Byron-Bergen beat Lyndonville in Boys Basketball on Wednesday 64-40.
For the Bees, Cody Carlson scored 25 points, Adam Cardenas, 15, Joe Brumsted and Noah Clare, eight each, and Cole Diquattro, 6.
Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.
Alexander beat Elba in Boys Basketball on Wednesday, 68-49.
For Alexander:
Photos by Melissa Brooks.
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Oakfield-Alabama beat Holley in Girls Basketball on Wednesday 58-27.
Scoring:
The "Musical Fireworks" will be flying Sunday at Genesee Community College when the Genesee Symphony Orchestra plays its February concert at 4 p.m.
Featured works conducted by Music Director S. Shade Zajac:
Tickets are $17 for adults, $12 for seniors, and students with an ID can attend for free.
Audience members who arrive at 3 p.m. can meet the orchestra.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Notre Dame improved to 11-4 on Monday on Tuesday with a 53-37 win over Pembroke in Girls Basketball.
Sofia Falleti led the way for the Irish with a game-high 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Lucia Fiorentino also contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds.
“This was a big Genesee Region match-up for us tonight," said Coach VInny Falleti. "We knew Pembroke was a good team and could shoot well. Our team did a great job defensively and was able to have the majority of our team contribute offensively as well.”
Photos by Jaden Radam (Notre Dame student)
Press Release:
Batavia Lion's Club inducted new members at their monthly meeting, Dr. Ross Fanara led the induction.
Western Regional Off-Track Betting was informed on Monday that the office of NYS Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli is conducting a financial audit of the corporation, according to a statement issued to The Batavian on Wednesday.
Jennifer Freeman, communication director for the comptroller's office said that the audit will start in February.
"It will take several months to complete," Freeman said. "During an audit, we do not comment on specifics or what we are finding."
Michael DeGeorge told The Batavian on Wednesday that the OTB was told that the audit could include a review of the past three to five years of financial operations, including internal controls.
"The president and CEO (Byron Brown) made it clear that the new management team will fully cooperate with the comptroller's office throughout the process and that we welcome outside review," DeGeorge said.
There has been recent controversy regarding executive buyouts, other perks, and executive-level expenditures as a result of the transition from the leadership of Henry Wojtaszek to Brown.
Previously:
Coupled with a discussion about the astronomical rise in healthcare costs Monday evening, City Manager Rachael Tabelski and City Council members also kicked around the idea of paying a larger portion of gym memberships for city employees and council members.
The proposal was to pay from $100 to $500 toward a membership to one of three city facilities, with the $500 going to the brand-new Healthy Living YMCA. Employees already receive the $100 perk for gym memberships, and the $500 and adding council members is new.
The money would come from a slush fund of sorts, Tabelski said.
“So as the city continues to incentivize health and wellness of our employees through various programs, such as our premium reduction for their health screenings, physical fitness incentives for firefighters and police officers and the $100 gym reimbursement, I believe the city should partner with the new Genesee County YMCA and offer a discounted membership for all city employees, including council members," Tabelski said during the conference meeting at City Hall. "I've had many employees come to me, council members come to me, saying, wouldn't it be great if we could provide some kind of membership or incentive towards using the new facility.
"So I went and looked at this year's budget. We have interest in earnings right now at about $24,000 that might pop out around $50,000, so we could cover the majority of employees and council members if they were to sign up for this incentive," she said. "So I leave it to you to discuss and determine if this is something you'd like to move forward with.”
Meanwhile, the remaining budget talks included increasing the tax cap with an override that will require a future public hearing to deal with about $1 million more in expenses for healthcare and retirement this coming year.
The only council member who vocally seemed to have an issue with the proposal was Bob Bialkowski, who apparently was one of the people who asked Tabelski about such a perk.
Paying $100 to the other gyms and $500 to the YMCA, and all are “paying property tax, local tax,” seems “discriminatory,” he said.
“We could get rid of the $100 and force them to join the Y. It’s just an offering,” Tabelski said. “You're actually the council member that asked me about joining, right?”
To clarify, YMCA is a nonprofit and is exempt from paying county, city and school taxes.
Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. and Kathy Briggs were in favor of the gym proposal.
“It’s a perk for employees, I like it,” Briggs said.
Jankowski said that a YMCA membership is from about $600 for a single to $1,000 for a family membership per year, so the person would still have “some out-of-pocket costs.”
“I think it's a great idea. I think you could get rid of the $100 if you'd like, and just do the $500 to the Y. I don't know that we'd want to incentivize $500 to any gym across America, you know what I mean, because it'd be way too hard for us to track,” Jankowski said. “I like the idea. I like where we're going with it, because in the long run, when you stay healthy, it saves us money.”
No one brought up the inclusion of council members in the package. If they are covered and all of them choose YMCA, that would mean an additional $4,500 in the budget, plus their annual salaries of $5,000 per council member and $7,000 for council president.
Council took a vote to move the topic to the next business meeting on Feb. 10, and approved it by 6-1. Members Briggs, Jankowski, Al McGinnis, Rich Richmond, David Twichell and Derek Geib voted yes and Bialkowski voted no. Paul Viele and Tammy Schmidt were absent.
With all of the availability of artificial intelligence — AI for short — and the myriad apps available to help with research, to answer questions, and figure out how to do most anything, comes a new dilemma for educators wanting to ensure their students aren’t misusing the technology, State University of New York Chancellor John King says.
“We actually just added artificial intelligence to our general education requirements around information literacy, because we think our students will need to understand how AI works, how to use it ethically,” King said during a recent visit to Batavia. “And so we’re now building that into the general education requirements for all undergraduates across SUNY, and we’re doing a lot of professional development with faculty thinking about both, how do you teach students about using AI, but also, how do we think about the role that AI plays in the classroom?”
That might change how teachers dole out homework, he said, moving them from at-home assignments to asking students to complete them during class time.
“Because you want to make sure that students are engaging with the material themselves and not just relying on AI. You know, some of the work is actually helping students understand how best to use AI, you know, the prompt development, for example, the kind of question you ask matters a lot with what you'll get back from AI, and so helping students think about, how do you design the right question?” he said. “Also helping students be skeptical readers of what they find, whether it's on the internet or from AI, they have to ask, is this right? How do I know? Let me go check these sources.”
There are so many interesting things that college faculty members are working on with AI, he said, including simulated conversations in foreign languages.
“It’s such an incredible tool if used well,” he said.
The State University of New York — of which Genesee Community and Empire State colleges are included — will require undergraduate students to take courses in AI and civic discourse as part of their general education curriculum beginning in fall 2026.
The courses will be part of the university’s effort to prepare students to engage with emerging technologies and evaluate information, as King said, ethically.
According to SUNY's website, students will be learning how to use AI tools to locate information, evaluate that information from different sources, understand the ethical implications of using AI, how to weigh information for bias, truthfulness and other factors and how to navigate and assess the impact of AI in society.
The second annual Pembroke Teacher's Federation (PTF) Pizza Night was held at Homeslice 33 Pizzeria in Corfu on Jan. 22.
The PTF was excited to team up with Homeslice 33 to raise funds and awareness for mental health resources in Genesee County, members said. Ten teachers volunteered to help make pizza, wings, and fried goodies.
Aaron Brown, a sixth grade teacher at Pembroke, said "Teaming up with Tom and his amazing staff is awesome. Seeing the community support not only mental health but also their teachers is what makes Pembroke a special place!"
During the four-hour event, the PTF raised $450 for mental health.
Photos by Kara Richenberg.
Please submit cancellations and closures to: news@thebatavian.com.
With $1 million more in expenses, an expected flat sales tax per the state comptroller and unstable revenue sources such as video lottery terminal money, the city should consider a tax cap override this year, Manager Rachael Tabelski says.
She talked Monday evening about the juxtaposition of raising the tax cap due to increased property assessments, even though the tax rate itself is to decrease by 50 cents per $1,000 assessed value.
“I believe the city has been extremely fiscally responsible in restraining tax hikes for our citizens, but keeping up with the inflationary demands of our expenses continues to remain challenging. This year, we face a million dollars of additional expenses for health care and retirement alone, as well as a nearly flat sales tax projection, so we need to rely on more revenue from other sources, including, in this case, property tax,” Tabelski said during City Council’s conference meeting at City Hall. "Obviously, the city needs to be careful and conservative in projecting our revenue, especially the sales tax, and find a balanced approach to raise enough money to support current services with our property tax while also using reserves, unassigned fund balance and other revenue sources to keep a healthy financial position.
“Recently, the state comptroller's office was very vocal in advising municipalities to stay flat on your sales tax numbers because we didn't know what the economy was going to do with the new administration,” she said. “And it's only a few days in, and we're still finding out how quickly the economy will change and move.”
That tax cap is not absolute, she said and can be overridden by a vote of 60% of the local governing body. Because the tax cap “seldom actually equals 2%,” it's extremely hard for governments to use this formula and remain under 2% while expenses for employees, wages, health care and retirement continue to grow, she said.
“The only way that the tax cap is fair is if the tax cap actually equals the inflation rate, so therefore, it can keep up with the additional spending just to provide the same core services we do today,” she said. “Right now, inflation is three, three and a half percent. As you see, our general fund budget, as proposed at this time, increased by 2.6%, which is $600,000 over last year. Even with the override consideration, property tax owners will see a 50-cent decrease per $1,000 in their taxes this year.
“At this time, I recommend the City Council move forward to schedule the tax cap override legislation to be considered at the February business meeting, and the legislation does call for a public hearing.”
A public hearing is to be set at the next business meeting on Feb. 10. On that date, the council is also expected to set hearings for the 2025 budget and both the proposed water and sewer rate increases.
Council also had its first budget session, at which Tabelski reviewed city data numbers for the $38.8 million total proposed 2025 financial plan and the municipality. These are the numbers that tell a story of decreased population from a high of 18,210 in 1960 to 15,596, according to the latest census, with males tipping over at 52% and females at nearly 48%.
The median age in the city is 40, and healthcare and social services jobs weigh in at a hefty 4,240, with manufacturing in second at 3,488 jobs, retail at 2,080, and public administration at 1,778. Healthcare was at its peak in 2022, with more than 6,000 jobs here, which fell to 4,186 a year later.
The 64% white-collar and 35% blue-collar workers total 9,476 employees in Batavia, and more than half of the businesses — 54.96% — employ one to four people, followed by nearly 21% employing five to nine people, and the lowest of 2.36% having 100 or more employees under their roof.
At least 34% of the population has obtained a high school degree, with more than 39% going on for an associate’s degree or higher.
Demographics aside, property owners are to pay a projected $8.46 per $1,000 assessed value, or $846 for a home assessed at $100,000, and a $50 decrease from last year if assessed property values remain the same. The current rate is $8.96 per $1,000.
Tabelski arrived at that decrease by pulling revenue from several other areas, including $526,000 from the unassigned fund balance, $310,000 from retirement reserves, a $300,000 water fund transfer and $250,000 departmental income.
“You're basically saying that you're using a bunch of variety of funding sources to balance the budget so that we're not taking too much out of savings, and we're balancing it between the decrease and the reserves. So we're trying to get a little bit from everything to kind of balance it all out,” Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said. “Hopefully, we'll see more information in the next year, and we'll have a better prediction of how inflation is going to either level up or increase. We don't know yet, so right now, we're being cautious about funding. Correct?”
That’s right, Tabelski said, and if city officials could have raised sales tax, “we wouldn't have needed to have done the override.”
“Particularly if we could have had a flat year in health care and retirement, same thing, but those costs are essentially out of our control,” she said.
It’s about trying to “rough it out,” Jankowski said. These calculations help.
“It’s not a huge savings, but it is a big savings, “ Jankowski said. “And I think that's where we should continue to work on is trying to keep that tax rate as low as possible, and even lower, if we can do that extra with good sales tax and possible, the governor increasing the AIM aid on a permanent basis instead of throwing a little out here and there.
"I just think it’s amazing this is the lowest tax rate we’ve had in 17 years,” he said. “It’s nice to see that even though inflation is going up.”
Water rates are to increase by 1% or 6 cents to $6.52 per 1,000 gallons and sewer by 3% or 9 cents to $3.23 per 1,000 gallons. An average family of four can expect to pay about $850 to $900 a year, including meter and capital improvement fees, Tabelski said. That does depend on consumption at the property and a home with no leaks, she said.
Police and fire expenses make up 47% of the budget, Tabelski said, and with healthcare, it's more than 55%. Property taxes go toward services, including police and fire response to emergencies 24 hours a day and for similar responses from the public works department, she said. Taxes also go for repair and replacement of infrastructure, including streets, sidewalks, parks, water and sewer plant and lines, storm sewer and parking lots, and investing in economic, business, job, housing and community development, plus maintenance of street lights.
Given the close proximity that homes were built to one another at one time, Jankowski is grateful to have a paid fire department nearby, he said.
“It's important to have a fire department that can respond very quickly, or else, my house goes up when my neighbor’s house goes up and the next neighbor, but you end up in a chain reaction kind of thing. So that good response time, I think you said you're approximately three to four minutes … when I had the experience of my neighbor's house was on fire, and it was a dramatic one years ago, it's nice to have the fire department there very quickly to bring it under control and contain it,” he said. “I mean, we're an old-style city, so everything nowadays, they spread things out. But that's important. Same thing with police and fire police as well. I think a lot of people I talk to when they live in the city, kind of expect a paid fire department, a paid police department, DPW, actively involved, because it's just the nature of the business of having that many people in a small area.
“So I think it's important that that's why Council focuses on public safety, police, fire, DPW, those are our core funding. So for our tax base, that's what people want. They want their infrastructure, want their police, they want their fire,” he said. “So that's the feedback I'm getting. So that's where we've kept our focus, and we're not looking for pet projects here and there that maybe would cost a lot of money to try to stay focused on.”
The next budget session will include a review of the fire department, general government and administrative expenses. It’s set for 5 p.m. Feb. 4 at City Hall.
Febrewary is returning to Downtown Batavia, however, there’s a new time slot, organizers say.
The annual event will run from 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 22 throughout the Business Improvement District area, which will this year feature 23 participating businesses, including four new ones, for a brisk and fun beer walk.
BID invites you for an afternoon and early evening of tastings of great beers and ciders, and entertainment while you meet new people and see old friends, create memories, shop and support small, local businesses.
Tickets are $35 each and available at Yngodess Shop, Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union, Adam Miller Toys and Bicycles, and online at Eventbrite, BID’s Facebook page or bataviabid.com, or email director@downtownbataviany.com.
Registration is at TVFCU, in the west end parking lot behind Batavia City Centre, from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. Tickets are expected to sell out, so get yours soon.
Participants must be 21 years old, and are reminded that this is an adult-only event. Please don't bring children.
Monday night's heavy winds snapped a utility pole in the area of 434 East Main St., Batavia, just before 9 p.m. causing a power outage in the area.
National Grid was on scene quickly to begin repairs.
Eastbound lanes of East Main Street were closed during repairs.
A high-wind warning is in place until 6 a.m. with winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.
Currently, the largest power outage in Genesee County is centered in Elba, stretching south into the Town of Batavia, affecting 327 National Grid customers.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Nichole Dykstra is missing her "sweet boy" Max, a 90-pound German shepherd, who was last seen on Naramore Drive in the city of Batavia. If anyone spots him, please call her at 585-250-3891.
Press Release:
Genesee County’s ACT Work Ready Communities campaign has quickly achieved its first milestone with the support of manufacturing, Main Street, and professional service employers.
ACT Work Ready Communities is a workforce initiative connecting area students to businesses and in-demand careers available across Genesee County. The program demonstrates a community’s engaged participation by its workforce and businesses through the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC).
Genesee County has completed the first of four targets to achieve ACT Work Ready Communities certification. 92 businesses located in and/or serving Genesee County have signed up as supporters of the initiative, matching the program’s goal.
“Genesee County is the second county in New York state to pursue work ready community status, and as a result of an expedited sign-up process by local businesses we see the region’s commitment to addressing workforce development needs,” said Fred McConnel, Senior Director, ACT Workforce. “As this initiative continues, more connections between these employers and the current and emerging workforces will grow.”
To reach the Work Ready Communities goal, Genesee County will also need to achieve targets for participation by students, incumbent workers, and job seekers in NCRC for applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace documents. This assessment can be utilized to assist individuals in their job searches and by employers to match skills with job opportunities.
“As we grow our region's workforce readiness, there are many great pathways for our youth and adults to grow their careers. Through ACT WorkKeys assessments, apprenticeships, and training programs, these are paths to success. And with direct support available for qualifying jobseekers and workers to complete training and start their new careers, we are truly ready to help you get ready,” added Jay Lazarony, Executive Director, GLOW Workforce Development Board.
Genesee County businesses that have signed up to date include companies in advanced manufacturing, food processing, healthcare, education, professional services, hospitality, and more.
“The National Career Readiness Certificates will fast-track current and future job candidates who are exploring career opportunities and provide companies across Genesee County with a pool of applicants that can easily match their skills with job openings,” said Chris Chadbourne, Plant Manager, Oxbo.
“By supporting the ACT Work Ready Communities, we are supporting the future of our workforce,” said Matthew Gray, owner, Alex’s Place. “Encouraging students, job seekers, and incumbent workers to gain a nationally recognized certificate and demonstrate their skills provides us with applicants ready for work.”
Any business located in and/or serving Genesee County can sign up to be a certified organization that recognizes or recommends the NCRC for applicants.
With this achievement, Work Ready Communities supporters are focused on achieving the next set of goals by collaborating with schools, workforce institutions, and other stakeholders to recruit candidates and local companies to participate in the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative.
“Partners across economic development and workforce development have demonstrated, through the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative, an ecosystem that allows our local and growing business to thrive,” said Chris Suozzi, Executive Vice President of Business and Workforce Development, Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). “ACT Work Ready Communities shows how we will continue to prepare our students and residents for in-demand, good-paying careers.”
To see the list of participating businesses please visit https://www.workreadycommunities.org/NY/037/businesses.
Press Release:
The City of Batavia is working with the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) to apply to New York State for a second Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant.
Governor Hochul and State Legislative leaders have ensured that New York Cities can continue to grow their tax base and business by championing the DRI grant program. The City was a recipient of a DRI in 2018 and have completed seven (7) out of eight (8) transformational projects in the core of downtown Batavia.
“Without the Governor, the Department of State, and Empire State Development the City of Batavia would not have seen such a dramatic transformation from a fledgling downtown into a flurry of investment; sparking retail, commercial, and residential progress.
The DOS Brownfield Opportunity Area program gave Batavia the blueprint to focus investment on contaminated and underutilized sites. The DRI added the funding to move these projects from the planning stage to construction and completion. The City is ready to extend this winning combination and apply for another DRI grant with a new project boundary,” said Rachael J. Tabelski, City Manager, Batavia.
Over $75 Million of investment by the private sector was matched to the $10M grant funds to make major improvements in the City.
- DRI 1.0 Grant Projects
- City View Residences
- Healthy Living Campus/YMCA
- Carr’s Department Store
- Main Street Theater 56
- Building Improvement Fund
- Jackson Square
- City Centre Improvement Project
- Savarino
One of the primary goals of the DRI was to identify projects that are catalytic, leverage additional private and public funding, and are ready to move from planning to construction.
Batavia’s first DRI Steering Committee recommended 16 final projects ready for investment and New York State choose the top 8 projects for funding.
“The DRI program was a tremendous success in the City of Batavia providing our citizens with new opportunities for recreation, arts, culture, entertainment and housing. I’m thrilled to work on new opportunities for investment in the City,” said Eugene Jankowski Jr., City Council President.
The City and the BDC continue to assist and incentivize many new projects across the City, however, there are many more projects that are ready to spur more economic development, building revitalization, and housing construction with grant assistance that a DRI award could provide.
“The BDC continually pairs properties and building owners with grants and incentives to drive investment and business development in the City. Since the first successful execution of the DRI program there has been an increase in developer interest within the City. New projects that qualify for the DRI 2.0 will continue to boost the quality of life in our City,” said Tammy Hathaway, Executive Director of the BDC.
If you are interested in learning more and have a project in the City please send a letter to Tammy Hathaway, BDC Executive Director expressing your interest. Please include the following:
- Name of Project
- Address
- Proposed Project or Idea
- Potential Investment
After you submit your letter of interest you will be contacted by a member of the DRI Steering Committee to assist you with preparing a full project application and due diligence.
Full Project Application https://www.batavianewyork.com/home/pages/downtown-revitalization-initiative
Full Project Applications will include:
- Drawings, renderings, or plans.
- Order of magnitude cost estimates
- Description of project benefits
- Timelines and schedules for implementation
- Proof of funding
- Zoning and other permit information
An initial map of the project area is attached, however if you have a project outside the boundary please send a letter of interest to the BDC Executive Director Tammy Hathaway at director@bataviadevelopmentcorp.org.
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