town of batavia

A structure fire is reported at 2583 Angling Road. It's between Read Road and Church Street. There is black smoke billowing from the corner of the house.

A firefighter on scene says there is heavy smoke coming from the rear of the residence.

Another says "Occupants and dog are out. It is involved."

East Pembroke and Town of Batavia fire departments are responding. An engine from Corfu is also requested.

UPDATE 12:24 p.m.: This East Pembroke fire has gone to a second alarm. Mercy medics are on scene. Corfu has called for an engine from Darien to stand in at Corfu's hall. A tanker from Indian Falls is requested. "It's starting to go fast -- everybody be careful because of the ice." But a bit later "The floor is gone. All interior firefighters are ordered out of the structure."

UPDATE 12:29 p.m.: Town of Batavia calls for an engine from Corfu to fill in at its station. Some units on scene are working to try and protect the garage.

UPDATE 12:35 p.m.: Oakfield is called to fill in at Town of Batavia's fire hall. Despite the prior directive, and the collapse of the floor, firefighters are now on the second floor of the house working to put out the fire. National Grid is notified, no ETA given. A chief asks "Do we have a crew for the roof?"

UPDATE 12:50 p.m.: The chief says "The fire's out. We're just trying to clean up in here. There aren't any hot spots." Also, a badly injured cat was found at the scene (presumably it has suffered burns). It is not known whose cat it is, if anyone's. It has been placed inside the garage and people from the animal shelter are on their way to get it and treat it. According to Sheriff's Deputy Brian Thompson, the fire started outside in a stairwell from unknown causes. A man and woman were asleep in their bedroom when the woman awoke and smelled something burning. By then, the fire had starting climbing the walls of the residence.

UPDATE 1:13 p.m.: The rescued cat did not apparently suffer from burns. Rather it experienced severe smoke inhalation and was heavily doused with water. It is one of three of the family's cats and is being taken to Batavia Animal Hospital on West Main Street Road. The other two cats remain unaccounted for.

UPDATE 2:04 p.m. (by Howard): Red Cross requested to the scene. Also, photo above of the red tabby that was rescued from the house. It was covered in water that had frozen and probably suffered from smoke inhalation, but was crying loudly as it was being carried here. The firefighter is taking the cat to a garage where it might be warmer. An Animal Control officer picked up the cat a short time later and took it to Batavia Animal Hospital.

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The Town of Batavia and the City of Batavia are still looking for candidates to be appointed to the Consolidated Charter Task Force.

The deadline to apply is this Friday, Dec. 10.

It will be responsible for preparing a revised City Charter to continue the joint effort by the town and city to investigate the possibility of consolidating the town and city into one Batavia.

The Consolidated Charter Task Force, with the assistance of a facilitator, will be expected to draft a Consolidated City Charter, to be reviewed by the public, town board and city council.

The selection process for the Consolidated Charter Task Force shall consist of interviews conducted by an Interview Committee consisting of three town board members and three city council members. Upon the Interview Committee's recommendations, the town board and city council will jointly appoint the Consolidated Charter Task Force.

It will consist of four town residents and four city residents. All task force members must be at least 18 years old.

Individuals in the following categories shall not be considered for inclusion on the task force: all members of the town board and the city council; all members of the planning boards and the zoning boards of appeals for both the town and the city; all employees of the town and the city and the spouses of any individual in the above categories.

Applications for the Consolidated Charter Task Force are available at the Town Clerk's Office, 3833 W. Main St. Road, in the Town of Batavia, and at the City Clerk's Office, One Batavia City Centre, in the City of Batavia.

Applications can also be downloaded from the town website: www.townofbatavia.com or the city website: www.batavianewyork.com.

Applications must be returned to the Town Clerk's Office or the City Clerk's Office. The deadline is Friday, Dec. 10.

A fire in a Dumpster is reported at 8468 Seven Springs Road, toward the Clinton Street end. There is heavy smoke.

Town of Batavia and Stafford Fire departments are responding.

A fire is reported inside the maintenance shop of the Stafford Country Club. The shop is located off Route 5, just east of Route 237.

Stafford and Pavilion fire departments are responding, along with tankers from the Town of Batavia and fire police from Le Roy. South Byron fire is to fill in at the station for Stafford.

There is heavy smoke inside the structure.

UPDATE (5:53 p.m.): Firefighters are warned that there are chemicals stored inside the northeast end of the building. A firefighter says one piece of machinery is on fire but it is almost out. The roof does not need ventilating at this time.

UPDATE (5:57 p.m.): They are going to vent the north end of the building.

UPDATE (6:02 p.m.): The fire is confirmed to be contained to one piece of machinery and it has been dragged outside. Everything is under control. They are releasing some equipment to go back in service.

High winds blew live electrical wires onto a roof at 9418 Roanoke Road in Stafford. It's smoking and the fire has spread to the kitchen. It's now a second-alarm fire.

Stafford, Bethany, Le Roy, Town of Batavia and Pavilion are responding to fight the fire and control traffic. National Grid has been notified.

The location is between Sweetland and Westacott roads. The homeowner is outside with fire personnel.

UPDATE (3:12 p.m.): All available manpower in the area is called to the scene. There are three areas on fire inside the home. More traffic control is called for.

UPDATE (3:28 p.m.): Wyoming County is asked to standby in their own quarters with a full crew in case they are needed. Tankers, pumpers, hydrants are all being used and at the ready to fight the fire. Countywide, more crews are called to stand in at the responders' stations. Caledonia is called to help out. National Grid is at the scene. Power inside the house is out. The fire has spread to the garage.

UPDATE (3:40 p.m.): This is now a three-alarm fire. Firefighters were ordered out of the garage, which was "buckling" due to fire damage. There are four fire sites inside the structure now. It has spread to the second floor.

UPDATE (3:46 p.m.): A thermal-imaging camera is requested at the scene. Fire is now in the attic, too.

UPDATE (3:53 p.m.): Inside fire crews are getting out of the structure. They will be fighting it now from the outside only.

UPDATE (4:48): Fresh crews have been called in to replace tired firefighters. The structure is still smoking. The Wyoming County Correctional Facility Fire Brigade is being contacted to aid with equipment, we believe additional lengths of fire hose. Refreshments for the firefighters are requested. The modest, brick home appears to be a total loss. It was built in 1823 and for the past 40 years it has been the home of Terry and Betty Smart.

UPDATE 7:33 p.m.: All units back in service.

A one-vehicle rollover accident with no injuries is reported at 5860 Clinton Street Road in the Town of Batavia Stafford. It's between Westbrook and Mills roads.

A motorcycle accident is reported in or near the parking lot of Automotive Corporation on Federal Drive in the Town of Batavia.

There are minor injuries but the driver is conscious and alert. No other vehicle was involved. Town fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

A caller reports tires burning on property located at 3788 S. Main St. Road. A Sheriff's Deputy is requested to the scene along with a brush truck from the Town of Batavia Fire Department.

A tree fire is reported at 9362 Putman Road, about 150 yards off the roadway, down a long driveway. The area is northeast of Transit Road. Town of Batavia Fire Department has been notified.

UPDATE (8:29 p.m.): The tree fire is not near any structures, but it is not yet known whether it is near other trees.

UPDATE (8:33 p.m.): The fire is in the brush underneath some trees, apparently from a controlled burn that got out of control.

If people in the Town of Batavia want public water, they are going to have to let it be known and help lobby for grant money, according to town officials.

Government tests on private wells show there is contamination of varying degrees, which is, of course, unhealthy. The arduous process of getting loans and grants approved to extend public water lines calls for a united, consistent effort to make it happen, says Town Engineer Steve Mountain.

"We at the town can only do so much," Mountain said. "We are no further along than before but we have all the necessary information."

There are meetings planned with officials at all levels of government, regulatory agencies and scientists. Grant applications were sent to the USDA three months ago, but perhaps due to a backlog of applications in a sluggish economy, there's no word yet on the status.

Without grants, estimated annual water costs for residents would be:

• Creek/East Roads -- $1,190
• Pratt Road -- $1,982
• Wortendyke Road -- $2,230
• Batavia northeast of Rte. 98 -- $1,940
• Batavia northwest of Rte. 98 -- $1,667.

Estimated costs with grants would average of $750 per year per household in the water districts.

A Batavia Town Board Meeting is at 7 tonight and residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the well contamination problem, what is being done about it and to let their wishes be known regarding establishing public water districts.

If they want to continue working to bring public water to the area, they need to step it up and if there's a lack of interest, say so, Mountain said.

To move ahead, a resident from each proposed water district will need to circulate a legal petition in order to proceed. The legal approval process can take anywhere from a few months to two years.

In addition, Mountain said he encourages residents to send letters to county, state and federal officials.

The short list would include Congressman Chris Lee, senators Mike Ransenhofer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Charles Schumer, Assemblyman Steve Hawley and the Genesee County Legislature.

The area of initial concern regarding well-water quality was State Street, Batavia-Elba Townline and Bank Street roads and tests in this area were funded by the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Testing was eventually done on all private wells, and the additional testing was paid for the town.

Fourteen out of 38 well tested positive for bacteria and 12 out of 13 had elevated nitrate levels between 0.05 parts per million (ppm) and 9.99 ppm. One out of 13 had nitrate levels greater than or equal to 10 ppm.

No one spoke in favor of proposed zoning changes, intended to protect agricultural land, at tonight's public hearing in the Batavia Town Hall. Not the county, nor farmers, nor just plain property owners.

The draft Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan aims to preserve tracts of land big enough to farm by limiting the creation of non-farm lots as well as the subdivision of farm parcels. It's a long-term strategy to deal with growth and yet maintain a highly important resource -- local agriculture.

Two more public hearings will be held before it's considered. Nothing is settled, everything is negotiable.

About a dozen people were at the Town Board meeting and they got an overview of the plan before getting a chance to speak.

First to the podium was Penfield resident Jeffrey Peters who owns property in the town as does his sister.

Among Peters' complaints was the possible rezoning of 120 acres he owns, which could be changed from residential to agricultural. What he could build 100 houses on now would be rezoned to allow only about 5.

"This impedes our ability to market properties," Peters said, adding that the economic loss would be tremendous.

He figures at least 180 current landowners will be affected by the proposals.

"I'll guarantee they won't like the numbers," Peters said.

Furthermore, there is no compelling reason to make the changes, Peters went on, because residential encroachment on ag land here amounts to less than 1 percent, hardly justification for taking away his property rights under the Constitution.

His attorney, Edward Pucino, echoed his client's concerns.

The draft plan places severe limitations on the exercise of property rights. It's too restrictive, Pucino said. He recommended the town negotiate conservation easements and other incentives with property owners to preserve land.

Putting highly restrictive zoning in place would result in multiple variance requests and, possibly, lawsuits.

"Twenty-five acres per residential lot constitutes a 'taking' of property -- that's unconstitutional," Pucino said.

Joe Jaszko questioned the whole enterprise. He said nothing needed to be changed and that it all just amounts to more government in people's lives, and for no good reason.

Town Supervisor Greg Post said he understood Jaszko's concerns about more government and agreed with him. But Post said the town has a responsibility to be good stewards of the land for future generations, and it's better to work out the plan at the most local level than have some other government entity do so.

"There may be a debate about how it's being done, but I'm glad it's being done and you're not ignoring it," said Jim Duval, planning director for Genesee County.

Duval asked that the draft be revised to reflect that the area north of town, some 1,500 acres, be declared the wet and unproductive land that it is, rather than designating it as protected agriculture property.

Gary Diegelman, in a similar vein, suggested that land that has not been tilled, say, within the last 10 years, not fall under ag protection.

"If wetlands and woodlands and all were lumped in that protected designation, it would be a burden to the property owner and they would need to seek variances to make changes," Diegelman said.

After the hour-long hearing, Roger Saile walked into the hallway and just shook his head. He was not pleased with the draft plan in the least.

"We've been here 100 years and we've protected our land just fine," Saile said. "And now someone from out of town comes here and tells us how to protect it.

"It's too much government. I need protection -- from them!" Saile said, pointing toward the well-intended people in the other room.

Stuart Brown Associates in Fairport prepared the bulk of the plan in conjunction with a 10-person steering committee from the town. The work was funded with a $25,000 state grant. Copies are available from the town clerk's office.