- it's more procedural and a bit nerve racking that we have to do it, but it’s a nice thing that it's in the (state) budget.”

He also said distribution of VLT money – an unknown in recent years – is on track, and the county is expected to receive “an additional windfall in Article Six funding for the health department … and for mental health and veteran services.”

Article 6 state funds help support critical services provided by local health departments.

MASKING OF COUNTY EMPLOYEES

Landers pointed out that the masking requirement for county employees, which has been in effect for some time, continues – regardless of any legal back-and-forth that is happening at the state level.

County employees must wear face coverings at all time, but can take them off when seated at their workstations and are at least six feet away from others. Visitors to county buildings also are required to wear masks.

“… the Genesee County policy that we had for masking for county employees and visitors to our buildings were in effect before the governor's mandate came into place,” Landers said. “And that would still be in effect, regardless of whatever the court decision was.”

Landers mentioned that the county policy was instituted when there were “a quarter of the cases in the county that we have now, so I think it'd would not be wise for us to not follow science and to open ourselves up to less safe conditions for our employees.”

“We’re going to monitor and hopefully be able to take a different action in the spring, when the cases are ... expected to reduce but just wanted to give an update to the legislature where we stand with that,” Landers said. “And that is with both consultation and an agreement and approval from our public health director.”

NEW COUNTY JAIL UPDATES

Landers said the timeline for the new $70 million county jail on West Main Street Road hasn’t changed, crediting the work of "jail team" members Paul Osborn and Laura Wadhams for their efforts and Hens for reviewing the site plans and preparing bid documents.

“We were scheduled to be out (with bids) next week but we'd rather have it right than to just to rush,” he said. “So the timeline is still a little fluid where we're looking at (maybe) an additional week or two delay, which isn't going to be significant in the long term.”

The county manager added that Osborn and Wadhams will save the county “well into the six figures on catching things we don’t need.”

“That would be a waste of taxpayer money. I've been highly impressed with the work that they've been doing for us. They're some of our best employees and we're lucky to have them,” he said.

LEGISLATORS PASS RULE 19 ITEMS

The final two of the 54 resolutions on the meeting’s agenda were Rule 19 measures (late additions) relating to the purchase of COVID-19 test kits and the revision of the county’s purchasing policy specifically for the jail project.

Genesee County was hoping to use state funds to buy 20,000 test kits for its residents, but learned in recent days that would not be allowed. As a result, it reverted to its original resolution that called upon using $150,750 from American Rescue Plan Act (federal) funding.

Concerning the purchasing resolution, the legislature authorized Landers to approve expenditures up to $35,000 – instead of the current $20,000 limit – exclusively during the construction of the jail.

The change was made after consulting with construction management, engineering and architectural officials, who are looking to avoid any work stoppages by having to wait for the full legislature to convene.

The City of Batavia may have to get its ducks in a row after the City Council president on Monday night expressed his view that farm animals living in the community apparently have gotten his goat.

Eugene Jankowski Jr. said he was compelled “to start a conversation” over the fact that he has received a couple complaints from residents about neighbors who are keeping animals such as goats on their properties – resulting in excessive noise, excrement and other byproducts of such species.

“What we’ve had in the last year – we’ve had a couple of interesting cases where people had multiple goats on their property and it kind of disrupted the neighborhood,” Jankowski said. “I don’t know what we can do, if anything? I don’t know what the public input is on this, but I wanted to start the conversation and at least have some direction from Council …”

Jankowski suggested looking at what other municipalities are doing in similar cases, adding that maybe the city can act to limit the number of non-traditional pets and possibly to install some enforcement measures.

“When you have multiple goats in the backyard and they’re kind of loud and they scream and make weird noises, and they also leave a lot of dung laying around. Maybe we should have some oversight on it,” he added. “It’s not something you’d really expect to see in the city … (where) a person has to wake up with a goat screaming right outside their bedroom window at 5 in the morning.”

Terming it a “low priority” at this point, Jankowski asked for input from his colleagues.

Patti Pacino spoke up, stating, “If it’s disturbing someone, I think we need to look into it.”

Robert Bialkowski said he dealt with this issue in the past and noted that code enforcement officers treat farm animals differently than pets.

“If you have a lamb and it’s a pet and it’s named as a pet, there’s nothing they can do about it,” he said.

Bialkowski said in his case it was St. Bernard dogs “which probably leave as much waste as a small goat, and we couldn’t use our backyard in the summer because the flies were so bad; they didn’t clean up after themselves.”

He said he turned it over to the county Health Department and it was resolved quickly.

Jankowski said they he did try to resolve it but found it was a “gray area.”

“It wasn’t the same as a dog or a cat … and again I don’t want to prevent people from,” he said. “If they have a horse and that’s their means of transportation, where some communities do that … I wouldn’t want to prevent someone from living in the city and not having their transportation.”

The council president said he was referring more to goats, geese, ducks and even roosters who count themselves as city dwellers.

“I was told that Rochester has certain regulations on chickens,” he said. “Nothing like if you’re working the midnight shift and you just put your head to the pillow and you hear a rooster out your bedroom window. It kind of makes you angry.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski, responding to Jankowski’s request to “find out what our options are,” asked what direction she should take.

“Are you directing me to look into all types of animals on city property or specifically goats, or cloven hoofed animals which would be considered sheep, goats, horse and cattle?” she asked.

Jankowski said he was thinking about animals normally considered to be raised on a farm, which produce food and eggs. He said he wanted to make sure the animals were treated humanely and safely, and were located in an area where they didn’t disturb the neighbors.

Again, he suggested finding out what other communities do and to get public input on the matter.

At that point, John Canale, speaking remotely, said he wished to stay “fairly neutral” since he is dealing with the same problem in his neighborhood.

“I, too, have received complaints about it and I am very apprehensive about making a move in any way because I get along with all my neighbors tremendously well and I certainly don’t want to put myself in a situation where I upset some neighbors and don’t upset other neighbors.”

Canale said if it came down to involving his neighbors that he would recuse himself from the fray, but agreed that Council should look into it.

“Totally understand,” Jankowski replied. “And one of the complaints I received was your neighborhood.”

Concluding the nine-minute discussion, Jankowski called for a “fact-finding thing” and report back in February or March.

A public hearing on the City of Batavia’s $17.7 million budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the City Hall Council Board Room.

City Council on Monday night forwarded several resolutions to its Feb. 14 Business Meeting, including the chance for residents to speak about the budget ordinance and water rate changes.

The proposed General Fund spending plan calls for a tax levy of $5,986,000 – up $121,403 from 2021-22. The property tax rate, however, would decrease by 78 cents to $8.94 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Council has scheduled four budget work sessions, with the first one taking place last night. Others are set for tonight, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 (if needed).

The budget, if adopted as it currently sits, would raise water rates, meter fees and capital improvement fees by 1.5 percent from last year’s rates.

Other items forwarded to the next Business Meeting:

• A long list of capital projects that include several late additions thanks to funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act:

-- Walnut Street mill and fill;
-- Interior improvements to the Batavia Ice Arena;
-- Multiple water plant projects and sewer bypass repairs at the Waste Water Treatment Plant;
-- Maple and Mill Street sanitary sewer project;
-- Sewer lining improvements.

Previously identified projects include the Richmond/Harvester highway improvement program, Bureau of Maintenance/Fire Department facilities, Jackson Square, Austin Park playground, new police station, water treatment plant filters, Jackson Street water project, Waste Water Treatment Plant air system blower and City Centre.

• An increase in the fee charged to accept waste from bulk haulers at the Waste Water Treatment Plant of $5 per 1,000 gallons -- from $35 to $40.

Tabelski is recommending that each time a truck dumps the waste that it be charged for a full tank capacity, a change in policy that could reap another $11,400 in revenue. She indicated that $40 to $45 per 1,000 gallons is the industry standard.

• Rezoning parcels at 145 and 147 Pearl St. from Planned Development (P-1) to Residential (R-2) in response to one of the owners’ desire to erect a shed on his property. No one spoke at a public hearing held last night.

Two resolutions were passed during a Special Business Meeting that took place prior to the Conference Meeting:

• Authorizing a contract for $615,000 with Ashley McGraw Architects of Syracuse to design, engineer and provide construction management services for the city’s new police headquarters, which is expected to be built on the Alva Place parking lot off Bank Street.

• Creation of a temporary human resources director position in light of HR Director Dawn Fairbanks’ intention to retire in the coming months. The non-union job would allow for a smoother transition and handling of the department’s workload, according to the resolution.

Give Jesse Coots a couple of hours and he will find plenty to say. The Pavilion native’s enthusiasm is infectious, whether it’s about his family, hot rod shop, or a new campground venture slated for later this year. 

The 45-year-old entrepreneur and his wife Jolene are eagerly mapping out their Lokee-Hikee Campgrounds project at 10156 Perry Rd., Pavilion. It seems rather easy to start daydreaming of packing up the camper as the Coots verbally paints a picture of their vision: friends, families, campfires, slowing down, relaxation, swimming, catching frogs, and taking scenic hikes in the great outdoors. The site’s tagline perhaps says it all: “We’ll leave the stars on for you.”

“We really live in a great area. We love Pavilion, it's where I'm originally from. I mean, we've lived here for 20 years. It's kind of where we really wanted to be,” Mr. Coots said during an interview with The Batavian Saturday at the family’s 1800s farmhouse. “We walked the property and it's perfect. It' in a great location, it's on a back road, but … there's a lot of main roads that run right by it. So it's a very accessible spot, and the land itself is perfect. It's really a great spot, it's got great terrain. So I'm really excited about it.”

Low Key, High Key …
That piece of land is 110 acres — and an estimated $250,000 investment so far — requiring a special use permit, engineering, land surveys, drilling for wells, securing town board approval and doing everything they can to ensure the site will be environmentally sound and neighbor-friendly, he said. 

Providing a fun, family-friendly campground has been a dream-in-the-works for the last five or six years, the couple said. They began scouting properties a few years ago, from Alexander and Batavia to Caledonia and found the ideal property practically in their own back yard.  But they were a step too late; it had already been purchased. Mr. Coots congratulated the new owner and admitted that it was a great parcel of land. 

Fate took a turn, and that owner changed his mind, notified the Coots, and put it back up for sale. There was no misstep this time, and the Coots became the proud owners of property that’s only three miles away from their home. 

Jesse and Jolene walked the property with some friends who are avid campers, and they gave a nod of approval. 

“They're like ‘you couldn't have picked a better piece of land,’” Mr. Coots said.

The first phase of the project is a section of 26 acres for about 80 campsites, a registration building, bathroom and shower facilities, a pool, and a stocked pond large enough for paddle boats, swimming, fishing, and skipping stones. There are also to be a host of jobs for people — especially youth —  to keep busy and gain work experience. The Coots want to provide that type of wholesome family experience for their three girls and the community. 

The special use permit has been a sticking point so far, as a prior hearing was rendered null and void after the board asked for the application to be completed again, Mr. Coots said. Another hearing has been set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Pavilion Town Hall, 1 Woodrow Drive, Pavilion. (See “What’s in a Plan?”)

The name Lokee-Hikee has a touch of Native American appearance in it that appeals to the nature-loving, outdoorsy Coots family. It also is a play on words to imply a sense of low key relaxation with high key fun, energy, and friendliness, he said. 

Mrs. Coots, the quieter one of the couple, created the logo of five trees representing the family, silhouetted against a sunrise with the tagline about the stars. She complements her husband by filling in the creative gaps. It was the three girls — Cricket, Trilly, and Souly, 14, 12, and 11, respectively —  who reminded their folks that they appreciate the seemingly small stuff. The girls texted mom and dad one morning and told them to look at the sunrise. Likewise, the girls have asked their parents to check out the stars on particular nights.

“I love that my kids know enough to look at the sunrise and go ‘this is beautiful.’ And it's the same with the stars,” Mr. Coots said. “It's like, that's what camping is about. And that's what we want to expose kids and people to, because it seems that in our fast pace in life, you forget to enjoy the stars.”

The girls shared their excitement for the project with reasons of meeting new people, getting to play outside and help out, and, no doubt, enjoying some chocolatey S'mores. 

Who are Jesse and Jolene Coots …
It was, no doubt, his zeal for car rebuilds and providing hospitality that helped Jesse’s Hardcore Happenings event to mushroom in size and importance. The gathering has been a longstanding yearly opportunity to show off one’s classic car, eat some picnic fare and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow hot rod lovers. 

He has owned and operated The Old Soul Hot Rod Shop for more than a dozen years next to his home in Pavilion. Rebuilding and working on 1930s to 1950s era vehicles has been a passion since he started doing it in high school. 

Mrs. Coots, 44, is a massage therapist with a plan to offer her services at the campground. The three girls, plus dogs Trixie and C.C. (for chocolate chip), some chickens, bunnies, fish and a rooster, round out the family homestead.

A glitch with the Planning Board aside, the Coots have been pleased with everyone they’ve encountered, from the Department of Environmental Conservation and Genesee County Health Department to well-drillers, topographical surveyors and Army Corps of Engineers.

“We have really gone through the steps of making sure we're doing everything right legally (with all entities involved). They have been fantastic to deal with. It's our engineering that our Town of Pavilion is obviously involved in, and wants to make sure we're doing everything right,” he said. “So we have the entire product. They've made us engineer everything. So we have hired (Engineer Sara Gilbert), and she has been heaven-sent.” 

This labor of love will come down to the Planning Board, he said, and whether board members want the land available for the Coots' dream-come-true campground.

“Of course we would like people to be able to come and, you know, if they want to buy a membership they can have coffee there, they can use the hiking trails … we plan on having disc golf and different things like that for people to do,” he said. “And we know we're going to have, obviously, a swing set and stuff for kids, and we'd like to be able to open that to the community to use.”

The Coots family has been charging forth with the plan despite a small handful of Perry Road area neighbors complaining with signs advocating for no campgrounds and a rumored petition being circulated against the project. 

Mr. Coots said that he and his engineer have ensured not only the recommended setbacks but increased that to be amply compliant. For example, the required minimum of 25-foot setbacks has been lengthened to 150 feet, he said. And there will be no Hardcore Happenings, live concerts, or loud parties allowed on the property, Coots said. 
   
“So that's kind of one of the reasons we went after the campground idea because it is a family and community kind of thing; we can all work together,” Mr. Coots said.

“We wanted a piece that was of large size …  so it could be wide open and free and not be intrusive on the neighbors and also not having our guests be crowded,” he said. “We can really spread it out and make it a beautiful place and let everybody have lots of freedom and space.”

Middle photo by Howard Owens. Jesse and Jolene Coots, shown here with daughters Cricket, Trilly, and Souly, pose outside of their Pavilion home. 

Photo courtesy Jesse Coots.

Calling it a significant event in his lifetime, Batavia businessman Guy Pellegrino walked away from tonight’s City Council Conference Meeting with a good feeling that the Batavia Ice Arena soon will be named in honor of the late David McCarthy.

Pellegrino, owner of Pellegrino Auto Sales on Pearl Street Road, and Brian McCarthy, president of the David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation, spoke to city lawmakers at the City Hall Council Board Room to let them know how much it would mean to them for Council to vote in favor of accepting their offer to purchase the naming rights of the Evans Street facility.

City management put out a Request for Proposal back in October and apparently has drafted a contract that stipulates annual payments of $3,100 from Pellegrino Auto Sales over a 10-year period for the privilege to rename the rink The David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena.

“You couldn’t find a better person to have their name on that building,” Pellegrino said. “This is one of the most special things I have ever embarked upon.”

Pellegrino said he and David played hockey together from 1983 through the Batavia High Ice Devils’ run to the New York State finals in 1995.

“He was our team captain and was just one of my great, great friends,” he said. “But back to the naming rights and making sure David's name is on there. He was just very passionate, just a great, great hockey player and even greater person. So, to honor him -- that's honestly what we set out to do.”

David McCarthy was killed tragically in a motor vehicle accident in November 2006 at the age of 29. Shortly thereafter, his family and friends started the foundation in his name to support local youth sports.

His brother, Brian, said he appreciates Pellegrino’s generosity and will work closely with him to advance youth hockey and enhance what the arena has to offer for children and adults, alike.

“Guy came to us and said when this proposal (from the city) came out that he wanted to do this – not necessarily for his business, but in honor of his teammate and my brother, David McCarthy,” Brian said to the City Council members.

“Our family was just blown away that he wanted to do this. We thought, well, what can we do? So, what we bring to the table is … a charitable foundation that is passionate about improving and supporting youth athletics in Genesee County.”

McCarthy said the foundation has supported “a long and diverse list of organizations” over the past 15 years. The foundation has donated around $80,000 to youth sports during that time.

With help from his father, Michael, and other family and friends, McCarthy said the foundation is in a position to help sports groups get started or move to the next level.

“As Guy and I talked about it a few weeks ago, I have the fun job of often times getting back to these organizations, reporting to them that we're going to step in and help,” he said.

“We have a huge golf tournament every June where we raise money to support youth athletics and it's become a very big event, and the community has just been amazing in supporting us,” he mentioned. “So, we're excited to take kind of that recipe and join forces with the people that have been working hard for years to make the ice rink an amazing place, and maybe even add a little more to the equation.”

Both men said they are hopeful that their offer will be accepted when Council votes at its next Business Meeting on Feb. 14.

Judging by some of the Council members’ initial reactions, they have reason to be optimistic.

Patti Pacino said she has an 8-year-old and 4-year-old (grandchildren) that use the rink and said, “I couldn’t agree more” with their bid to win the naming rights.

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. thanked both of them for “thinking about the long term” status of the rink and fostering public partnership; Tammy Schmidt noted that her son “grew up at the rink and now her grandson” and Robert Bialkowski said he was glad that somebody from Batavia responded to the RFP.

Bialkowski asked what would happen if the city leases the rink to a different management firm that wanted to change the facility's name. City Attorney George Van Nest said there is an opt-out clause and that would be addressed at that time.

For now, both Pellegrino and Brian McCarthy are spending their free time as coaches – teaching the basics of hockey to their young children.

“We’re coaching together at the beginner level. Yeah, the smallest kids on the ice – 4 and 5 years old; as little as they get,” McCarthy offered. “The two of us have a long extension to our own hockey adventure ahead of us with our sons.”

Photo: Guy Pellegrino, left, and Brian McCarthy address City Council tonight about their offer to have the Batavia Ice Arena named in memory of Brian's brother, David. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Previously: City drafts resolution to name ice arena in memory of standout Batavia athlete David McCarthy

It's been a week and Mark Fanara, owner of High Voltage Tattoo at 110 W. Main St., Batavia, is feeling increasingly frustrated that nobody can park in front of his business because of the massive pile of snow in the very limited space available for parking at his location.

He said he's called the city's maintenance department twice and that his landlord called as well and was told the snow would be removed today.  

Snow removal in front of city businesses is a perennial complaint of local shop owners, especially downtown where businesses often rely on the ability of customers to park along Main and walk into stores.

Dave Howe, Charles Men's Shop, said it is frustrating to have snow piled up or piling up, because it does hurt business, especially when the snowstorm comes on a holiday, as it did a week ago on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

"It's important for retail because bank clerks and school teachers and city workers all have the day off and it can be really busy for us," Howe said. "It's unfortunate because here we are generating tax money for the county, the state, and the city.  But I get it. It's money. It'd budget. It's overtime."

The Batavian spoke with City Manager Racheal Tabelski about the situation at High Voltage Tattoo before checking on the snowbanks downtown.  As for High Voltage, she said, "It's on DPW's list and they will get to it as soon as they can."

She has yet to respond to a text message about the snowbanks along Main Street in the downtown area.

UPDATE 11:15 p.m.: Tabelski said tonight that, yes, snow removal on Main Street in downtown continues to be an issue with every big snow event. "I absolutely sympathize with businesses trying to survive with customer access in the snow.  As you are aware, the crews have been doing the best they can. If it would stop dumping 4-5 inches on us each night, crews could get back to removal and these areas cleaned up sooner. I am hopeful they will get to public parking lanes quickly."

The snowbanks have been cleared from in front of City Hall.

Bubba's Landscaping cleared the snow from in front of the YNGodess Shop. Owner Chris Crocker said it took the crew about an hour using a snowblower and shovels.

Crocker said she understands the storm came on a federal holiday, and the city may even be short staff, "but then get on WBTA or The Batavian and explain it," Crocker said. "Tell the community what is going on and the community will come together."

She said her biggest concern is the safety of citizens who are forced to walk in the street to get to not just her business but Alberty's and the bank.  Some of those people are elderly, she noted.

"I don't want anybody to get hurt," she said.

The snowbank in front of the Masonic Temple building, the location of several businesses, including Charles Men's Shop.