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B-B school district’s $17 million capital project up for vote Thursday

By Joanne Beck

Residents of Byron-Bergen Central School will have an opportunity to cast a yay or nay vote tomorrow on the district’s proposed capital project for more than $17 million. 

The vote is from 1 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Junior-Senior High School cafeteria, 6917 West Bergen Rd. 

School officials have said that the majority of the project  will use available state building aid to pay the cost of the $17,107,802 project. The District’s capital reserve fund, which is designated to be used exclusively for capital improvement projects, will pay for $2 million of the “local share.” The remainder of the project’s cost will be offset by retiring debt service payments, resulting in a “tax neutral” financing plan, officials say. All that is to say that it won’t directly impact school taxpayers.

This project is for improvements to the Elementary School, Junior-Senior High School, the natatorium (indoor swimming pool) and the bus garage. Priority has been given to “asset protection, healthy building initiatives, energy efficiency, and programmatic enhancement,” district officials say. These improvements will further district goals to provide quality, well-maintained buildings, infrastructure and facilities, district materials state. 

A Question and Answer section on the district’s website covers:

  • Why the district has proposed this capital project (short answer: to ensure proper upkeep, make necessary repairs and spend the money now versus having more costly work and deterioration in the future);
  • How it was developed (through a long-range plan and required five-year state-mandated building surveys to assess and complete vital upgrades to preserve the current infrastructure); 
  • Money that comes from state taxpayers (It is true that taxpayers have put money into the pot, and the district believes that doing this project would keep some of those dollars locally to benefit the Byron-Bergen school district);
  • When this project will begin (Once the State Education Department approves the project’s initial phase, expected by fall 2022, work would begin in early 2023 with anticipated completion by fall 2024);
  • What happens if the referendum is defeated (more critical safety requirements still need to be done and would be built into the annual budget, meaning that eventually, school taxpayers would bear the full cost. It’s a do-it-now or spends more later proposition).

A public information meeting was conducted on Sept. 30, but for those that missed it, project details can also be found at www.bbschools.org

 

Help Volunteers for Animals Win the Shelter+ Challenge - VOTE!

By Elizabeth Downie

 

This information. and much more, can be found at The Animal Rescue Site.

To vote for Volunteers for Animals, please click HERE!


 

Hi!  I'm writing to tell you about The Animal Rescue Site $300,000 Shelter+ Challenge of 2012 - together with Petfinder.  The Animal Rescue Site is awarding $300,000 in grants to eligible Petfinder.com member rescue organizations to help animals.  The grand prize in each voting round is a $5,000 grant, and there are many other prizes!  Visit The Animal Rescue Site to vote every day and learn more.  You don't have to register, and voting is FREE!  Support your favorite shelter and vote today! 

How long is the Challenge, and how can we increase our chances?
This voting round begins on January 9, 2012, and ends at midnight (PT) on March 18, 2012. There will be other voting rounds throughout the year - more chances for your organization to win! The more friends you can rally to vote for your favorite rescue organization, the better its chances of winning. Every vote, every day counts - shelters can pull ahead even during the last few days with enough support. Get people involved! Your favorite rescue organization is counting on you!

What kind of grant could my shelter win?
Seventy (70) grants will be awarded for a total of $75,000 to eligible Petfinder.com members during the very first voting round of the 2012 Challenge. The grand prize will go to the eligible Petfinder.com organization with the highest accumulative votes for the duration of the Challenge as specified in the rules.

The Prizes Are:
Grand Prize:  One $5,000 grant!
Dark Horse Grand Prize:  One $2,000 grant!
Dark Horse Runners Up:  Five $1,000 grants.
State Winners:  Fifty-one $1,000 state grants
  (50 U.S. states and Washington D.C.)
Canadian Winners:  One $1,000 grant will be awarded.
International Winner:  One $1,000 grant will be awarded.
Weekly Winners:  Ten $1,000 grants will be awarded, one for each week of this voting round of the Shelter+ Challenge.

Time to VOTE on "Pay it Forward" Entries!

By Bre Roz

Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union is "Paying it Forward." Everyone over the age of 18, a TVFCU member or not, was given the opportunity to tell us how they would "Pay it Forward" if we gave them $10. After a large turn out, a team of judges was assembled to sift through the videos and select the ten finalists. Now, it is your turn. Review the following videos and then vote for your favorite in the column on the left hand side of this page! Voting will end on November 2nd 2009!

 

Thank you for voting!

Batavia voters out in force

By Brian Hillabush

While these elections haven't really captured my attention, I always like to know what is going on around town. I went out to visit a few polling stations in the city (Holland Land Office, Robert Morris, YMCA) and for an early afternoon while most people are still at work, there was a decent turnout.

I talked with a lot of people about the importance of doing their duty as Americans and making that vote. Many of the people were very passionate about that.

Some of the volunteers I spoke with said that the early morning saw a ton of Batavians out voting and they expect it to be swamped after people get out of work.

Genesee County Coroner

By Nicole Brady

Greetings everyone! I'm new to running for a political position, but I am currently running for Genesee County Coroner. Thank you to many people who convinced me that I would be a great coroner and talked me into running this year!  I have a lot of background that would certainly follow along with this position and help me be most efficient at this job. My qualifications include:

Assistant to the Wyoming County Coroner for Tissue Recoveries for many years

Monroe County Medical Examiners Office Internship

BA in Biological Science from SUNY Brockport

Completed various forensic seminars and conferences

I hope that you will consider voting for me on the Conservative line in November.

Thank you!

Nicole Brady

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