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Genesee County proceeds with 'staggering' $6.3 million water project for pumping station upgrades

By Joanne Beck

Some of the circumstances are different, but Genesee County could be like Jackson, Mississippi if upgrades aren’t made.

Things might not be as harsh as the southern state is experiencing, but it’s a worthwhile scenario to keep in mind, county Highway Superintendent and Engineer Tim Hens says.

Hens shared that perspective with county legislators during a meeting Wednesday. He reviewed the last pieces remaining for the second phase of the county’s water project that began three years ago.

“This is the last significant piece of Phase Two required to get the full expanded capacity that we anticipated long ago,” Hens said. “And with the continuing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages and equipment delays, and everything that you can imagine under the sun in a post-pandemic world, every day and week that we can grab onto the schedule to advance these projects is much appreciated.”

He laid out two bids each for general construction and electrical work within this phase, selecting C.P. Ward, at $4.17 million for existing pump station upgrades, and electrical construction work to Concord Electric Corp. for $2.2 million, for a combined total of $6.35 million for the project. That is “a staggering double” figure to what pumping station upgrades would have been pre-COVID, he said.

“That’s obviously a significant pill to swallow,” he said.

The county received a $1.23 million grant, which isn’t nearly enough for that $6.35 total, and other options considered were to apply for another grant, or rescind the one received and go for a larger amount, plus obtaining a loan. The risky part of rejecting that grant money already in hand is that the county might not receive that larger request, he said, and the county cannot apply for a second grant on the same project.

Assistant County Engineer Justin Gerace was talking with New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation on Wednesday to learn how to go about applying for funding that is available through that state agency specifically for water, and he will be working on applying for a $2.7 million low-interest loan, Hens said.

“So Justin's already diving deep with the EFC on how to apply for that and when to apply for that,” Hens said.

That would alleviate the county from having to come up with that cash right now, he said.

Why such an overage from what was originally calculated, Legislator Marianne Clattenburg asked. It was a number of issues, including overly busy contractors, inflation, and supply chain and labor shortages, Hens said. Other than those reasons, “nothing substantially changed … nothing that significantly increased the cost.”

“It's probably the worst time to try and build anything,” he said.

Legislators — somewhat begrudgingly — agreed that it shouldn’t be put off any longer. Legislator John Deleo suggested that “kicking this can down the road” wasn’t a tactic that will accomplish anything. Fellow Legislator Gary Maha agreed.

“I don’t think we have any choice but to keep going,” Maha said.

The group unanimously approved:

  • A construction contract as specified in the bid documents for the existing pump station upgrades – General Construction — to C.P. Ward, Inc., 100 West River Rd, Scottsville, for a total amount not to exceed $4,166,000.
  • A construction contract as specified in the bid documents for the existing pump station upgrades – Electrical Construction — to Concord Electric Corporation, 305 Pinewild Drive, Suite 4, Rochester, for a total amount not to exceed $2,185,000.

The total cost of both contracts is $6,351,000 and will be funded from the bonds issued by Monroe County Water Authority for the Phase 2 construction and grants secured by the county under the IMG program offered by the state Environmental Facilities Corporation.

As for the turnaround time, Hens said “realistically,” completion would be around the end of 2023 into 2024.

“It’s going to be a long project,” he said.

If the work isn’t done, however, Genesee County could be looking at — instead of close calls during hot, dry summers — actually running out of water due to the pumping stations’ current production abilities, he said. Poor infrastructure and lack of upkeep has led citizens of Jackson, Miss., into a dire situation with no drinkable water, and although that’s due to the actual quality of water due to flooding, it’s a lesson to be learned, he said.

“So for the last three years, we've been kind of maxed out on our water supply. And then the few hot dry days we get in the summertime, we're tapped out, we don't really have a lot of water to go around,” he said. “So the last couple of summers we have been asking people to save water, not water their lawns, not fill their pools. It usually ends up being like two or three weeks of summer. But until these pumping stations are completed, we're gonna have the same thing happen again in 2023.”

The problem with a continuous message to conserve water use, he said, is that people eventually tend to ignore it. He becomes “the boy who cried wolf,” since there hasn't been an actual water shortage that they can see. Hens argues that it’s because of the messages and cooperation from at least some folks to conserve, that the well has not run dry, so to speak.

“We have a water supply in Genesee County, it’s just that we're using everything that we produce. Okay, so this phase two project that we've been working on since 2019, is designed to increase our supply from Monroe County. So it's basically bringing another two and a half million gallons a day into Genesee County from farther away," he said. "So these pump stations are the last piece of the puzzle to get that water here. Once these four projects are done again, which will be a year, year and a half away, we won't have to do the emergency water restrictions every summer, hopefully, for a while.”

Photo: Genesee County Highway Superintendent and Engineer Tim Hens answers questions from The Batavian in the lobby of the Old Courthouse after a meeting with the county Legislature. Photo by Joanne Beck.

Genesee County is talking Smart Growth, offering online meetings

By Joanne Beck

Genesee County’s Planning Department is ready to review and discuss a draft 2022 Smart Growth Plan report that’s available to the public.

The Department will be conducting three online Zoom meetings over the next two weeks for anyone interested in signing up for one of them. The report can be viewed HERE.

Meetings are scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and 6:30 p.m. Aug. 31. They may count for one hour of land use training credits for planning and zoning board members. To register and obtain the Zoom link, email your name, desired date, and if you would like a training certificate to: Felipe.Oltramari@co.genesee.ny.us

What’s the Smart Growth Plan?
On May 9, 2001, Genesee County Legislature adopted the Smart Growth Plan, which is "a mitigating action of potential significant environmental impacts of the Genesee County Water Supply Project upon the viability of agriculture in Genesee County," according to the County Planning Department Director Felipe Oltramari.

Smart Growth Development Areas were designated throughout the county based on their access to transportation, minimal conflict with County Agricultural Districts, and state-regulated wetlands, feasibility of extending public water service, and the potential for extending public infrastructure to support development, Oltramari said.

The Plan requires that it be reviewed every three years by the Legislature and that recommendations for its revision be made at that time.

2022 Review Highlights 
During this review, the Towns of Byron and Pembroke proposed changes to the Smart Growth Development Area Boundaries. One substantive text change is also being proposed as part of this review. The meeting will focus on the modifications being recommended to the County Legislature by the County Planning Department.

According to the Smart Growth report, Phase 1 of the County Water Supply project has been completed, and Phase 2 work is ongoing. Map 1 in the report shows the existing waterlines and the Smart Growth Development Areas prior to the revisions recommended in this report. The majority of water hookups that have been made to the system have occurred mainly along major state highways and county highways.

Although some have been made in agricultural production areas, they have complied with the Smart Growth Plan’s objectives by hooking up only existing structures to public water. The majority of the hookups made were located within the Smart Growth Development Areas designated by the Legislature.

Since 2019, there have been 15 additional requests for hookups outside of the Development Areas to structures built after the adoption of the Smart Growth Plan. This brings the total number of these special requests to 68. After careful consideration given to their potential adverse impacts on agriculture and farming in the area, the Administrative Review Committee approved 12 of the 15, denied two, and tabled one of the requests that was later withdrawn by the applicant.

As a result of this review, and based upon existing comprehensive plans, local planning initiatives, and comments received during the public review process, it is recommended that the boundary of the Priority Development Area be amended in the hamlets of Byron, South Byron and North Byron and a new Priority Development Area be created on Lyman and Beaver Meadow roads in the Town of Byron.

No other changes are recommended in the development areas of the other municipalities in Genesee County (see Map 2). This review also amends the Policies and Procedures for Managing Water Hookups section of the plan by recommending that the Genesee County Legislature pass a local law that when any purchase and sale contract is presented for "the sale, purchase, or exchange of real property located in any town outside of a village (or the City) within the Genesee County, a Smart Growth disclosure notice is required to be signed by both the seller(s) and the buyer(s) acknowledging that Smart Growth is in effect and that new construction may not have the guaranteed right to public water."

This notice will help educate buyers of land about the Smart Growth Plan impacts on access to public water for new non-agricultural development. the report states.

The objectives of the Smart Growth Plan are to:

  • Focus County resources to support economic development opportunities in the most promising locations; 
  • Encourage the revitalization of existing industrial areas, business districts, and residential neighborhoods in the City of Batavia and developed village areas; and
  • Protect farmland and the rural character of the countryside, and maintain the viability of agriculture.

These objectives are consistent with the general principles of Smart Growth to promote the efficient use of land resources and infrastructure; maximize the benefit of existing infrastructure; promote economic development in appropriate areas; encourage revitalization within the City of Batavia, villages and other developed areas, focusing on residential neighborhoods, downtown redevelopment, and the re-use of environmentally damaged lands; protect prime agricultural soils and other natural resources and encourage the continued viability of agriculture according to the Smart Growth America Building Better Budgets Report from May 2013.

In general, smart growth development costs one-third less for upfront infrastructure, saving an average of 38 percent on upfront costs for new construction of roads, sewers, water lines and other infrastructure. Many studies have concluded that this number is as high as 50 percent.

Priority Development Areas include areas with significant potential for economic development as well as areas that are already relatively densely developed with housing, commercial or industrial uses. These areas were identified based upon the following criteria:

  • Access to transportation, including the Interstate Highway System, the State highway network, and the Genesee County Airport;
  • Feasibility of extending or enhancing public water service;
  • Availability or potential for extending other public infrastructure and services to support development;
  • Minimal conflict with land in County Agricultural Districts and State regulated wetlands; and
  • Minimal conflict with land identified as an Ecological Network or Natural Asset Core by the Green Genesee Smart Genesee Project.

Designated Priority Development Areas include land in and surrounding the City of Batavia, Village of LeRoy and Village of Bergen, and other villages and hamlets in Genesee County.

To learn more about the report and future of Genesee County’s water project, click HERE for the report.

Batavia Town Board approves additional expenses related to water and sewer projects

By Mike Pettinella

The Batavia Town Board on Wednesday night approved payment of additional expenses for work on the Townline Water Project and for engineering services for the Townline and Pratt Road water districts and the West Main Street Road Sewer District.

In unanimous votes, the board:

-- Agreed to pay a $47,680 change order submitted by Sergi Construction of East Aurora, which previously had won a bid for a $2.4 million contract for the construction of approximately 107,000 linear feet of 8-inch and 12-inch water main, valves, hydrants and related equipment along various roads in the towns of Batavia, Oakfield, Elba and Stafford.

The added funds were needed to cover the cost of furnishing and installing new 8-inch waterline with two hydrants and service, and the installation of 2-inch PVC at the Genesee County Fire Training Center on State Street Road.

-- Authorized payment of $16,061 to Visone Construction of Depew, which previously was awarded a $3 million contract for the same Townline Water Project. The increase was needed to cover the cost for new connections along Oak Orchard Road to the Village of Elba, and for an emergency water main break in Elba two months ago.

-- Approved payments to Clark Patterson Lee for additional design and construction inspection services for the Townline Water District ($66,900), the Pratt Road Water District ($9,600), and the West Main Street Road Sewer District ($21,000).

The board also OK'd a couple of resolutions in connection with sanitary sewer service with Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.

One of them was an amendment to a sewer service agreement that calls for WROTB to pay for construction of an extension of a sanitary sewer service line if requested by the Town, based upon requirements of future need or development; and the other was a resolution granting the Town of Batavia an easement from WROTB to maintain the sanitary sewer located on the east side of Batavia Downs Gaming and any future extension up to the south end of Richmond Avenue.

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