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The smell of natural gas was reported at Pavilion High School this morning at 10:08 a.m.

Pavilion fire responded and confirmed the odor but could not locate the origin of the possible leak.

After about an hour on scene, the scene was turned over to RG&E and Pavilion fire went back in service.

High school classes were canceled for the rest of the day and students were sent home. The rest of the school is unaffected.

The Pavilion girls basketball team is scheduled to play a Section V championship game at home tonight. The status of the game is unknown at this time.

UPDATE 1:20 p.m.: Superintendent Mary Kate Hoffman confirms that students in grades 6-12 have been sent home. Crews from RG&E are in the building attempting to locate the leak. "No decision has been made at this point regarding tonight's game," she said.

Bruce D. Smith is indicted for the crime of second-degree larceny. It is alleged that between about April 2018 through March 2019 in the Town of Bergen that Smith stole property having a value of more than $50,000. In count two, he is accused of falsifying business records in the first degree, a Class E felony. It is alleged in count two that in October 2018 that he acted with intent to defraud and falsified an entry into a business's financial records for the period of July 2018 through January 2019.

Christopher C. Good is indicted for the crime of first-degree burglary, a Class B violent felony. It is alleged that on Oct. 20 on Liberty Street in Batavia that Good knowingly entered and remained unlawfully in a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime and caused physical injury to a victim inside. In count two, he is accused of second-degree assault, a Class D violent felony, for intentionally causing serious physical injury to the victim. In count three, Good is accused of third-degree menacing, a Class B misdemeanor, for intentionally placing or attempting to place the victim in fear of death, imminent serious physical injury, or physical injury. In count four, Good is accused of second-degree aggravated harassment, a Class A misdemeanor, for communicating with a person with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm that person by making a threat to cause physical harm, thereby causing the victim to reasonably fear harm for their safety or their property, or that of their family or household.

Daniel E. King is indicted for the crime of aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Oct. 9 in the Village of Corfu that King drove a 2006 Suzuki on Route 33 while his driver's license was suspended or revoked by authorities and while he was under the influence of alcohol or a drug. In count two, he is accused of DWI, also as a Class E felony, for allegedly driving while intoxicated that day. In count three, King is accused of refusing to submit to a breath test. In count four, he is accused of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, another Class E felony, for allegedly driving on Phelps Road in the Town of Pembroke on Nov. 12 while under the influence of alcohol or a drug while his license was suspended or revoked by authorities. In count five, King is accused of DWI for allegedly driving on Phelps Road in the Town of Pembroke while intoxicated on Nov. 12. In count six, he is accused of refusing to submit to a breath test Nov. 12 on Phelps Road in the Town of Pembroke. In Special Information filed by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, he is accused of having been convicted of DWI as a misdemeanor on Aug. 6, 2012, in Greene County Court, and that conviction forms the basis for the suspension or revocation referred to in counts one and four of the current indictment.

Lisa A. Way is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated, as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Dec. 5 in the City of Batavia that Way drove a 2011 Chevolet on Ellicott Street (Route 63) and on the driveway/parking lot at an address on that street while intoxicated. In count two, Way is accused of refusing to submit to a breath test. In Special Information filed by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, she is accused of having been conviction of DWI as a misdemeanor on Nov. 8 in Town of Newstead Court in Erie County and that conviction was within 10 years of the crime alleged in count one of the current indictment.

The owner of The Firing Pin indoor shooting range and gun shop in Bergen says he is prepared to help society “return to normalcy” through the development of an outdoor recreational facility that includes a drive-in movie theater on a 22-acre parcel at 3269 Harloff Road in the Town of Batavia.

Brandon Lewis, an East Bethany native and Alexander Central School graduate, provided details this morning of his plan, which is on the agenda of tonight’s Genesee County Planning Board meeting via Zoom videoconferencing.

According to documents submitted to planners, Lewis, who recently moved to Brockport, is requesting a special use permit and review of the site plan to construct and operate the business for firearms training, general recreation, fitness training and a drive-in theater.

The location, in an Agricultural-Residential district, previously was used for snow tubing.

“We’re hoping to have shooting by July and have some fun events – maybe a haunted hayride this fall … just some affordable family entertainment and family fun on top of the shooting range,” he said. “I think we can mesh those two things, and I think it’s good for a return to normalcy. Firearms are a completely normal, healthy American family activity that can mesh with other forms of family entertainment.”

Lewis, owner of The Firing Pin since 2014, said he approached the Batavia Town Planning Board more than a year ago before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, just to introduce planners to his idea. He said the board was enthusiastic in its response.

“I asked if this was feasible or (would it be) an uphill fight the whole way, and they said it sounds great and your property is perfect for it,” recalled Lewis, who purchased the former Polar Wave property a year earlier and “just fell in love with it.”

“The potential that it offers to the people of the region, really, and, talking with my family, we just thought (we could provide) something that hadn’t been done before around here,” he added.

He said the land is naturally suited to be a shooting range, which will be the primary focus.

“It will be more of a gun club, still open to the public, but more of a club-type of atmosphere where we can offer so many different kinds of training that you can’t do at an indoor range,” he said. “Being able to do that and opening it up to law enforcement, that’s going to a huge potential source of customers for us. There’s a lot that we can offer as far as demos, training and things that don’t exist anywhere around here.”

Lewis said numerous police officers from the county and surrounding area use The Firing Pin and he believes they will be attracted to an outdoor range where they can further their training.

“We have great relationships with all the local law enforcement agencies, and I’m sure we’ll see many of those guys out there privately as well. Most of the officers are very dedicated to training even on their personal time,” he said.

As far as the drive-in theater is concerned, Lewis said he will start by putting up a small projector screen to show classic movies and favorites. The hope is to expand and show new releases with room for up to 130 cars – along the lines of the Silver Lake Drive-In in Perry.

Lewis also said the area will be available for music concerts – “somewhere (in size) between Jackson Square in Batavia versus Darien Lake,” he said – and for car shows, craft shows and other events.

“I think there’s a sweet spot in there that we’re missing out on,” he said.

He said immediate plans are to fix the on-site bathrooms and a long-term goal is to build a clubhouse.

Other referrals of note are as follows:

• A site plan review for Mutka 3450 Properties of British Columbia, Canada, to construct a 1,500-square-foot office addition to an existing warehouse facility in a Manufacture-Industrial district at 3450 Railroad Ave. in the Village of Alexander;

• A site plan review for BALD Development LLC of Alden to construct an 11,250-square-foot (225 by 50) pole-barn-type commercial office/storage building in a Commercial district at 234 Genesee St. (Route 33) in the Town of Darien.

• A special use permit for ForeFront Power of San Francisco to place a 45-acre, 5 megawatt ground-mounted solar system in an Agricultural-Residential district at 6982 Norton Road in the Town of Elba. The company is looking to install the solar array with associated electrical equipment, access road, fencing and landscaping on an existing farm field owned by Daniel and Penny Mudrzynski.

• Zoning text amendments related to solar energy submitted by the Darien, Elba and Le Roy town boards.

Rendering at top showing: a 200-yard shooting range at top; trap shooting range (triangle); drive-in theater at left; handgun range between the 200-yard range and theater; RV park next to the drive-in; and training course at right. Courtesy of Genesee County Planning Department.

Batavia City Manager Rachael Tabelski was spot on Monday night when she predicted the “lower figure” would be allocated to the city through the $1.9 trillion federal relief act known as the American Rescue Plan.

Tabelski reported at this week’s City Council meeting that she received estimates “ranging between $1.57 million and $2.5 million, so I’ll go with the lowest figure -- 1.5 to come into the City of Batavia, specifically.”

Tentative dollar amounts released Wednesday by Sen. Charles Schumer’s office and the National Association of Counties indicate that the city will get $1.58 million as a result of the legislation.

Tabelski categorized the funding as a “windfall” in that the money must be used for certain projects such as infrastructure and not to “stabilize our operations.” Municipal leaders are waiting for more details on how the money can be spent.

Genesee County is targeted to receive $11.11 million, in range of what County Manager Matt Landers had forecasted. 

The county’s 14 towns are expected to receive $4.66 million, divvied up as follows:

• Town of Alabama, $190,000;
• Town of Alexander, $270,000;
• Town of Batavia, $750,000;
• Town of Bergen, $320,000;
• Town of Bethany, $190,000;
• Town of Byron, $250,000;
• Town of Darien, $330,000;
• Town of Elba, $250,000;
• Town of Le Roy, $810,000;
• Town of Oakfield, $330,000;
• Town of Pavilion, $260,000;
• Town of Pembroke, $450,000;
• Town of Stafford, $260,000.

Allocations to Orleans and Wyoming counties are expected to be $7.83 million and $7.73 million, respectively.

In other City of Batavia government news:

• Tabelski and City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said they are waiting to receive some outstanding invoices before determining the total amount that was spent to conduct the nationwide search for a permanent city manager.

Jankowski previously told The Batavian that he figured it would be around $5,000. The city contracted with The Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio, to assist in the search following the departure of Martin Moore last June. (The Batavian has requested an itemized list of all expenses).

Some residents have criticized the city for conducting another search (Novak was involved in the search that resulted in Moore’s hiring in 2018) when it could have hired Tabelski, who had been serving in an interim role for the past eight months.

Council opted to conduct a full search, however, as a stipulation in the contract with Novak indicated it would be provided at no cost, other than travel, advertising and related expenses.

As it turned out, even if the expenses involved to reach a decision to appoint Tabelski as the permanent city manager increase to $6,000, for example, the city will have saved significantly in salary over that time.

If Tabelski was hired in July, her salary would have jumped from (approximately) $7,398 per month to $9,166 per month – a difference of $1,768 per month. Multiply that times eight months and you get $14,144. The city did give Tabelski a stipend of $1,000 per month for the additional duties, so the savings decrease to $6,144.

But what also must be considered is that if Tabelski was hired in July, she would have brought on an assistant manager in short order. Even at a salary of $75,000, for example, that would have cost the city another $45,000 to 50,000 or so in personnel expenses.

Jankowski said initially he was in favor of “speeding up the hiring process” as he supported Tabelski for the job, but he thinks the decision to conduct the search was the right one.

“Looking back on that, I’m glad I acted on the feedback I received and supported moving on with a full and complete search,” he said. “It was fair and thorough. The search committee did a great job and I’m proud to have been a part of the process.”

• Tabelski, responding to an email from The Batavian, confirmed that Ray Tourt had opted not to accept the permanent position of Department of Public Works director.

“After additional consideration, Ray Tourt has decided not to take the permanent/provisional appointment of Director of Public Works,” Tabelski said. “Ray, a 20-plus-year veteran of the city, is committed to the City of Batavia and will remain the interim director while the city conducts a full search, and hiring process for a new director.”

Once a new director is hired, Tourt will go back to his former position of superintendent of the Bureau of Maintenance, and the city’s Human Resources department will begin to advertise for the position of DPW director in the near future, Tabelski added.

Tourt was appointed DPW director in December after Matt Worth’s announcement that he would be retiring.

Press release:

• Genesee County received 18 new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in the:
    • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield)
    • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
    • Seventeen of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.  
    • Four of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
    • Eleven of the new positive individuals are inmates at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center.

​

Orleans County received six new positive cases of COVID-19.

• The positive cases reside in the:
  • West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby)
  • Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre)
  • East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon)
• The individuals are in their 0-19s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
• One of the newly positive individuals was under mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
• One of the previous positive individuals has recovered and has been removed from the isolation list.
• Two of the current positive individuals is hospitalized.

************************************************************

Beginning March 10th, all New Yorkers 60 years and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Public facing essential workers from governmental and nonprofit organizations will be eligible beginning March 17th. This expansion includes public-facing essential building services workers.

Providers will be able to vaccinate any eligible New Yorkers, with the exception of Pharmacies who will focus on individuals over the age of 60 and teachers, in line with federal policy beginning March 10th. This is all subject to the availability of the vaccine to the providers. This new addition of new eligible residents still far exceeds the supply of vaccine received in our counties. Individuals who are eligible must have an appointment in order to get a vaccine.  

To check for vaccination clinics in Genesee and Orleans Counties please go to: http://bit.ly/GOHealthVaccine  

For more information about the vaccine and access for those who are 60 and older who do NOT have internet access, please contact your respective Office for the Aging (OFA). For Genesee OFA please call (585) 813-2457 for COVID-19 Vaccine assistance between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and leave a message if you get voicemail and someone will return the call.

For Orleans OFA please call (585) 589-3191 between 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and leave a message if you get voicemail and someone will return the call. The OFA offices can only assist with the clinic links as they are available. The system may experience slowdowns and crashes due to high volume. Please be patient and try again later.   

To see who is currently included in the 1A and 1B priority groups to check eligibility, click here.

The local vaccine availability is limited and determined by the state. For more information on when it will be available for the general public keep checking our website or the NYS Department of Health website.

Restaurants: As of March 19th, New York State is increasing restaurant capacity from 50 percent to 75 percent for counties outside of New York City. Further guidance is expected.

Travel Guidance Update: According to the Governor’s announcement today, those who travel domestically will no longer be required to quarantine or test-out within 90 days of full vaccination. International Travelers will continue to follow CDC quarantine guidance. Check for the updated guidance here.

Gathering Size: Beginning March 22 for residential gatherings 10 people indoors, 25 people outdoors. For social gatherings up to 100 people indoors, 200 people outdoors.Check for the updated guidance here.

Beginning April 2: Event, Arts, and Entertainment Venues- reopening at 33 percent capacity, up to 100 people indoors, 200 people outdoors. With attendee testing, capacity increases to 150 people indoors, 500 people outdoors. The rapid test is valid for 6 hours; PCR test is valid for 72 hours. Social distancing and face coverings are required by all attendees. Check for the updated guidance here.

Starting March 15, the Governor is allowing weddings at up to 50 percent of the venue capacity or up to 150 people (whichever is smaller) at weddings/catered events. See section D (In-person and Catered Events) of the Interim Guidance for Food Services During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency updated Feb. 24.

There are strict guidelines to be followed and Responsible Parties are to notify the local health department if they plan to host in-person and catered events above the State’s maximum social gathering limit, which is 50 people as of Feb. 24. Those who ignore the guidance can be fined and/or lose their license to operate.

There continues to be a maximum of 10 people indoors and outdoors for residential gatherings.  

Social distancing, wearing cloth masks/face coverings over the mouth and nose, and handwashing, cleaning and disinfection protocol requirements are to be continued to limit the spread of COVID-19.  

Pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination CDC: The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks to increase access to COVID-19 vaccination across the United States. To learn more use this following link.  

CV19 CheckUp: Learn about what your risk is to get COVID-19 and how to limit your risk. CV19 CheckUp is free, confidential, and easy to use. It is designed to help you be safer and healthier during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Vaccine Information: To see how the COVID-19 vaccine is administered throughout the state go to the COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker. This now includes the county breakdown.

Percent Positive 7/14 -- day average click here.

To review the raw positive data for each of the counties click this link.

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

It seems as though the City of Batavia is playing somewhat “shorthanded” when it comes to the financial arrangements surrounding the operation of the Batavia Ice Arena on Evans Street.

On Monday night, City Council voted in favor of an extension and modification of its lease agreement with Firland Management, the firm that has managed the rink for more than a decade.

Negotiated changes call for the Virginia-based company to hold off on its lease payment of $25,000 to the city until Jan. 1, 2022, instead of the original due date of March 1 of this year, and also for the reduction of Firland’s contribution to the rink’s capital fund for 2020-21 from $32,958.30 to $5,000.

Additionally, the contract will be extended for two years through March 2023; Firland’s lease payments will be $20,000 annually for 2021-22 and 2022-23; and its capital fund contribution will be $5,000 annually for the next two fiscal years.

City Manager Rachael Tabelski said concessions were made because the rink was closed for several months last year, adversely affecting Firland’s bottom line. With the changes, the city has escaped (at least in the near future) the possibility of Firland walking away.

When the resolution came up for a vote toward the end of Council’s Business Meeting, Council Member Rose Mary Christian requested that it be amended to a one-year lease instead of two in order for the city to explore opportunities to find private ownership of the facility.

Her request, however, did not receive a “second” so the original resolution stayed on the table.

Council Member Robert Bialkowski said he understood what Christian was attempting to do, but pointed out that a one-year lease could come back to haunt the city.

“If we have a one-year lease and they have not paid the bulk of the money that was supposed to be paid the second year, we would really come up short on that,” he said. “I think this is the best we can do. We have to support it and that’s it.”

Council Member Paul Viele, a longtime youth hockey enthusiast, said he has observed that “Firland is doing a lot better job than they have in the past.”

“With people like Mr. (Robert) Gray (of the Friends of the Rink organization) helping out and volunteering – good things are coming,” Viele said.

Bialkowski said the only ice rinks making money are the ones backed by wealthy sponsors, and then brought up the naming rights to the rink (formerly known as the Falleti Ice Arena).

“I don’t think $500 should put your name up there for five years. That’s like giving that away,” he said.

Viele said the rink would make money “if you have more than one sheet, and that’s expensive to get another sheet.”

Earlier, during the public comments portion of the session, Gray encouraged Council to vote yes to the amended operating agreement.

The Stafford resident said that under the current lease, Firland had the option to extend the lease for another five years.

“Due to extenuating circumstances caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the rink was closed from March 17 to September of the last year, both parties agreed to the two-year lease,” he said. “A new section was also added for the first time that dealt with the sale of the facility -- in the event that the city sells the facility or transfers ownership of the facility.”

Gray said that the new lease isn’t perfect, but "it does give requested consideration to Firland for the late payment to someone who has operated the ice rink for the last 14 years. It will allow the rink to be operated for another two years instead of sitting vacant.”

“City Council recently approved the new lease for Dwyer Stadium that was agreeable to both parties. Why wouldn’t you do the same for the Batavia Ice Arena? I think the proposed lease serves both Firland’s interest and the interest of the City of Batavia. The Batavia Ice Arena is a productive community asset.”

He cited a 2018 Creek Park feasibility study that indicated the estimated annual use hours at 1,600, estimated annual attendance at 68,500 and estimated economic output at $2.3 million.

Gray then took a veiled jab at Christian, who previously said the rink (for hockey) was used only by the “elite.”

“These elite people are your neighbors, coworkers and friends, and are found in every ward in the city and almost every village in the county,” Gray said. "Many people also believe that GAHA youth hockey is the only user of the ice rink. This is not true. The Batavia Men’s Hockey League, both high schools, public open skate, figure-skating lessons and pickup hockey all pay to use the ice at the rink. GAHA currently pays $200 for a 50-minute session – that’s four dollars a minute.”

He then commended Council for hiring Tabelski as manager, saying he has met with her twice to implement a program for his organization that would allow volunteers to identify and complete rink improvements at no or low cost to the city.

Batavia is on the front end of a New York State grant program designed to move the city closer to renovating the City Centre and Harvester campuses.

At Monday night’s Business Meeting, City Council passed a resolution authorizing Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. to sign a contract with the New York Department of State to secure $193,500 via a Brownfield Opportunity Area Pre-Development Grant.

The city applied for the funding in July 2019, received approval six months later and now has the finalized contract in hand.

“It’s a brand-new grant program and we’re one of the first communities to receive this,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said, adding that it is unique in that the state will pay the city in quarterly installments, with the first payment in advance.

“With BOA grants, that is typically how it works. With other state grants, you have to spend everything before you get the reimbursement,” she added.

Tabelski said the grant will pay for the bulk of the project’s $215,000 price tag. The remainder is set aside for in-kind staff support from the city manager’s office, public works director, maintenance supervisor and the Batavia Development Corporation director.

She said funds will be used for preliminary engineering and architectural studies; legal and real estate services; zoning updates; marketing, and developer communication at both sites and for possible site and subdivision layouts and legal, real estate and demolition analysis at the Harvester Avenue facility.

The grant will open the door to needed enhancements at the City Centre, which was awarded $1 million from the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and to transform the 23-acre Harvester industrial site into an updated hub for business, Tabelski said.

In other action, Council approved the following resolutions:

• On a 7-1 vote, with Rose Mary Christian opposing, the 2021-22 budget ordinance and a local law setting new water rates, meter fees and a capital improvement fee. The property tax rate will go from $9.59 per thousand of assessed value to $9.73 per thousand, while the water rates and meter fees will increase by 3.5 percent and the capital improvement fees will go up by 10 percent.

• The addition of the GLOW YMCA to the building space lease agreement with City Church at 114 Liberty St. in light of approval to have the YMCA run the city’s youth program beginning April 1. In conjunction with those measures, Council voted to terminate a previous contract with Genesee County for a shared youth bureau executive director.

• The adoption of the City of Batavia’s police reform plan that is to be submitted to the state by April 1 per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order No. 203.

• The amending of the Batavia Downtown Business Improvement District Plan that allows spending for marketing banners ($9,000), music equipment ($30,000) and Christmas decorations ($38,000) and adjusts the amount of the BID’s assessment charge to its members.

As the New York State-run mass vaccination clinic at Genesee Community College concludes its five-day run, Genesee County Manager Matt Landers said he believes the operation has gone well enough to justify a repeat performance.

The clinic, which offered 3,500 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, began on Friday and wraps up at 11 a.m. today.

While governmental leaders in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming were upset that it wasn’t limited to residents in their tri-county area, Landers said that, procedurally, after some initial confusion, things went smoothly.

“As soon as the first couple hours died down, on Saturday, Sunday and yesterday, this thing has been a well-oiled machine,” Landers said this morning. “I think the state has been very impressed with the location and the ease of getting people in and out. I think we could have probably doubled the doses easily if the state would have given it to us.”

Landers said he hopes GCC could host another mass vaccination clinic in the near future.

“We’re hoping that the state looks at this as, maybe, a location that they can permanently staff with their own people, and not have it interfere with the Genesee County allocation. I hope the state looks at this and sees the positives that this location affords,” he said.

He said the college is a “logical place” for a clinic.

“They have one in Buffalo and one in Rochester, and the one here in Genesee County -- if they keep it the same way -- they’re still serving people from the western and eastern sides of Monroe and Erie counties (respectively) along with residents in our area,” he offered. "So, they’re still accomplishing (vaccinating people in) a large region and they have a great site.”

Landers did acknowledge long lines in the first couple hours on Friday as a result of the switch from the county’s regular clinic to the state clinic.

Going forward, he said it is important that any operation run by the state does not interfere with the Genesee County clinic nor the vaccine allocations that come directly to the county.

“Also, we would to have the state use its people to staff its site,” he said. “It’s one thing for us to use all of our staff to assist over a five-day span, but we need our employees for our needs here in Genesee County.”

Previously: Nearly half of the 3,500 COVID-19 vaccine doses at first GCC clinic booked by Erie County residents

As much as $2.5 million could be on its way to the City of Batavia through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that is expected to be approved by the House of Representatives either today or Wednesday before being sent to President Biden for signing into law.

“We’ve had figures ranging between $1.57 million and $2.5 million, so I’ll go with the lowest figure -- 1.5 to come into the City of Batavia, specifically,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said after Monday night’s City Council Business Meeting at the City Hall Council Board Room.

The massive COVID-19 relief bill includes another round of $1,400 direct payments to income-eligible citizens as well as money for schools, small businesses, vaccines and expansion of the child tax credit. It has been hailed as a great victory for the Biden Administration, but lawmakers on the Republican side have opposed it, stating that only 9 percent of the funds go directly to coronavirus relief.

Already passed by the Senate, the current plan on the House floor appropriates $23.8 billion for New York State, broken down as follows:

• $12.569 billion for New York State government;

• $6.141 billion for New York’s metro cities;

• $3.907 billion for New York’s counties;

• $825 million for New York’s small cities, towns and villages;

• $358 million for New York State broadband investment.

Tabelski termed money earmarked for Batavia as a “windfall.”

“The issue with the revenue is that it is not sustainable … it’s a windfall to the city,” she said. “You have to look at it for one-time type projects, and it can only be spent on certain things, like water, wastewater, infrastructure, broadband infrastructure, things of that nature.”

She said that the funds aren’t “something we can use at this point to stabilize our operations” but can be used to advance projects identified by city leaders.

She said it is unclear exactly how the money can be spent.

“Does it have to be COVID-related or can it be open-ended? So, when those rules and regulations are promulgated, we’ll have a lot better picture of how we’re able to move that forward on behalf of the residents of the city,” she advised.

Looking at Genesee County, its chief administrative officer anticipates the county receiving between $11 million and $12 million once the bill is passed.

“Guidelines are still coming out to help municipalities such as counties and cities better identify how we can allocate those monies in our communities,” County Manager Matt Landers said this morning.

“Basically, the broad strokes, the big picture that has been provided to me so far is that we can spend it on things like economic development projects, and infrastructure needs like broadband and water.”

He also pointed out that the money can be used to replace verifiable lost revenue.

“And we certainly can demonstrate lost revenue in Genesee County from lost sales tax and even lost state aid,” he said. “And also cover current and future COVID costs … and costs related to the pandemic that may qualify, such as the delay of our (proposed new) county jail. We have delayed our jail probably a good year or two, and the prices have gone up since then.”

Landers said he will be on a conference call with New York State Association of Counties officials on Friday to learn more about the parameters of the American Rescue Plan and share ideas with other county administrators.

“To my knowledge, you can access the money for prior lost revenue … things that have happened as a result of the pandemic and then there are specific projects in the community that we can put it towards,” he offered.

“That’s where the economic development and infrastructure projects come in, working with the Chamber of Commerce and GCEDC (Genesee County Economic Development Center) to see of there are some projects that will meet the criteria – when we actually learn what the criteria is.”

Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post said he has not received specific details, but indicated any funding for the town would likely be funneled through the county.

“We received absolutely nothing officially, in fact we’re still trying to get FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) reimbursements and work through that process,” said Post, adding that the town board will convene on Wednesday to possibly find out more about the latest relief package.

Post said there’s “a lot to offset” because municipalities did not receive the state aid that was expected.

“Counties are still recovering from that as well as a lot of towns,” he said.

While the focus was on Rachael Tabelski as tonight’s Batavia City Council Business Meeting drew to a close, she preferred to keep her eyes on the task at hand – working to find the best ways to "move forward” in her new role as the municipality’s permanent city manager.

In an 8-0 vote, Council approved a resolution appointing Tabelski as city manager following her eight-month stint as acting/interim manager. Council Member John Canale was unable to attend the proceedings (a Special Conference Meeting preceded the Business Meeting).

Council and Tabelski agreed on a three-year contract with a starting salary of $110,000 plus benefits.

“I feel very, very excited. I obviously have a big passion for the City of Batavia – for the residents, for the work that Council does,” she said. “I think they’re a great body and I think they get along really well and they make really good policy decisions.

“So, I can’t wait to see and keep the planning that has been done in years before, that started through many members of this Council and (former City Manager) Jason Molino to move forward.”

When asked if she had any personal goals, she instead talked about: neighborhood issues; a strategy for the Batavia Ice Rink; the economic activity on Main Street; the impact of the state’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative awarded to Batavia; and the importance of bringing on an assistant manager.

“I was asked to do kind of your first 90 days and, first and foremost, I’m going to be hiring an assistant city manager and I think that will really be helpful … in terms of moving forward some neighborhood priorities and getting some community members that are interested out there in cleaning up their community -- because we know how many passionate residents we have,” she said. “And I think that is one thing the city just hasn’t had the personnel to help with.”

Tabelski, a 2000 graduate of Byron-Bergen Central School, said she couldn’t support a push to privatize the ice rink on Evans Street (formerly Falleti Ice Arena) until “coming up with a strategy – kind of figuring out where we are today and what is the strategy.”

She noted the validity of comments at tonight’s meeting from Stafford resident Bob Gray and Council members citing the importance of the facility as a community recreational outlet.

“We do have a great ice rink but it’s aged and there’s infrastructure investment that needs to go in there. We need to really strategize on how to do so,” Tabelski said, adding that a potential option could be finding a buyer or developer to purchase the rink and tie it in with residential property on a parcel (Creek Park) behind it.

Building owners in downtown Batavia have capitalized on grant funding to make improvements in recent years – enhancements that are ongoing.

“The businesses on Main Street and the buildings have been doing a great job improving with all the grant programs we have, and they’ve invested their own capital. That attracts new business to the building and downtown residents also,” she said. “So, once you start building the density of downtown residents, you’re going to start seeing businesses open on their own. I think that’s the only way we get there, and so I’d like to see more of that happen.”

Tabelski, who previously worked for the Genesee County Economic Development Center and the Batavia Development Corporation, said seeing the DRI projects advance means a great deal to her.

“I was very fortunate to be on the front end of that, writing the grant in conjunction with the city back when I worked for the GCEDC, and I can’t wait to see the projects that happen and how they transform our downtown,” she offered. “And when you start to transform the downtown and have more activities for people and youth, you’re going to start to transform your neighborhoods in positive ways as well. I think it’s all cumulative. So, each investment we make here will continue to spur new investments in our community.”

She said she envisions the assistant city manager working through some of the DRI grants that the city is coordinating and work on extra project tracking, grants, software projects and project management. The assistant also will assume the role of administrative department head.

“That’s important to oversee the clerk’s office, youth services as a whole, and (being able) to interact with the residents – like I said the neighborhood and housing issues,” said Tabelski, who was hired as Batavia’s assistant city manager in August 2019.

Tabelski predicted that Council’s decision tonight to contract with the GLOW YMCA to run the city’s afterschool program and summer recreation youth services will turn out well. She proposed that idea a few months ago after the city had to close the Liberty Center for Youth due to COVID-19 and also as the city was looking to save money in its budget.

“It was an option for Council to consider and I think they did very good due diligence in considering the options and determining how to move forward and serve residents still, and children – youth of our community – and choosing an agency that already is in that business to do the job well,” she said.

Tabelski recalled working for Assemblyman Steven Hawley’s office, answering the phone and listening to constituents’ requests.

“I understand how important your concerns are and when it comes to the city, I hope you always feel free to call Council members, to call City Hall and let us work with you. If it is a city issue, we’ll try to fix it. Also, we love people who want to volunteer and do certain things as we have numerous boards.”

Before the roll call to make Tabelski’s selection official, a few Council members commended Tabelski for excelling under difficult circumstances. One of them was Robert Bialkowski, who publicly voiced his opinion to conduct a thorough nationwide job search while some of his colleagues had hoped to promote Tabelski at the time.

“I would like to thank Rachael because as the acting city manager she really has gone the extra mile. You’ve been doing a great job and we all appreciate that,” Bialkowski said.

That prompted Jankowski, a Tabelski supporter all along, to quip – and draw a few laughs – “(City Clerk) Heidi (Parker), you want to make sure you get that whole statement there. And I feel the same way.”

Photo: Rachael Tabelski at tonight's City Council meeting where she was officially appointed as permanent city manager. Photo courtesy of Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Previously: Council set to appoint Rachael Tabelski as city manager on Monday

Louis M. Coleman, 48, of Bethany (no address provided), was arrested on March 7 after a traffic stop on Route 63, in the Town of Covington. He was the driver of a vehicle stopped for erratic operation and was allegedly found to be operating with a non-driver ID, with a total of seven suspensions/revocations dating back to 2001. According to the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office incident report, a bag containing more than two ounces of marijuana was "in plain view on the passenger floor, and a suqsequent vehicle search led to the seizure of a vial containing over a gram of cocaine." Coleman, a three-time convicted felon -- including one violent felony -- was taken into custody and processed at the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office. He is charged with: criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a Class D felony; criminal possession of marijuana in the fourth degree; aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree; unlicensed operation; and following too closely. He was arraigned virtually for Warsaw Town Court, then held without bail in Wyoming County Jail. He is due in Wyoming County Court on March 19. The case was handled by Wyoming County Sheriff's Sgt. Colin Reagan.

Nateeka Marie Gibson, 31, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with: third-degree criminal trespass; obstruction of governmental administration; and resisting arrest. At 2:22 p.m. on March 6, deputies responded to Walmart in Batavia for a reported trespassing complaint. Following an investigation, Gibson was arrested. It is alleged that she trespassed in Walmart after being previously banned from the store and that she resisted arrest when deputies took her into custody. She was issued appearance tickets and is due in Town of Batavia Court on April 29. The case was handled by Deputy Erik Andre, assisted by Deputy Ryan Young and Deputy Howard Wilson.

Patsy A. Rapone, 53, of Ellicott Street Road, Bethany, is charged with: endangering the welfare of a child; criminal mischief; and criminal contempt in the second degree. Rapone was arrested after he responded to Batavia Police Department headquarters to turn himself in. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in jail in lieu of bail (unspecified). He is scheduled to reappear in city court at a later date. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Quider.

Reginald Charles Sampson Sr., 55, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with: driving while intoxicated -- with a BAC of .08 percent or more; DWI -- first offense; aggravated unlicensed operator in the third degree; and moving from lane unsafely. At 5:50 a.m. March 5, Sampson was arrested on Ellicott Street in Batavia following a motor-vehicle accident that occurred in Bergen. It is alleged that Sampson exited the roadway and struck the Lyman Road sign in the area of 7268 Route 33 in the Town of Bergen. He was issued traffic tickets and is due in Bergen Town Court on March 17. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Chamoun, assisted by Deputy Jordan Alejandro.

Steven I. Decker, 71, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. On March 2, Batavia Police Officer Peter Post arrested Decker for trespass after a disturbance at a business on Jackson Street in the city. It is alleged Decker refused to leave the premises. He was given an appearance ticket and released with a return date of May 4 to be in Batavia City Court. Officer Mitchell Cowen assisted in the case.

In the midst of a pandemic, when attendance was limited, Pembroke's annual "Shooting For A Cure!" fundraiser has raised at least $39,200, said organizer Mike Wilson.

That amount breaks last year's record-breaking total of $33,000.

Donations are still trickling in and Wilson is hoping the event goes over $40,000 by Monday morning when he'll announce the final results.

The funds benefit cancer research at Roswell Cancer Institute.

The basketball game itself saw another record fall. Serene Calderón scored 16 points, giving her a career total of 822, a new school record.

For the Lady Hornets, Makena Reding scored 16 points and Josie Reding scored 10 points.

The final score was 49-43, Hornets.

To get an idea of how many people turn out for the event when there are no coronavirus pandemic restrictions, watch our video from a year ago.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos click here.

A contract to execute a grant for $193,500 for the City of Batavia to secure engineering and other related services at the City Centre and Harvester (Avenue) campuses is “complete and ready for execution,” according to a memo to City Council from Interim City Manager Rachael Tabelski.

In preparation for Monday night’s City Council sessions (a Special Conference Meeting followed by a Business Meeting) at City Hall Council Board Room, Tabelski updated Council on the Brownfield Opportunity Area Pre-Development Grant that the municipality applied for in July 2019.

The New York State Department of State awarded the grant to the city in December 2019 and now that contract awaits approval through the passing of a resolution on Monday’s agenda.

Tabelski’s memo indicates the grant will cover the majority of the project budget of $215,000, with the remainder coming from in-kind staff support from the city manager’s office, public works director, maintenance supervisor and the Batavia Development Corporation director.

Pre-development activities at both sites include preliminary engineering and architectural studies; legal and real estate services; zoning updates; marketing, and developer communication.

She wrote that the grant will set the stage for utilization of the $1 million state Downtown Revitalization Initiative award to renovate the City Centre.

“This will include a full infrastructure review to accommodate more development on the campus, parking reviews, potential redesign of Bank Street … and a full Generic Environmental Impact Statement that will allow future pre-permitted development,” she wrote.

As for the Harvester Campus, engineering work will target potential site layouts, subdivision plans, and legal, real estate and demolition strategy and analysis.

“This work could allow a systematic redevelopment of the 23-acre site into a vibrant campus of commerce in the city,” she wrote.

Other resolutions to be considered at the meetings, include:

• Adding the GLOW YMCA to the building space lease agreement with City Church at 114 Liberty St. if City Council approves, as anticipated, a resolution to enter into a contract with the YMCA to provide services for the city’s afterschool and summer recreation youth program beginning April 1.

• Adopting the 2021-22 budget ordinance as well as a local law to establish new water rates, meter fees and a capital improvement fee.

As previously reported, the spending plan of $27.78 million ($16.855 million general fund) calls for an increase in the property tax rate of 14 cents per thousand of assessed value – from $9.59 to $9.73.

Water rates and meter fees would increase by 3.5 percent while capital improvement fees would go up by 10 percent.

• Extending the lease agreement with Firland Management LLC to operate the Batavia Ice Rink through March 2023 with downward adjustments to the lease and rink capital improvement fund payments paid by Firland to the city.

• Adopting the city’s police reform plan under the governor’s executive order No. 203, which mandated that localities with police departments assemble a stakeholder advisory group and develop policies and procedures that address “the particular needs of the communities served by such police agency and promote community engagement to foster trust, fairness, and legitimacy, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color.”

• While not official resolutions, approving requests for the Living Waters Apostolic Ministries’ community outreach on July 18 at Austin Park and the GLOW YMCA Corporate Cup 5K Run on Aug. 5 at Centennial Park.

We asked the State Health Department for a statement on why the GCC vaccination clinic was not open to just Genesee County residents and here is the response:

• As with other non-FEMA, state-run mass vaccination sites, these are open to all eligible New Yorkers.
• As the press release said, these are “short-term mass vaccination sites” – as more vaccine doses become available, we will review how these sites functioned to determine future allocations at these sites or at other short-term sites we may establish across the state.

Previously: 

• Hawley says 'statewide free-for-all' to get COVID-19 vaccines is leaving rural areas behind
• Nearly half of the 3,500 COVID-19 vaccine doses at first GCC clinic booked by Erie County residents

Photos by Jim Burns

The Batavia City Council has selected lifelong Genesee County resident Rachael Tabelski, who has been serving as the interim city manager since June 22^nd of last year, as its permanent city manager, and is prepared to offer her a three-year contract starting at an annual salary of $110,000 plus benefits.

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. today said he has been impressed by Tabelski’s job performance, especially during a difficult time.

“I supported Rachel for the position because she is doing a great job under extraordinarily tough circumstances, and she’s also a local person who has been in the community for many years and is familiar with Batavia and the surrounding area,” Jankowski said today. “And she has served as our assistant city manager since August 2019.”

Jankowski said Tabelski has worked hard to deliver a budget for 2021-22 and was instrumental in the success of the City of Batavia Police Collaboration Stakeholder Group.

“She’s doing well with getting the city back on track, hitting goals, on strategic planning, and all that important stuff we look forward to as a community,” he added.

Council is expected to formalize the selection at its Business Meeting on Monday night at the City Centre Board Room. A Special Conference Meeting will precede it, starting at 7 o’clock. The resolution on the agenda of the Business Meeting stipulates that Tabelski's employment as city manager will begin on that date.

Contacted minutes ago, Tabelski said she would comment on the appointment during Monday's proceedings.

Tabelski's experience in the public sector arena includes serving as a Bergen Town Councilwoman, legislative aide to Assemblyman Steven Hawley, director of marketing & communications for the Genesee County Economic Development Center for eight years and director of economic development for the Batavia Development Corp. for a year before beilng hired as assistant city manager. 

Jankowski shared details of the search process coordinated by a committee of Council members Patti Pacino and John Canale, (former DPW Director) Matt Worth and Human Resources specialist Dawn Fairbanks, working in conjunction with The Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The city had contracted with Novak for the search that brought Moore to Batavia in August 2018.

“The committee met with Novak and they started the process, which consisted of advertising and setting up the job requirements,” Jankowski said. “Initially, there were 35 applications and all applicants were screened to make sure that they were qualified. At that point, it came down to three people for final Council interviews, but one of the three people dropped out.”

That left two finalists – Tabelski and another candidate.

“I’m not at liberty to mention the other person’s name.

Council and three city department heads -- DPW Director Ray Tourt, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch and Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano -- conducted extensive interviews in executive session last Thursday (Feb. 25) with the two candidates, Jankowski said.

“While Council members were interviewing one candidate, department heads were interviewing the other candidate, and then we switched candidates – with the entire interview process taking about four hours. All told, the executive session went from 8:30 a.m. to 1:42 p.m.,” he said.

Additionally, Council engaged in a phone conference with the city’s psychologist, Jay Supnick, Ph.D., who had previously met with Tabelski and the other candidate to conduct a character/temperament evaluation.

“This is normal procedure during the hiring process for key positions of the city,” Jankowski advised.

After final discussions among Council members and the department leaders, Council decided to direct Fairbanks to start contract negotiations with Tabelski.

“The offer we are making is the same one that we made to Martin Moore when he started in 2018,” Jankowski said, noting that the contract will commence on Monday after the final vote by Council. “The agreement includes a salary increase of $2,000 in 2022 and again in 2023.”

Canale said that he preferred to comment after Monday's meeting, but did say that the residents of Batavia will be pleased to learn of the process used by Council to reach a decision.

Moore and the city departed ways on June 20, 2020, prompting Tabelski to move up from her assistant city manager role while a professional search for a permanent manager was taking place.

Advertising and other costs to the city came to approximately $5,000, he said, noting that expenses were kept in check because prior interviews and meetings were held via Zoom videoconferencing and there were minimal travel costs.

Previous: Acting city manager's deep roots, varied past converge in path to make a better, brighter future

Previous: Acting City Manager Tabelski: A prepared, in-tune team player working toward a common goal

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As the Yellow Zone restriction was lifted from Batavia, this meeting will be open to the public with appropriate facemasks, social distancing and temperature screening upon arrival.

Options for viewing the meeting:

Batavia News Service Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOdvZ9lGH0FiD9ADz6Cg6EQ

Streamed LIVE on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/bataviany/

Spectrum Channel 1301 – Wednesday, March 10th  at 9:00 a.m. and Friday, March 12^th at 8:00 p.m.

The agenda is posted on the City website under the City Council page.

The Batavian file photo of Rachel Tabelski.

NYS Mass Vaccination Clinic Targeting the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming County Region Update:

The New York State-run temporary mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic scheduled for Friday through Tuesday at Genesee Community College (GCC) in Batavia opened for appointments on Thursday, March 4^th at 7:59 a.m. and within 90 minutes all were accounted for. 

We encourage those who are still seeking vaccination to periodically check the state vaccine site as some may cancel their appointments. You can check for appointment availability here or call 1-833-697-4829.

“After careful analysis of the registrations, what we expected to happen once we were told the clinic was open to anyone eligible, regardless of residency, did happen…The GOW region will be receiving less than 25 percent of the allotted 3,500 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” said Paul Pettit, Public Health director for the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

“For those in the Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming (GOW) region who were able to register for this weekend’s state-run temporary mass clinic we understand how challenging it was. For those who live in our GOW region and were shut out of this clinic, we will continue to advocate for vaccine for our residents.”

Here is the breakdown by county of residence for those who will be receiving the 3,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine at GCC over the next five days:

• Erie County -- 1,666 spots or 47.6 percent;
• Genesee County -- 596 spots or 17.03 percent;
• Niagara County -- 446 spots or 12.74 percent;
• Monroe County -- 326 spots or 9.31 percent;
• Orleans County -- 169 spots or 4.83 percent;
• Wyoming County -- 99 spots or 2.38 percent;
• Livingston County -- 73 spots or 2.09 percent;
• Ontario County -- 45 spots or 1.29 percent; and
• 15 other counties and out-of-state residents each had less than 1 percent.

“The purpose of our request was to help increase our vaccination rate, and provide for our county residents who have been shorted throughout this pandemic," Pettit said. "This clinic assuredly did not significantly impact our rates.

"With only 864 of the 3,500 doses of vaccine remaining in our three counties, we are still well below the current statewide vaccination rate. We will continue to seek additional allocations to bring parity for the counties’ vaccination rates.”

The director of Emergency Communications for the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office is getting his ducks in a row, calling upon the Genesee County Legislature to appropriate funds to advance a public safety capital project that includes the building of a communications tower on Molasses Hill Road in the Town of Attica.

Speaking at the legislature’s Ways & Means Committee meeting Wednesday, Steven Sharpe presented a resolution that calls for the reallocation of $301,835.67 in unexpended funds and unanticipated revenue to the public safety communications tower project.

“As we are building the tower on Molasses Hill Road, which is just over the Wyoming County line, we’d like to move money from the original capital project for the radio system that was created in 2013, and move the balance of funds from that 2013 capital project into the more recent public safety communications tower project,” Sharpe said.

He indicated that the Molasses Hill site will fill “a dramatic hole that we’ve had since we put the 800-megahertz system back in in 1991 as we’ve always had problems along Route 98 and along Route 238 going into Attica.”

Sharpe said a settlement involving Nextel has resulted in an additional $255,243.86 in unanticipated revenue coming into the county. The resolution also includes the sum of $46,591.81 that has yet to be spent from the 2020 communications operational budget and the 2013 800-megahertz radio upgrade capital project.

The Ways & Means Committee approved the measure, which now goes before the entire legislative body on Wednesday.

Sharpe said the total cost of the project is $1.9 million, which is about $200,000 more than what is currently in the capital project budget. But, he added, that he is waiting to hear about funding from the Statewide Interoperability Communications Grant program and that the $1.9 million figure includes “some contingencies in case we run into something that we don’t expect.”

“Right now, this allows us to make sure we’re paying the bills until that next round of money comes in, and once we have that money we will reimburse against it,” he explained, adding that grants will cover most of the project cost.

When asked about the timeline of the Molasses Hill work, Sharpe said language is in the contract to have the tower connected to the radio system network by April 30.

“They have to have the microwave equipment completely done by August 6^th and we’re hoping that once they’re connected to Darien and we’re talking to the network, we’re going to start optimization in May or June,” he said. “We’re looking at doing coverage analysis in June and July so we have full coverage of the trees, make any adjustments in August and final acceptance, hopefully, in September …”’

The committee approved a second resolution that authorizes amending a “zero dollar” lease agreement with American Tower Asset Sub LLC, of Woburn, Mass., to upgrade the public safety radio system equipment on a tower on South Lake Road in Pavilion.

Sharpe said this is necessary because the Cedar Street (Batavia) tower is overloaded.

The County is changing its originally planned microwave link from Darien to Molasses Hill to Cedar, which would have reused an existing microwave link.

“Instead what we’re doing now is going from Darien to Molasses Hill to Pavilion,” he said. “What that does is allows us to have a parallel path for our radio system, and in the future as we have to do any work or upgrade or replace the Cedar Street, we won’t have to take the whole network down and we’ll still have a parallel path.”

He said the lease agreement gives the county greater flexibility.

“Back in 1998, the town and the county had the wisdom, as far as zoning rules, to negotiate for free access for our equipment on that tower. There are some minor costs, such as structural analysis and if we have to change the tension on those guy wires,” he said.

Sharpe said there are nine towers in Genesee County, one in Albion that connects to the Orleans County system and one in Chili that connects to the Monroe County system.

“Verizon just built a tower on Hundredmark Road in the Town of Elba, so that might be a future site, which would give us 10 sites within the county that are transmit sites to go along with our two dispatch centers at 14 West Main Street in the city and one at the dispatch center on Park Road,” he said.

Batavia Coach Marty Hein knew that it would be a “tall order” for his Lady Blue Devils girls’ basketball team to defeat Our Lady of Mercy on Thursday night, considering that the visitors’ frontline featured 6-foot-5 senior center Katie Whitaker and 6-foot sophomore Audrey Hintz.

While the height disadvantage inside was too much for Batavia to overcome, the home team battled the Class AA Lady Monarchs the entire way in a 62-42 loss.

The Lady Devils, 7-4, close out their regular season Saturday afternoon before preparing to host a Section V Class B1 Tournament game on Tuesday night against an opponent to be determined.

Hein said he scheduled the nonleague game against Mercy, now 8-3, in anticipation of possibly facing Dansville, which is led by 6-foot-2 Arayana Young (16 points per game), in the sectionals.

“When we found out on January 19^th that the season would be happening and that our first practice would be February 1^st, it didn’t give us much time to schedule games,” Hein said. “That’s when we set up the game with Mercy with the idea we may face Dansville, who also has a ‘big.’ ”

As it turned out, Batavia will not face Dansville this season as the Lady Mustangs are in Class B2.

In last night’s game, Whitaker scored 20 points – all of them on layups after taking high-arcing passes from her teammates or from put backs after she grabbed an offensive rebound.

The Lady Devils, with no player over 5-10, made it tough on her, however, with double- and triple-teaming, and drew a couple offensive fouls in the process. They also employed a full court press most of the game in an attempt to slow down the Lady Monarchs.

Mercy led 14-8 after the first quarter before expanding its lead by outscoring Batavia 22-10 in the second quarter. Whitaker scored six points in the period, but junior guard Libby McDonough really hurt the Lady Devils by scoring 11 of her 19 points in the quarter, including two three-point shots.

Mackenzie Reigle scored nine of her 19 points for Batavia in the second quarter.

A pair of three-point shots by Bryn Wormley and a free throw by Reigle pulled Batavia within 36-25 early in the third quarter. Mercy stretched the lead to 16 when McDonough sank another three-pointer – and was fouled on the shot -- and Whitaker rebounded McDonough’s missed free throw for a layup. Whitaker finished with 15 rebounds.

Reigle and Wormley provided all of Batavia’s 18 points in the quarter – scoring nine each – as the Lady Devils cut the deficit to 50-36.

Reigle’s steal and layup to start the fourth quarter pulled Batavia within 12 before Whitaker sank three shots from close range around a pair of free throws by Hintz to seal the outcome.

For the game, Batavia made just 14 of 48 shots from the field.

Wormley finished with 15 points and now needs 31 more to join Reigle as a 1,000-point scorer for her varsity career. She’ll have a chance to add to her total when the Lady Devils visit Greece Odyssey for a 2:15 p.m. game Saturday.

Following a frustrating 3-2 loss to Brockport this afternoon at the Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in Rochester, Notre Dame Coach Marc Staley reflected upon what otherwise has been a successful ice hockey season thus far for the Fighting Irish, who will play a final regular season game on Saturday before hosting a Section 5 Class A Tournament next Tuesday.

“If you would have said to me five weeks ago that we were going to have a season, I would have been thrilled,” Staley said. “If you said to me five weeks ago that we were going to be 7-2-1 and be the No. 1 seed in Class A, I would have said you’re crazy.”

Both the No. 1 overall seed in Class A and the Section V Division 3 championship are in reach for Notre Dame.

A victory over division rival Irondequoit, 8-2-1, on Saturday (7 p.m. at Lakeshore Hockey Arena and Sports Center in Rochester) will give the Fighting Irish the league title while a win or a tie will enable them to retain their current place as the top seed in Class A.

“We’re playing in the highest class in New York State hockey against teams (from large schools) like Webster Schroeder and Hilton,” Staley said. “I think they (Section V officials) looked at our scores early in the season when we won big (and placed us there). But I don’t care where they put us. There’s not a lot of difference between Class A and Class B.”

Today’s game showed that as Brockport, a Class B entry, burst out of the gate, peppering ND’s freshman goaltender Frank Falleti with 13 shots in the first 10 minutes and cashing in on two of them – a goal by Jeremiah Rausch at 6:54 and a power play goal by Henry Schultz at 9:58 (assisted by Rausch).

Notre Dame had a couple of great chances late in the period but the team’s leading scorers, Gavin Schrader and Vin DiRisio, were stymied by Brockport goalie Joseph Volpe. Brockport outshot Batavia 18-8 in the period.

It didn’t take long for the Irish to cut the lead in half as Schrader flipped a backhand shot past Volpe just 33 seconds into the second period for his 17^th goal of the season. Vin DiRisio assisted on the goal. ND tied the score about six minutes later when freshman Joe DiRisio made a nifty move to get past the defenseman and found the back of the net.

Brockport, now 7-3-1, responded, however, tallying what proved to be the game’s final goal with 48 seconds left in the period as Tyler Henshaw put away the loose puck in a 4-on-3 power play after Falleti had turned away shots by Rausch and Jonathan LoMonaco.

In the third period, ND drew a couple of early penalties, including a four-minute major, but was unable to capitalize. For the game, they were 1 for 9 on the power play.

Notre Dame kept the pressure on in the final seven minutes, turning a 32-27 deficit in shots on goal to a 37-32 advantage, but Volpe was equal to the task. In the end, Volpe stopped 37 shots while Falleti had 31 saves.

“It was two different games, right,” Staley said. “We were very flat to start the game and, to their credit, they’re up after the first and we had to reassess the situation. What kids are struggling with is that we can’t sneak up on anybody anymore. When you start the season 6-0, 7-1, everyone is looking for you; they’re going to give you their best games and kids are getting up to play us.”

Staley gave the team credit for clawing back from the 2-0 deficit.

“We bounced back and found some energy down the stretch, but we didn’t execute on the power play as well as we needed to,” he said. “We had chances, but their goalie played great and their defense did a nice job of clearing pucks and winning face-offs.

“We got beat on face-offs most of the night and that is a huge stat. Every face-off is eight seconds of possession in hockey. You win 20 draws a game, you’re talking about an extra three minutes of puck possession.”

He singled out the two freshman, goalie Falleti – “in a year or two he’s going to be something,” he said -- and Joe DiRisio, who has 11 goals this season.

“We have so many good players – and they're young,” Staley said. “We only lose five players (after this season).”

If he could open Batavia city schools up to in-class learning five days a week any time soon, he would, Superintendent Anibal Soler told the Board of Education at its regular meeting on Monday.

He said he knows some neighboring districts are going to daily in-person instruction, but he said the district won't violate any state or CDC guidelines to make it happen in Batavia.

"From our standpoint, if we can put more kids on the bus, we already would have done it," Soler said. "If we could get more kids in a class, we already would have done it."

He said he is staying abreast of guidelines and if changes are announced, the district will be able to work quickly and diligently to adjust.

Also during his superintendent's report on Monday, he said guidelines on masking have changed. Under the new policy, if you have your mask on and the other person has his or her mask and you're not within six feet of each other, you're not going to be subject to quarantine if the other person tests positive for COVID-19. Under the previous policy, anybody in the same enclosed space, such as a classroom, even if 20 feet apart, would be subject to quarantine. 

"This is meant to limit the number of kids and limit the number of teachers who get quarantined," Soler said. 

Soler also updated the trustees on testing.  

The U.S. Department of Education denied the state's request to waive all required state testing for students in grades 3-8 and the Regents test for grades 9-12. As a result, the district will be required to test all in-person learning students, third grade and up, in Math, ELA, and the Regents exams. The state has said these tests will only be used for diagnostic purposes and will not harm school accountability reports. The state is considering not using Regents exams as a requirement for graduation. 

Soler said the district expects to receive more information on testing and graduation and when that information is released, principals will be communicating directly with students, families and staff.

Finally, photo below, Officer Jason Davis, who has served recently as the district's resource officer, was honored by the district as approaches retirement for his service to the community and the district.

Photo courtesy of Anibal Soler.

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