batavia

In order to make the City of Batavia's Citizen Survey viable, at least 1,200 more residents need to log onto its home page and take eight minutes to answer eight questions.

For all those Batavians with a bone to pick, two cents worth, a word of praise or some pointed recommendations, here's a quick, easy opportunity to get it on the record for the city council to consider.

Simply put, more people need to weigh in in order for the data to be useful for planning purposes.

The website is <http://www.batavianewyork.com>.

City residents and those who work in the city are asked to provide input in order to gauge how citizens perceive the quality of several city services.

The survey also inquires as to whether citizens plan to remain in Batavia in five years and provides an area for general comments. The data received from the survey can be broken down by ward, age group and/or gender.

The survey was developed by city administration and is being administered free of charge through the use of software owned by Genesee Community College’s BEST Center.

While the city has contracted with the BEST Center to help it develop a strategic plan, the administration of the survey is being offered at no cost to the city.

“We are grateful to the BEST Center for allowing us to utilize its existing resources,” said City Manager Jason Molino. “This is our first time to administer an electronic survey, and we need more citizen involvement.

"We chose electronic means because it is environmentally responsible, provides efficiency with data interpretation and was offered to us free."

According to Molino, data from the surveys can be organized and reported out with the use of various filters within a matter of minutes.

“Efficiency and environmental consciousness aside; we need enough citizens to complete the survey in order to have quality usable data for our planning process,”  Molino said.

“We are strongly encouraging all residents to log on to the website and spend a few minutes to give us the feedback we need to make citizen-involved decisions during our planning process.”

For individuals without computer access, the Richmond Memorial Library encourages Batavia residents to use its free Internet service to take the survey. The library offers several computer terminals from which the survey can be taken. The service is free; however individuals must sign up to become a library member.

Membership to the Richmond Memorial Library is free and simply requires a few minutes to provide some basic information. Summer library hours are:  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The library is located at 19 Ross St.

If there are any questions, please contact:

Office of the City Manager
One Batavia City Centre
Batavia, New York 14020
Phone:   (585) 345-6330
Fax:        (585) 343-8182
E-mail:   jmolino@batavianewyork.com

In the other bird matter on the Batavia City Court docket this morning, Oak Street resident Ron Graziaplena appeared before Judge Robert Balbick to answer to charges that his duck pond is in violation of a variance permit.

Graziaplena is also accused of various other code violations.

After entering a not guilty plea, Graziaplena was informed that he was entitled to an attorney to represent him in the matter.

Graziaplena asked for a continuance of his case to Aug. 20 so that he get an attorney.

"I don't know who I'm going to get," Graziaplena.

He said he couldn't afford an attorney, but Balbick said that because these alleged violations are not under penal law, Balbick couldn't offer a court-appointed attorney.

Previously: Dispute over ducks, other complaints, has Oak Street man headed to court.

Tom Lewin is a wanted man.

Lewin, representative of LKLWL Properties, did not appear in Batavia City Court this morning on the matter of alleged code violations at the former Latina's Market property and Judge Robert Balbick issued a warrant for his arrest.

Meanwhile, attorneys for IPTV-B-C-45, LLC, the current mortgage holder on the property at 45 Ellicott St., did appear in court.

Franklin Hiller, attorney for the mortgage company, said that IPTV, not LKLWL as previously indicted by Lewin, hired PestRX to evaluate the gull issue at Latina's and come up with a plan for deal with the issue.

To implement that plan, which was turned over to the court by the attorney for IPTV, will cost IPTV $16,600. It will involve cleaning bird debris off the 41,580-square-foot roof, power washing the sides of the building, cleaning drains and putting in new drain covers, and implementing an "exclusion" procedure to deter the gulls from coming back.

The exclusion method was not specified.

"We intend to put forward our best effort and resolve this issue and put it right with the city," Hiller said.

As mortgage holder -- having only recently been assigned the mortgage, Hiller said --  IPTV has the right to protect its financial interest in the property and insure the building is well maintained.

Without IPTV stepping in now to try and resolve the issue, IPTV could ultimately face a bigger bill down the road.

"The cost of any fines or penalties or the cost of the city's remediation would ultimately come out of the mortgage holder's pockets," Hiller said.

One potential stumbling block is that before PestRX will begin work, Lewin must sign a liability waiver.

Outside of court, another attorney for IPTV, Mary Redmond, said that one way or another, IPTV will handle the issue.

As for Lewin, Judge Balbick wants to see him in court.

"The defendant will answer in my court independent of what you (Hiller) do," BaIbick said. "It’s imperative that this man appear in city court."

City Manager Jason Molino said the city will actively pursue the warrant against Lewin to ensure he appears before Balbick to answer the code violation charges.

Photo: Franklin Hiller, courtesy Geoff Redick, WBTA.

Lucas David Trzecieski, 18, of Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, and petit larceny. Trzecieski is accused of being on Alexander School property without permission and of stealing latex gloves. A 17-year-old from Attica was also charged.

Jason L. Adams, 66, of Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Adams was arrested by State Police at 5:17 p.m., Wednesday. No further details were released.

After 29 years of driving Western Regional Off-Track Betting, Martin Basinait is stepping down as CEO.

Basinait announced his retirement to the OTB board in a letter yesterday.

His legacy will be the revival of Batavia Downs. It was Basinait who convinced OTB to buy the vacility and bring back horseracing.

Dick Seibert said it was also Basinait who championed the addition of video lottery terminals.

"Horseracing is a declining industry and there's nothing you can do about it," Seibert told WBTA. "Without the VLTs, we would be facing a dismal future. We have a bright future now."

Basinait's resignation is effective in February 2011. The board will now begin the search for a new CEO.

A Batavia-based drug dealer admitted in U.S. Federal Court today that he was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.

Kenneth Munnings, 44, faces a maximum federal penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million after telling U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa that he was guilty of conspiracy to possess, with intent to distribute, illicit drugs, and to distributing them.

The charges stemmed from a joint federal, state and local wiretap investigation that revealed Munnings was responsible for obtaining significant quantities of meth, cocaine and marijuana from a drug-trafficking network in Rochester, according to U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey. Harvey said Munnings then redistributed the drugs in Genesee County.

The investigation uncovered Munnings dealings from 2006 through October 2008.

Munnings will be sentenced at 4 p.m., Nov. 1, in Rochester.

A car fire was reported on the Thruway -- the car was being towed by an RV.

The RV driver was reportedly initially unaware of the fire.  He under did eventually pull over at the Batavia off-ramp.

An assistant chief from the Le Roy Fire Department was in the area and heard Town of Batavia Fire being dispatched. He responded and knocked down the fire, which was reportedly under the car.

The motorhome was reportedly traveling along the Thruway for some time with the driver apparently unaware of the car fire.

There is a reported extension of the fire into the console. The vehicle has been disconnected from the motorhome.

Yokohama Tire took over a portion of the Batavia Downs parking lot today so tire dealers from throughout Western New York could come to town and test drive Mini Coopers equipped with Yakohama's high performance tires. Dealers and their employees were able to drive a course and see how different tires performed. They also tried to beat the best times.

(Updated 12:57 p.m.)

A 20-year-old Batavia man is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover agent from the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force in 2009.

Dyllon E. Soccio, of 124 Tracy Ave., was taken into custody yesterday.

He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree.

Soccio's arrest was part of an investigation into trafficking cocaine in the Batavia area.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said Soccio, who grew up in Batavia, has been a person of interest to the Sheriff's Office for about three years.

On June 23, the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force raided Soccio's home and reportedly seized a quantity of drugs, including what Brewster characterized as a substantial amount of mushrooms.

"He was quite diversified," Brewster said.

Charges stemming from the June 23 arrest include criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th, criminal possession of marijuana, 2nd, and three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.

He was arraigned in City Court and released under supervision of Genesee County Justice.

Another strong pitching effort from starter Justin Edwards, but the Batavia bullpen was unable to protect a 2-1 lead and the Muckdogs (16-15) lost to Williamsport Tuesday, 8-3.

Edwards went six innings and allowed only one unearned run. Travis Lawler was charged with a blown save, giving up two hits and one run, but the Muckdogs were really buried when David Kington came on and gave up three hits, walked three and surrended six runs.

The only Muckdog to post a multi-hit game was Nick Longmire, who went 2-4, scored two runs and smacked his fourth triple of the season.

The Muckdogs return home Sunday to face Williamsport.

Latoya D. Jackson, 24, of 120 State St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration; Dashawn A. Butler, 30, of 4016 W. Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. At 9:45 p.m., Monday, Batavia PD responded to a report of loud yelling on State Street. When police arrived on scene, they heard yelling coming from an apartment. Jackson and Butler then reportedly came out of the apartment and continued yelling and using profane and obscene language. There were reportedly children nearby. Jackson was jailed on $2,500 bail. Jackson has at least three prior disorderly conduct arrests.

Virginia L. Martinez, 24, and Amanda Andres-Lopez, 30, both of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Martinez and Andres-Lopez are accused of stealing undergarments and makeup from Kmart.

William Delose Hirsch, 23, of Buckman Road, Pavilion, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Hirsch is accused of having verbal contact with a person he was ordered to stay away from while at the Stafford Carnival on June 18.

Wayne Marcel Diaz, 52, of Highway 50 Road, McClave, Colo., is charged with three counts of aggravated harassment, 2nd. Diaz is accused of making harassing phone calls to another person. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Robert Oliver Taft, 36, of W. Bergen Road, Le Roy, was picked up on a bench warrant for a prior DWI charge.

Bonnie Lynn Tracy, 43, of North Street, Attica, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Tracy allegedly made a phone call to a person she was ordered not to contact.

Mitchell R. Freeman, 21, address not released, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 2nd, and assault, 3rd. Freeman allegedly restrained another person and the victim suffered an injury during a domestic incident. Freeman was jailed on $3,000 bail.

One run on an RBI single by hot-hitting catcher Audry Perez in the first inning was all the scoring the Batavia Muckdogs needed at Dwyer Stadium on Monday to notch the team's 16th win of the season.

The Muckdogs (16-14) rode nine innings of scoreless ball by four pitchers to move within two games of the visiting team, first-place Jamestown Jammers (18-12).

Venezuelan Jose Rada, four years in the Cardinals, but in his first season with the Muckdogs, walked one but didn't surrender a hit in the ninth to pick up his sixth save and lower his ERA to 0.98.

The biggest noise of the night came from a group of Jamestown Jammer fans sitting high up in the first-base-side bleachers, cheering on their team in the top and bottom half of every inning -- for eight-and-half innings (pictured below).

Folks, everyone of you reading this who hasn't been to a game yet this season needs to go to at least two. Or we're going to lose our team. Not only is it a lot of fun, and shows great community spirit, but it's also a chance to see future major leaguers up close. This past All-Star Game included 22 players who came through the NY-Penn League.

More pictures after the jump:

The gull problem at Latina's is "hand-able, but a large-scale problem," according to a manager for Pest RX, a company out of Clarence hired by LKLWL Properties to assess the situation and recommend a solution.

"It's not like it's a one-shot deal," said Jeff Waiter. "It's not like we're going to come in here for however long and we'll never see a seagull again. We're going to have to work with the property owner and work on a long-term solution."

Both Waiter and Pest RX owner Jeff Phelps said they still need to put together a plan, but the preliminary solution includes fixing the drainage on the roof, getting rid of standing water, and coming up with an "exclusion" system, something to make it harder or scarier for the gulls to land on the roof.

Just ensuring it's a clean, dry roof will do a lot to deter the gulls.

"The first thing is, the standing water has to go," Phelps said. "Once that's gone, we'll do a power wash and clean off the roof, but to keep them off permanently, there's a lot of obstructions there.

"We're trying to put our heads together and come up with a plan," he added.

It shouldn't be necessary to get the DEC involved at this point, Waiter said. He said the team spoke with the DEC this morning, they have a copy of the DEC manual and so long as they're not disturbing eggs or active nests, no DEC permit is required.

He said they found no eggs and only old nests on the roof today.

"We can definitely make the place tidy without a DEC permit," Waiter said, "so long as we don't harass the young or the eggs."

Photo: From left, Phelps, Waiter and another Pest RX employee.