There seems to be no path county legislators can go down with the 2017 county budget that doesn't hurt taxpayers.

Nobody wants to see a tax increase, especially one that is higher than the state-mandated tax cap, but that's exactly what is under consideration by the nine-member body.

Legislators must also decide whether to spend tomorrow's money today or make drastic cuts in personnel that will leave taxpayers with curtailed essential services.

The hard choices discussed at a meeting Wednesday night left everybody a bit frustrated, Chairman Ray Cianfrini most of all, who said if the legislators can't reach a consensus and pass a budget by Dec. 14, the county will be left, by law, with the budget proposal originally drafted by County Manager Jay Gsell.

"If we're not careful, the budget we get will be Jay's budget, which is the budget we all like the least," Cianfrini said.

That budget doesn't raise taxes -- though it does increase the tax levy above the state-mandated level -- but it grabs two big buckets of money the county will need in future years and spends it in 2017.

Gsell's budget is balanced because it takes $1 million in sales tax revenue that would normally be rolled over into funding for future capital projects, such as roads and bridges, and it draws down the county's reserve funds by yet another $1 million.

The tax rate for local property owners would be $$9.76 per thousand of assessed value, which is slightly lower than 2016 rate, but because of an increase in assessed value for county properties, would actually raise more money.

Because of the state's tax-cap formula, which adjusts the cap based on changes to assessed value, the county can't approve a rate above $9.86 without overriding the tax cap.

That's something the legislators seem willing to do under the circumstances.

None of them like the idea of diverting sales tax revenue away from roads and bridges (and the likelihood the county will be forced to build a new jail within the next five years), so that proposal is no longer under consideration.

But legislators can't agree on whether to tap into reserve funds to balance the budget. There's no more than four votes for that option, even if the amount taken from reserves is reduced to $500,000.

"I'm much more concerned about what's going to happen long term," said Legislator Bob Bausch. "I'm not willing to have my kids and my grandkids paying our bills."

Legislator Andrew Young was adamant that the Legislature needs a plan to ensure the county's financial viability before he could agree to spend any more reserves.

"We're working on deficit budgets and eventually that's going to catch up with us." Young said. "We need to put a pencil to this budget and cut things."

Young noted that Treasurer Scott German has warned that if the county continues to spend down reserves, it's looking at insolvency within five years.

To that end, Young was ready to push for the Legislature to eliminate the two corrections officer positions requested by the Sheriff's Office, but also leave unfilled a road patrol vacancy that will open up at the beginning of the year.

That would save the county about $200,000 in 2017.

Cianfrini said if that was part of the final budget, he would have to vote no. The Legislature was split on whether to then eliminate just the two CO positions or just the deputy position.

The reason the Sheriff requested the CO positions is those new hires could start handling prisoner transports for female prisoners between Genesee County's courts and the county jails where they are housed (because Genesee County's jail can't house female prisoners). The county is facing rapidly rising overtime costs because of the transports and road patrol shifts are sometimes short of manpower.

Bausch and Legislator John Deleo were both opposed to any significant tax increase, especially the nearly $1 million increase needed to make up for not spending reserves and not diverting sales tax revenue.

Even when asked to consider spending only $500,000 of reserves, Deleo looked at the potential tax rate, shook his head and muttered, "that's just too much."

He said he was concerned about the burden on taxpayers in the city.

"People tell me all the time to hold the tax cap," Deleo said. "They stop me in the street. But even if we hold it to the 2016 rate, we can't make this work. It's just unreal."

Bausch said there is another constituency to seriously consider -- farmers, who own most of the land in the county.

"Even a 10-cent increase would have a big negative impact on our farmers and they're the number one industry in the county," Bausch said.

There will be some budget relief once the county closes on its deal to sell the County Nursing Home, but the impact will mostly be a one-time benefit and not help the longer term, growing fiscal crisis facing the county.

The legislature meets again on Monday evening to take up the budget discussion once again and see if they can come to an agreement on taxes and spending for 2017.

The total proposed buget for 2017 is $146,249,625, which includes all expenses covered by all funding sources, including revenue received from various other funding sources besides property and sales tax. A property tax of $9.76 per thousand would raise $27,844,499 (the tax levy). The county is also budgeting for about $18 million in sales tax revenue. A large proportion of the county's expenditures are mandated by state law and can't be eliminated.

With hours upon hours of meetings as well as comments from the public behind them, Batavia Town Board members on Wednesday night formally adopted the municipality's 2017 budget -- an $8.5 million spending plan that moves the tax rate from $1.42 to $2.64 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

And moments after the unanimous vote, Supervisor Gregory Post thanked Deputy Supervisor Dan Underhill, Councilwomen Sharon White and Patti Michalak and Councilman Chad Zambito for their efforts, advised them to take a Thanksgiving holiday break and reminded them that work on the 2018 budget will begin when they report back the following week.

"Discussions on the 2018 budget will start right away," Post said.

For 2017, town residents will be contributing $1 milliion in taxes -- up from the $500,000 that was levied in 2016. The board authorized spending $475,000 out of the town's reserves to balance the budget, which includes the financial needs for the fire, sewer and water districts.

The board also passed the proposed water rates -- $5.10 per 1,000 gallons as the base rate and $3.73 per 1,000 gallons as the agricultural rate -- and set the rates for both sewer districts in the town at $6.13 per 1,000 gallons. The new rates represent increases of about 3 percent (water) and 10 percent (sewer) from last year.

As far as fire protection is concerned, the board scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 at the Town Hall in connection with the town's contract with the Town of Batavia Fire Department. The 2017 contract calls for the town to pay the fire company $916,858 -- an increase in actual dollars from 2016 but at the same tax rate of $2.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Post said both the board, in conjunction with Town of Batavia and East Pembroke Fire department personnel, spent the past 18 months working to come up with a tax rate that "would sustain the community's fire protection services as far into the future as we can forecast."

He noted that any excess tax revenue will go directly to dedicated fire reserve accounts to cover the increasing costs of facilities and equipment.

"Our volunteer fire departments give extraordinary value," Post said. "Compare their budget to the budget of the city (of Batavia) fire department, and they are providing the same service at a third of the cost."

In other action, the board:

-- Approved a $63,597 contract with New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal to provide the town with insurance coverage (including cyber coverage) from November 2016 through November of 2017, and a $1,111 contract with Franz-Manno Service Corp. for excess employer's liability insurance.

-- Set a public hearing for 7:05 p.m. on Dec. 21 for input on the town's updated Comprehensive Master Plan, which is available for viewing at the Town Hall on West Main Street Road or on the town's website -- www.townofbatavia.com. A CMP meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the Town Hall.

-- Received a report from Dan Lang, codes official, indicating that the new East Pembroke fire station is in the early stages of construction, and that the new Chamber of Commerce building on Park Road is nearing completion.

Pictured: Instructional coaches of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership with Jim Knight, director of the Kansas Coaching Project. (Courtesy of Jim Thompson.)

A new program for the improvement of teaching techniques has begun to take root in the Genesee Valley Boces school districts. The new program connects educators with trained coaches who review video footage of teaching sessions and provide commentary and advice to improve quality and effectiveness.

Jim Thompson, director of Instructional Coaching Services at Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, began installing the program during the 2014 school year. The program has since grown from 10 teachers in its first year, to being used in over nine districts in the area. Jim has worked as the primary coach since its inception, and is currently working on training educators in each district to become coaches themselves.

“We strive for excellent instruction, every day, in every classroom, for every student. That is our true north.” Thompson said, quoting his mentor Jim Knight, director of the Kansas Coaching Project at the University of Kansas.

The program itself involves several stages. First, teachers will meet with coaches, in order to establish goals and develop a positive relationship between them. Next, the teacher submits a 15-20 minute video clip from a teaching session. The coach will then review the video multiple times, implementing time-stamped commentary, concluding with a meeting and review session with both the educator and coach in person.

Thompson emphasized the importance of the teacher-coach relationship in the program, as well as the program’s non-evaluative nature, confidentiality and volunteer basis.

“The program is built on strong relationships and trust. We set up a relationship with teachers which not only generates trust, but also promotes a willingness on the part of both the teacher and coach to reflect on instruction and help improvement.”

One school in which the program has found a receptive home is in the Byron-Bergen district, where superintendent Mickey Edwards has instituted it in both the secondary and elementary levels. As of now, 40 percent of teachers in the school have participated in video coaching, and the school has begun training its own coaches.

“We offer it to teachers to help them improve on their craft and delivery,” Edwards said. “At Byron-Bergen, teachers are not done learning yet.”

Edwards compared the program to the model presented by sports film study, saying that watching yourself teach and seeing what you do well and what you need to improve on – terms which the program refers to as “glows and grows” – is an eye-opening experience.

Diana Walther, an eighth-grade English teacher from the school, is currently being trained as a coach for the district. As an educator who has seen the program from the perspective of a teacher as well as a coach, she claims that it was one of the most effective professional development programs she has been a part of.

“It draws your attention to things you’ve never thought of before,” she said. “Personally, I speak very quickly, so slowing down was something I needed to improve a lot.”

Walther also echoed Jim Thompson’s emphasis on the teacher-coach relationship. “Each session begins by getting to know each other,” Walther said, “in order to identify goals.”

Deborah Slocum, another coach from the Byron-Bergen district, says that her experience in the program also led to her desire to get involved.

“I had an epiphany, it was the most valuable professional reflection I’ve had over the past 24 years of teaching.”

The school has enjoyed the benefits of the program, so much as to implement it into their quarterly evaluation process. Each teacher goes through four annual evaluations, which often include a supervisor sitting in on a class. This option allows teachers to present a video session with a coach as one of their four evaluations.

“This ties into a growth model, where teachers can hone their craft,” Edwards said.

In the future, Edwards hopes to increase the size of the program to include many more coaches within the district.

“I’d like to see one in each content area, and a few at the elementary level.”

The program is in what Edwards referred to as a “fledgling stage,” and it will be evaluated at the end of the school year.

The 15th Annual Wonderland of Trees Gala opens this Friday Nov. 18th at 7 p.m. at the Holland Land Office Museum at 131 W. Main St., Batavia.

Featuring decorated trees by local area businesses, food, music, a basket raffle and silent auction with proceeds to benefit the museum. The trees will be on display until Jan. 4.

The costs are $25 per ticket or $40 per couple. R.S.V.P. is required to attend. Tickets are available in person at the museum, by phone 585-343-4727 or online at www.dailynewstickets.com

Pictured above is the Batavia Business Professional Women's Club tree.

Batavia Girl Scouts Tree

Robin Weinstein is pictured with a menorah, "The Festival of Lights."

The ARC of Genesee Orleans tree

It's full steam ahead for academics at John Kennedy School, according to Principal Paul Kesler, who delivered a progress report to the Batavia City Schools board at Tuesday night's meeting.

On standardized testing, John Kennedy students are outpacing their peers in other districts, Kesler said.

Kesler completed a comparison of third- and fourth-grade students among 16 similar-sized cities and JK's third-graders have the highest English Language Arts scores and second highest in math. For fourth-graders, they rank third and fourth in ELA and math.

"As you can see from the pattern," Kesler said standing in front of a bar chart, "there's really a straight line year after year in terms of small cities."

The third-grade class is the first to pass through the district since the realignment of schools before their kindergarten year.

Kesler also compared JK results with the 22 other districts in the region and JK students are in the 80th percentile in ELA and 90th in math.

On another math test, 35 percent of the students tested at level 4, which Kesler said was impressive.

"I'm really proud of that because now it's no longer just our top A students who performing at that high level," Kesler said. "It's really all of our students are moving along."

Kesler, who is in his 12th year at the school, praised the work of the school's staff and thanked the district board for helping him recruit and hire talented teachers.

The school also undertook an aggressive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts/design and math) curriculum this year and Kesler said it's going well so far.

There have been three STEAM sessions for the students and STEAM topics are being worked into other parts of the curriculum.

For example, students are going to read "Charlotte's Web" this year, so there will be corresponding instruction on insects and how spiders build their webs, which gets into engineering.

"It's exciting," he said. "When the kids get excited, I get excited."

As for the future, with the district now supplying each student with Chromebooks, there's no longer a need for a computer lab. The plan, Kesler said, is to turn the former computer lab into a STEAM lab and a maker space. It will be a paperless space, he said. For example, the desktops will be white boards, which students can use for their calculations. 

Jordan Fluker has continued to participate in organized youth bowling into his late teens, and the Batavian's dedication to the sport was rewarded at the highest level last Saturday (Nov. 12) when he rolled a 300 game at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Jordan, 19, joined a handful of Batavia youth bowlers who reached perfection by starting with 12 strikes in a row on lanes 17-18 in the Turnbull Heating Junior League, that is coordinated by his father, Tom Fluker, president of the Genesee Region USBC (in photo above).

A second-year student at Genesee Community College, Jordan said he started in the youth program at the age of 9, and has received coaching from his dad, who is a USBC Silver Level instructor.

"I saw my dad walking around behind me, and checking the scores but he didn't say anything to me during the game," Jordan said. "I think that he didn't want to mess up my game."

The slim right-hander said he became more and more nervous as the string of strikes increased, but kept his composure enough to keep the ball in the 1-3 pocket on all but one delivery -- the 11th ball.

"That one came up a little high and I got a good break to carry," he said. "That was the closest one to not being a strike."

The 12th ball was flush in the 1-3 pocket and all 10 pins flew into the pit. Hugs (the first one was from his dad) and handshakes from his teammates, other youth bowlers, parents and coaches followed.

Jordan said he was still shaky in the second game, suffering a few splits for a 181, but bounced back in the third game for 248 and a 729 series, a personal best.

A 200 average bowler, he has competed in two NYS Team Tournament finals and the NYS Youth Pepsi finals. He said that this is his final year of youth bowling, but wants to continue with the sport -- either when he transfers to a college with a bowling program or as part of an adult league.

Jordan, a former Mr. Batavian at Batavia High School, is on track for an associate degree at GCC in the spring, and said he is leaning toward majoring in Accounting or Web Design.

By the way, Tom Fluker rolled his first of his 10 USBC-certified perfect games at the age of 29.

Frederich Welch, 57, and Doncella Loyd, 53, both of Rochester, are charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Welch and Loyd are accused of making several trips in and out of Kohl's, taking merchandise worth $719.91. Troopers stopped the vehicle in the Batavia Towne Center parking lot. Welch was jailed on $2,500 bail and Loyd was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Jonathan Dylan Jacob, 23, of Meadville Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Jacob was arrested following a report of an incident in the Town of Alabama. During law enforcement contact, he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana.

James Rosie Thomas, 20, of 367 West St., Lake George, is charged with resisting arrest, escape and he was arrested on a warrant out of Elba. Thomas allegedly ran and resisted arrest when Deputy John Dehm attempted to take him into custody on a warrant at a location on South Main Street, Oakfield.

Tracy L. Miller, 32, of South Lake Road, Pembroke, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Miller is accused of stealing a purse, which contained several debit and credit cards. 

Nicholas Price, 29, of Batavia, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs. Price was stopped by a trooper after a report of an erratic driver, including a witness reporting seeing the vehicle hit a mailbox and continue down the road. Price was stopped and administered a field sobriety test before being arrested. He was also charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.

Daniel Hinca, 21, of Alexander, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and speeding. Hinca was stopped by State Police in Byron. A trooper administered a field sobriety test prior to his arrest. 

Joshua Taro, 38, of Auburn, is charged with petit larceny. Taro is accused of shoplifting from a store in Pembroke. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Brandi Heidenreich, 26, of Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. Heidenreich was arrested by State Police for allegedly stealing items from Walmart worth $45.18.

The farm equipment of Massey-Harris, which ran a factory in Batavia for five decades, will be honored at the 51st Annual WNY Steam Show in Alexander next September and organizers are looking for information, photos and artifacts that help shed light on the work done at the Massey-Harris factory locally.

At the Harvester Center, the factory produced farm equipment for the Canada-based company, but there isn't easy-to-find information on what exactly was produced there.

Organizers are hoping there are local residents with direct knowledge or documentation about the work done at the factory.

The factory closed in 1958.

If you are able to help, email Kelly Rapone at the Genesee County Tourism Office, KRapone@GeneseeNY.com.

UPDATE -- 11/16/16 - 2:15 P.M.

The Batavian received a return phone call from Jocelyn Bos, Calamar's senior housing development director, and she stated that the project is at the "very conceptual level, with no landowner contracts or business details in place."

She did mention that Town of Batavia officials had asked her company to consider another senior apartment complex due to the "incredible need" for that type of housing, and commended David Ficarella for putting together a "substantial plan."

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

The Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday night threw its support behind the idea of a proposed three-story, 110-unit senior apartment complex off Route 33 near Donahue Road, west of the city.

“I definitely like the concept and would be willing to write a letter to the Town of Batavia (board) recommending our approval,” said Kathleen Jasinski, planning board chair, after learning of the plan from David Ficarella, a Lovers Lane Road resident, who said he is working with Calamar Enterprises of Wheatfield on the development.

Ficarella, at the meeting with his wife, Katie, said it will take about $11 million to create the 55-and-over senior community of apartments that would rent at market rate -- $800 to $1,100 per month, with all major appliances and utilities included.

His summary outline to the board states that up to four full-time and two part-time positions will be created, and that about 200 construction jobs will be created to build the facility.

More importantly, he said, his proposed tax structure would generate $1.3 million in county and school tax revenue over the first 10 years, and would provide a sewer system that the town could tap into in the future.

“As it stands now, it’s a piece of land that brings in a couple thousand dollars in taxes, and it would stay that way for the next 30 years if nobody does anything about it,” he said. “The way we have it set up is that this facility will generate long-term tax base without adding demands for services on the school district.”

Ficarella said he is hoping that the Town of Batavia approves a sliding scale, percentage-based tax structure that starts with a low assessment ($250,000) for the first five years and increases to full valuation (estimated at $9 million) by year 10.

The project would not include tax abatements from the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

 “We’ve already been turned down in our request for incentives (from the GCEDC),” he said.

Ficarella owns about 140 acres in the area along Route 33 and would relinquish 10 to 15 acres for the project.

He said he prefers to partner with Calamar based on the company’s “excellent reputation in senior housing” and also is working with East Coast Commercial for financing.

Calamar previously wanted to build a senior citizens housing complex on West Main Street Road, but its request for tax incentives was turned down by the GCEDC Board of Directors. The Niagara County firm then filed a lawsuit against the GCEDC, which it lost. As a result, that project was scrapped.

Phone calls to Jocelyn Bos, senior housing development director for Calamar, were not returned this morning.

This latest proposal also includes the future extensions of Donahue Road north across Route 33 and of Edgewood Drive, which is sandwiched between Route 33 (Pearl Street Road) and the Fairway/Valle/Woodland residential area developed by Gary McWethy, Ficarella said.

“We’re looking to put in some more (single family) building lots, since Gary is out of lots on Edgewood,” Ficarella said. “With the STAMP project coming in (notably the 1366 Technologies solar wafer plant), there will be a lot of people looking for places to live.”

Ficarella said that McWethy has been working toward extending Edgewood Drive onto Pearl Street but has been delayed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which has concerns over wetlands located at the west end of the road.

At the end of his presentation, town planners voted unanimously to accept the conceptual proposal and authorized Jasinski to draft a letter of recommendation to the Town Board.

Photo -- David Ficarella of Lovers Lane Road in the Town of Batavia displays his preliminary sketch of the area of a proposed senior housing apartment complex -- along with single-family building lots -- along Route 33 (Pearl Street Road), west of the city. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

A Batavia man accused of threatening a police officer was supposed to be sentenced yesterday following his guilty plea last month, but when he appeared to before Interim Judge Micheal Pietruszka he confessed he really wasn't happy with his attorney or his plea deal.

He accused his attorney of withholding evidence from him prior to his plea, but as the discussion with Pietruszka went further, the main complaint of Bill Thomas was that Thomas heard his brother had told his attorney that he should take his case to trial.

There wasn't really new evidence, but Pietruszka went ahead and granted the 56-year-old Thomas a 10-day adjournment to find a new attorney.

Thomas was reportedly involved in a domestic dispute in March that resulted in several police officers and the emergency response team coming to his house on State Street where Thomas allegedly threatened a police officer with a knife. He was taken into custody without violence. 

Our news partner WBTA contributed to this report.

A rollover accident with injuries is reported in the area of 2821 Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield.

Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 7:28 a.m.: A patient is bleeding, but it's not severe, according to a first responder.

Believing that the City of Batavia is "on the rebound," entrepreneur Matthew Gray said he and partner Matt Boyd are eager to transform the former J.J. Newberry building downtown into a residential and commercial success.

Gray and Boyd are partners in AGRV Properties Inc., which will be creating the Batavia Brewing Co. and -- as City Planning & Development Committee members found out on Tuesday night -- seven apartments on the second and third floors of the vacant building at 109-111 Main St.

Gray was unable to vote on the special use permit request to convert the upper two floors into dwelling units since he is on the planning committee. But he was willing to talk about the venture afterward.

The committee did vote in favor of the project, which has an expected price tag of around $1.5 million in construction costs and also involves plans to have the building put on the National Register of Historic Places.

When it was mentioned that Gray must be pretty confident in Batavia to make this type of investment, he replied that "we were confident in Batavia to move back here in 2007 (from North Carolina and take over ownership of Alex's Place restaurant on Park Road), and we're confident now..."

"We really think that Batavia is on the rebound."

Nicholas Ryder, job captain for TRM Architect in Buffalo, provided details to the planning committee, stating that there will be four apartments (one- and two-bedroom) on the second floor and three on the third floor. The average size of the units will be around 800 square feet, with one to be about 1,400 square feet. The total space of the building is around 27,000 square feet.

Ryder said his firm is working with the city manager's office on a parking plan -- eyeing lots on Center, Court and Jackson streets -- and will be putting out bids for some exterior modification.

As far as the interior is concerned, he said they have discovered significant historical elements -- walls and ceilings of bead board and decorative wood wilth finite ribbing, for example -- that will not be tampered with per historical registry requirements.

"There also is existing chain link, pendant-like fixtures and milk-glass dome fixtures that trickle throughout the entire building," he said.

Ryder added that historic preservation rules prohibit the altering of hallways and doorways.

Gray said he doesn't expect any problems attracting tenants, noting that "everyone who goes through" the building has given it rave reviews.

Julie Pacatte, coordinator of the Batavia Development Corp. that is steering the project, said the monthly rental rate for the one-bedroom apartments can not exceed $1,142 and the monthly rate for the two-bedroom units can not exceed $1,371.

She said that rates are capped at 90 percent of the median income in Genesee County due to the fact that grant funding is being made available through the state Office of Community Renewal's New York Main Street Program.

The Batavia Brewing Co. will be the anchor tenant, with its brewing tanks in the basement viewable to patrons at the first-floor pub and eatery. The first floor also will contain two as-yet-to-be-selected "freshLAB" concessionaires -- hopeful restaurateurs offering unique menu items. Gray said he hopes to begin construction by January and be open by next summer. 

In other action, as expected, the planning committee held a public hearing in connection with a revised city sign code, and sent its recommendation for approval to City Council.

Prior to the unanimous vote, however, it heard from Guy Clark, owner of Cedar Street Sales & Rentals, who said he objected to the regulation that the message on electronic digital signs could be changed only once every hour. Clark had appeared before City Council on the same issue about a year ago.

"I had requested that the frequency be four to five seconds," Clark said. "Now I saw the once-per-hour, and know that every school and church change their messages every two seconds, and include graphics."

Clark went on to say that digital signs have not caused any accidents or incidents, and he just wants to be able to change his message more frequently.

City Code Enforcement Officer Doug Randall stated that changeable text signs are permitted only on state routes (with the exception of downtown), and that the code -- as currently written -- does not permit these types of signs on Cedar Street.

The city planners' recommendation, along with Clark's comments, will be forwarded to City Council to be placed on its conference agenda and, per City Manager Jason Molino, another public hearing will be scheduled in January or February.

City planners and the Genesee County Planning Board worked together to revamp the city sign code with an emphasis on readability and streamlining the procedural process (see a previous story on The Batavian).

Click here to view the complete listing for 10529 Bonnie Brae Dr. in Darien. Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate today at 585-344-4663!

For the first time Monday, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman spoke at length publicly about the Governor's Office mandated pay raise for county district attorneys and made his case that the County Legislature should pass the resolution boosting his pay.

"I would like to think that after myself, being a district attorney for 20 years and in the office for 35 years, that if it was not for the mandated salary, I would think that the district attorney salary would be at least as much as the salary being paid to the new county attorney," Friedman said. 

The statewide fight over DA salaries arose, Friedman said, because members of the legislature didn't want to give county judges raises without giving themselves raises, and if judges didn't get raises, then neither did DAs.

That went on for 13 years before Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed a commission to recommend a new salary structure.

The county benefitted all those years that there were no mandated raises, Friedman said.

Furthermore, even with the raises, the county is paying less for the DA than the county attorney because the state picks up $72,000 of the DA's salary.

Under the mandate, Friedman's salary will go from $152,500 to $183,350 and then up another $10,000 in April 2018.

Legislators, such as Mike Davis, said they have no problem with the job Friedman is doing, but they object to the mandate and Davis expressed concern that the salary is out of line with rural expenses.

Friedman said that one reason the wage increase is being pursued at a state level is that it was getting harder to retain DAs in their jobs, with many opting for higher paying county court judge positions.

The committee voted to advance the pay raise resolution on a unanimous vote.

"The ramifications of not doing this, however, would impact our budget even worse because we would not have the benefit of the New York State supplement for the DA's salary that we're getting now, so we would end up paying even more," said Committee Chair Marianne Clattenburg. "We are supposed to be a country of laws and whether we like this or not, this is a law and this is the Public Service Committee, so I vote to follow the law."

Local legislators are still grappling with whether solar power should be part of county government's energy future.

The topic has come up before, first when Solar City offered a proposal that legislators decided too heavily favored Solar City's interests, and then when consultants from Wendel Energy were interviewed for a possible consulting contract.

Wendel isn't a solar contractor, and wouldn't build any solar installation, but it can do the initial study to help the county determine the best potential location, the cost benefits and potential expense pitfalls.

Representatives from Wendel -- Adam Tabelski, Sam Marotta and Keith Krug -- met again with the Public Service Committee on Monday to discuss a possible contract for a feasibility study.

County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens, himself an engineer, said he thought hiring a consultant like Wendel made a lot of sense.

"There are so many pieces," Hens said. "You have a lot of pieces that are really complex and outside of our staff's expertise."

Whether a solar installation could save the county money and help reduce energy costs is something Wendel would have to figure out, based on the size and location of the installation and the county's energy needs.

The committee concluded the discussion with, basically, "we'll think about it."

Areas of concern raised by members of the Legislature include the cost of interconnection with National Grid, whether technology installed now will be outdated in a few years, and whether a solar farm is the best option compared to rooftop installations.

Legislator Bob Bausch said he heard that Orleans County started down the path of a solar installation, but found National Grid's interconnection fees too expensive.

Krug said the interconnection fees weren't really the issue in Orleans County. The decision to drop the project had more to do with tight deadlines for grants to help fund the project.

Marotta said one issue they've seen come up in other jurisdictions is that contractors bid for a solar project, but to help keep the bid low, underestimate the interconnection fees, but then when National Grid comes back later with the actual cost of interconnection, the contractor informs the local government the cost of the installation has gone up.

This can turn some projects from profitable to unprofitable.

Wendel's practice is to try and accurately estimate National Grid's fees, and since Wendel isn't the contractor for the project, has nothing to gain by underestimating that cost.

A potential location for a county-owned solar farm is just north of the airport and Legislator Shelly Stein wondered whether that's really a better option than rooftop installation.

Marotta said he generally recommends a solar farm approach because it's cheaper to install and cheaper to maintain, especially when older roofs are involved.

"For simplicity sake, if you have the land available, we recommend land," Marotta said. "It's easier to maintain. It's a weed wacker instead of a roofer."

Stein also noted that Solar City's Elon Musk recently announced plans to develop roof tiles that double as solar panels and wondering if that would be an option.

That technology isn't yet in the market and Hens noted that, yes technology is going to change, but waiting to do someting would be akin to not buying office computers in the 1990s because technology was going to change.

Exterior work on the refurbished Creekside Inn in Le Roy is very near completion.

The work has been extensive, including new decks on two levels, two new patios, a new bar on the first level, new drainage on Main Street and a restored entryway along with tiered landscaping at the back of the building.

Owner Bill Farmer said yesterday that work begins immediately on the interior remodeling, and that will take about three months.

When it comes to rules and regulations pertaining to signs on businesses and other public buildings, there's much more than meets the eye, according to the director of the Genesee County Department of Planning.

Felipe Oltramari provided some insight and background on the City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee's effort to rewrite its sign code, a several month process that initially focused on how to address electronic message board signs.

Tonight (6 o'clock at City Centre Council Chambers) city planners are expected to forward the revamped document to City Council and schedule a public hearing on the matter. Last week, the Genesee County Planning Board gave its approval to the new version.

The new code is "modernized," Oltramari said, and is "more legible and easier to enforce with ample use of graphics and tables."

Just as importantly, the code now lines up with the latest U.S. Supreme Court decisiion that limits governments from regulating signs based on content, Oltramari said.

"The current code addresses temporary signs differently based on whether they were political, for sale signs, event signs, etc.," Oltramari said. "The court case Reed v. Town of Gilbert that was decided last year at the Supreme Court said that signs are a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment and any regulation of the sign’s content was subject to strict scrutiny and had to be narrowly tailored to further a compelling government interest.

"This usually means that the sign’s content can only be regulated if it furthers health and safety of the community. Governments can only then regulate signs based on the time, place and manner -- such as duration, location and type and /materials. The new code sticks to those types of regulations."

Oltramari said other changes deal with procedure.

"The code is being streamlined so that all signs that conform to the standards of the code can be handled administratively only requiring a building permit from the City’s Code Enforcement Officer," he explained.

"Right now, a business that opens downtown and is only changing the sign and is proposing a sign that meets all the requirements of the code still has to go to the City’s Planning and Development Committee and the County Planning Board to get approval to go forward. The new code incentivizes applicants to conform to the code by eliminating the review by these boards ... saving a month or more of time."

Once approved, the new procedure for variances for signs in the city that do not conform because of dimensional requirements will go directly before the City's Zoning Board of Appeals, eliminating review by (and subsequent permit from) the city planning board and review by the county planning board, Oltramari said. 

"Having the City’s ZBA handle these as variances is in harmony with State Law and will ensure more consistent interpretation of the code," he said.

He said that other changes include allowing exposed neon to be used in signage, and recognizing and allowing for backlit illuminated signs -- something that has increased in popularity due to the utilization of LED lighting.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today released the following statement after Speaker Paul Ryan announced Congressman Collins will serve as Congressional Liaison to the Trump Administration’s transition team.

“I am honored and humbled to serve President-elect Trump in this capacity,” Congressman Collins said. “Throughout the campaign I have worked very closely with President-elect Trump and Speaker Ryan, and I look forward to continuing that work as we look to put forth an agenda that will make America great again for all Americans.”

In his role as Congressional Liaison, Congressman Collins will work with the Republican Conference membership and relay their ideas on legislation, staffing and any additional concerns to the Trump transition team. Congressman Collins was the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for President and was recently named as a member of the Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee. 

Le Roy High School opened its new maker space for students yesterday afternoon with some introductory information from Jennifer Bertrand, instructional technology coach, and some hands-on time with some of the materials already in the space, including Legos and Bloxel, a kit for making computer games.

Bertrand said she proposed the idea of maker spaces at the high school and elementary school in Le Roy because she saw other schools doing it and attended conferences where ideas for starting such spaces were presented.

"So I thought Le Roy really needs to get on board about having its own maker space," she said.

A committee was formed to help move the idea forward and the district received a $2,000 grant to help get the maker space up and running.

Students volunteer to participate in the extracurricular activity. They are given space, time, resources and instruction on creating a variety of projects that hit on science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), creativity, and problem-solving.

"If you have a student who is struggling academically or just doesn't like school, but, oh, man, they're so creative when it comes to engineering or when it comes to creating something, we want to tap into that and build on that because those skills are going to transfer everywhere in their life," Bertrand said.

The community can support the project through donations, especially of supplies, such as Legos and arts and crafts supplies, as well as expertise and tours. Bertrand said community members can contact the school if they're able to assist.