batavia

Batavians can take some comfort in the fact that the City Council recently whittled down the proposed tax increase of 3.6 percent down to 2.17 percent, without really sacrificing any city services—the jury is still out on whether the ambulance flap will help or hinder us in the long run.

Nevertheless, some rumors are going around that the Council has instituted raises for all of the city department heads. We put the question to Council President Charlie Mallow this morning in an e-mail. He told us that "all city employees have mandated cost of living increases based on union contracts except seven administrative people." Mallow feels that it's unfair for those seven people not to receive the same sort of "increases"—he never used the word "raise"—as the rest of the union-backed employees.

His words:

There is a sense of right and wrong here. I do not believe non-union employees should be punished for not being part of a collective barging unit. Keep in mind that our administrative people have worked hand in hand with council to eliminate close to a $3 million dollar spending deficit in the last two years. The hard work of these administrative people reduced the size of city government. Some people out of sheer ignorance would like to single these people out; I think the rest of the community understands how far we have come and who helped us along the way.

Here are some of the budgeted figures listed under "personnel services"—does not include overtime, social security, supplies, etc.—for a few of the city's top offices (2008 and 2009):

• City Manager's Office: $103,629 (2008), $106,140 (2009)
• Bureau of Finance: $35,639 (2008), $39,040 (2009)
• Bureau of City Assessment: $33,624 (2008), $34,590 (2009)
• Bureau of Inspection: $138,246 (2008); $195,860 (2009)

Strangely, the "Bureau of the Clerk-Treasure" is scheduled for a reduction in its budget for personnel services in 2009. That office was listed at $64,212 in 2008; $60,790 has been listed for 2009.

Since the budget does not break down each city employee's salary into a tidy, comprehensible format, we asked Mallow if the Council had a document illustrating all of the changes that were effected. He replied: "A list of budget changes does not exist; it was a very fluid process." We then asked if the city could provide a list of every employee's salary for 2008 and the proposed salary for 2009. We're waiting on that.

More from Mallow:

The single most important thing behind this budget was planning for the future with a series of contingency funds. These funds will allow the city to save for future equipment purchases. Doing this will allow us to have a stable tax rate in the future and be less prone to large swings like we have seen in the past. People should understand that we have taken on the practices that businesses use every day. We plan, we have goals and we live within our budget.

We were glad to see so many folks getting into the discussion yesterday about the national stimulus package that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week. That bill, already proving quite controversial, will go to the Senate next week for round two.

There were some clear divisions among opinion, yet both sides made strong cases. Some of you expressed a general yet cautious support for the stimulus bill on the grounds that it would "right the ship of state," as Russ Stresing put it so eloquently. Others among you decried the attempt to try to "buy our way out of debt," and called for a reining in of spending.

What is the next step in the conversation when both sides of the argument—because, for now at least, this argument is restricted to only two sides (the classic: for and against)—make valid claims? Neither is wrong. Surely, the nation will have to make "strategic investments" at some point to dress our wounds. It's not unlike a fellow who finds himself unemployed and unable to secure a new job. Perhaps an investment in a new suit, a new haircut or even a credited business course at a local community college could give him that edge. On the other hand, any such investments are based on hypothetical situations: 'If I make this happen, then this could happen...' And funds that could have went toward the perennial costs of food and shelter will have been wasted on a hoped for conclusion that may never come to pass.

Furthermore, accusations that this or that side is playing politics are also all true. One of our readers yesterday commented that the president sought the votes of the House Republicans on the stimulus bill so that said Republicans—none of whom voted in favor of the bill—could not use their unified dissent as a political weapon in the future. Well, doesn't that indict both sides? Democrats are threatening to push through the bill to flex their majority muscle. While Republicans are all too content in playing the foil.

President Barack Obama spoke a lot about "change" during the campaign, but if you ask me, this seems to be a whole lot of politics as usual. In the meantime, while we're trying to figure all that out, Howard passed along this article from a site called Good, that pieces together some of the arguments against a stimulus. Very informative. The author sums up his stance, in this way:

And there you have it. In my mind, economics seems to be a mostly made-up “science,” and I am pretty sure nothing the government does will have as much effect as other events (see: Great Depression and World War II, for instance). That said, doing nothing (or just lowering taxes) does not really seem like a viable move for a government, politically if not also economically. So, if we can get another round of the equivalent of WPA posters and CCC National Park trails out of this, maybe that’s all we need until whatever is really going to cure the recession comes along. But, in the meantime, it’s important to look at all sides.

 Ryan Darch is perfect on the mat this season, and he hopes to keep it that way.

Darch has compiled a 30-0 record this season, including 10 pins and four technical fall victories, as he heads into Friday and Saturday's Monroe County League tournament.

He is the top ranked wrestler at 160 pounds in the small school division of Section 5 by armdrag.com.

 Darch's love of wrestling started at a young age, thanks to his father Ken.

Ken had been a star wrestler in high school and college and started teaching Ryan and placing him in tournaments - at the age of five.

Ryan had continued to wrestle but finally started taking it serious after his freshman season when he lost early on in sectionals. Darch realized his season was over and hated it. So he dedicated himself to learning the sport and lifting weights.

He became a student of the game, as his father puts it.

Ryan's hard work paid off as he had a solid sophomore season, advancing all the way to the Section 5 SuperSectionals, where he lost to John-Martin Cannon of Brockport, getting pinned in 2:25.

That was the last match that Ryan - now a junior - lost.

Batavia (17-5) has the Monroe County League tournament this weekend, then a match at Greece Olympia and the Ken-Ton Invitational tournament left before sectionals.

Darch is a top seed as is Troy Ireland. Josh Mase and Nick Lazarony are second seeds while Anthony D'Aurizio is a fourth seed in a very tough 189 pound weight class.

The Blue Devils will be wrestling in Class BBBB on Feb. 13 and 14. After that is SuperSectionals and then the state tournament.

Check out this interview with Ryan and Ken Darch:

After getting caught in the snow four times during our last blizzard, I figured driving was not an option. Who in their right mind is going to drive around in this?

Apparently a lot of people are doing just that as Main St. had its usual mid-day traffic and was cleaned up for the most part.

Well I decided to get all bundled up and go for a walk. Dumb idea.

I took a trip around my part of the city, walking around two different blocks, and it was brutal. The weather is 32-degrees right now, so it wasn't the cold that was the problem. It was the snow coming down in such a burdensome manner. 

I'm guessing that if you get outside of the city and are driving on Rt. 63 or 19, you are in for a lot of whiteout conditions as there is a slight wind in the city, which means when you get out you are in trouble.

This isn't that light snow that is nice to see once in a while. This is the big flake, heavy, pain in the butt type of snow.  I am so happy that my neighbor has a big snow plow and is a good guy or I would be in trouble today. I still can't lift heavy stuff after the carpal tunnel surgeries over the summer and I have a feeling that it would kill me to have to clear that stuff out on my own.

So I noticed a few things on my walk. First is that moving during the winter sucks. I found a guy moving in on Montclair Ave. and let's just say these aren't the ideal conditions. 

In fact, he tried to move the moving truck so that the plow could get down the street, and the battery had died. He found somebody and was getting a jump as I decided to head towards Main St.

I understand the sidewalks on the side streets being bad because people are at work. I just walked down the road. But I watched the mail carrier walking through big piles of snow and struggling just to get to people's mail boxes.

And then I got to Main St. and the sidewalks were just as bad.

I made a left and walked towards Burger King and Arby's - which were both pretty slow for a mid-afternoon on a work day - and the sidewalks were clear in some places and not even touched in others. I thought the city owned some big machine that is supposed to drive around and clear of sidewalks?

How about getting that thing out on Main St.

I could hear the speaker at Ken Barrett's  calling for service, but none of the cars were cleared off and nobody was shopping for a car. I get it. There is no way to get a feel for a vehicle when you can't drive faster than like 15 miles per hour.

I really was surprised at the amount of people out there driving because it is nasty out and probably will be for the rest of the afternoon. 

I saw a few people out shoveling and plowing driveways, but most of those that work during the day looked like they went in because driveways were packed all over the place.

As I was walking down Oak St., I saw a guy riding a bicycle down the road. He wasn't moving very fast and I can't imagine it was a pleasurable trip. I've never understood those that ride bikes when the weather is like this.

Finally I got home. What would usually be a 45 minute trip around a couple blocks took nearly and hour and half, but I did stop and talk to a few folks out there clearing their driveways and walking places.

The most common complaint I heard was the lack of cleared out sidewalks. If anybody knows about how the city handles sidewalks, I'd love to hear it.

I finally got home and was able to sit down at my computer, after a change of clothing because I looked like a snowman.

Richard Dunlap, former treasurer for the Oakfield-Alabama Little League, was sentenced to five years in prison today, the Buffalo News reports. Dunlap was accused of stealing as much as $30,000 from the organization during his time as treasurer. He was then alleged to have used the money to purchase, among other things, child pornography.

From the Buffalo News:

A tearful Richard L. Dunlap, 40, of Batavia, apologized for his crimes but was immediately remanded to the custody of prison officials by the judge.

Federal agents said Dunlap stole thousands of dollars from the Oakfield-Alabama Little League Association and used the money to buy child porn, adult pornography, a family vacation to Florida and other items.

Dunlap, 40, of 9 Irving Parkway, Batavia, plead guilty last September to the possession of child pornography, according to a Daily News article from October. Dunlap had also been granted a plea bargain for the theft charges and was ordered to pay $5,559 in restitution, funds that Little League officials found arbitrary.

Maybe this headline should read: How Batavia can save downtown by doing the opposite of what Rochester does... Allow me to explain. Most of us in the area remember the Fast Ferry flop. For Rochesterians, the very word ferry still stings like a jellyfish whip. In a poor attempt to promote cross-cultural relations between Rochester and Toronto, the city sunk millions into a ferry that would cart folks back and forth from the two cities. We all know where that went—nowhere.

Why? One reason that I'm guessing at, is that you're not going to boost your own city's cultural wealth by sending your residents elsewhere. Keep them here. One good way to do that is to offer low-rent studio space to artists in neighborhoods they can afford to live in. Rochester has done this on North Goodman Street, where the city's cultural center faces Village Gate, a quaint shopping center, and Anderson Alley, an old button factory turned into studio space. Ditto Artisan Works off of Winton Road.

Some of you may be wondering why we should give the artists a break. Look at New York City. Wherever artists flourish, along comes business: initially in the form of good eateries, but soon, small shops begin to pop up, followed by large banks. This, unfortunately, then leads to the phenomenon known as gentrification, when all the rich folks with a penchant for what the hipsters have built, simply move and take it over. Go to Brooklyn sometime if you don't believe me. Of course, artists alone do not create this environment. A lot of the appeal is based on a sort of myth of the authentic urban experience: a city block that looks, smells and feels like a city block should feel. It's got natives, it's eclectic, the people have roots there, and the place has a cultural vibe all its own. Again, this is the myth of the authentic urban experience. But as we know, myths are often rooted in actuality.

Rochester has much of this authenticity in many parts of the city. The idea being bandied about for Renaissance Square was designed—or so I believed—to provide a catalyst to further this sort of authentification downtown, which has unfortunately lost its flavor, its character, and, in many cases, its business. With that in mind, the city thought to build a big theater, a cultural mecca right downtown to draw folks in, rather than push them out. Flanking this theater would be a bus terminal, so people can get to and from the theater, and a satellite campus for Monroe Community College, so people can go there to learn, as well. That was the plan anyway.

From the Democrat & Chronicle:

A decision announced Monday to move ahead with the Renaissance Square project will allow federal funds to be spent on a bus station and a community college campus.

Funding for the third part of the project, a 2,800-seat theater, has not been secured and if the money isn't raised, the theater won't be built, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and Sen. Charles Schumer said during a joint appearance in Rochester.

"The likelihood of federal or state funds being raised for the theater is unlikely for the foreseeable future, certainly for the next few years," Schumer said. "Given the economic situation, it's difficult to raise private funds, so moving forward with the community college and the bus terminal is very important. We don't want to hold things up any longer."

Some of you may be saying: "Big deal. No theater. Who cares." Rochesterians should care. What sort of "Renaissance" with a capital 'R' does Rochester hope to effect with a bus station and a satellite campus? How will these two components bring people downtown? Going ahead without the theater would mean, in my honest opinion, not going ahead at all, but just standing still, which Rochester has proved itself quite capable of doing over the past few decades.

So Batavia, take a lesson. Do not do what Rochester does. This does not mean sink all the tax money into expensive cultural projects. What it means is play up your strengths and appeal to the culture of your population by creating an atmosphere that is hospitable to making and performing the arts. The rest will follow.

Batavia already has the authentic urban experience on the Jackson Street block downtown: good eats at locally-owned restaurants, established shops that appeal to people's curiosity and the mall. Uh, wait a second. Scrap that last one. Literally: scrap that last one. Large-scale programs such as Summer in the City do a great job of attracting people to this part of the city. But it's a one-time, thanks for your patronage kind of event. What about micro-celebrations. How difficult would it be to close up a lane of parking across from Margueritas and the Jackson Street Grill, set up some tents, tables and chairs, and serve a summer evening outside. Maybe book a juggler or something to keep folks entertained. I'm sure there are better ideas out there.

Although technically not downtown, the Harvester Center and the many buildings around it, offers a perfect place to start incubating: businesses, artists, offices and public spaces. Maybe above all else: public spaces. Small courtyards where people can gather, grab a drink, listen to some live music, whatever. Maybe a violinist in the local philharmonic can be persuaded, via a modest monetary encouragement, to practice a few nights out in the open, outside a coffee shop that fronts a courtyard in the now verdant square that once was an indsutrial wastescape.

Whatever you do, Batavia, just don't do what Rochester does. No matter how pretty you paint it, you can't call a bus terminal a renaissance.

Not much to report on this yet, but a half dozen people spoke at the City Council meeting tonight, asking the city to seek new management for the Falleti Ice Arena in Batavia. They spoke in pretty condemning terms, claiming that the arena is no longer "a family-based skating wrink." One speaker went as far as to say that under the new management: "We've had our right to skate taken away."

The central issue among all the complainants was the allegedly unceremonious banishing of skate instructor Joan Disbrow from the arena. According to the mother of one young skater, a member of the management crew, Firland Management, vociferously dismissed Disbrow from the premises while she was on the ice with one of her students.

Councilwoman Marianne Clattenburg spoke up after all of the comments had been made. She said she has heard from several families that have made similar claims. "I think we may have made the wrong mistake with Firland Management," she said.

Council members Kathy Briggs, Rose Mary Christian and Bill Cox all agreed.

"I'm concerned with the volume of complaints—all one-sided," said Cox. "We need to give citizens the right to have a good skate and enjoy their sport."

A representative of Firland Management, Jim Cain, was scheduled to speak at the meeting. He cancelled. City Manager Jason Molino said that Cain called earlier in the day to say that he was not feeling well and could not attend.

There was some mention, as well, about the unsatisfactory budget report provided by Firland for the city's consideration.

We will look into this story and see what more we can find out.

(UPDATED: Tuesday, 12:03pm): A Daily News article by Joanne Beck features some more details on this issue. Worth checking out.

It's official. Batavia's out of the ambulance business. City Council voted unanimously tonight not to continue funding and operating the county-wide ambulance service. True to the word of Council President Charlie Mallow, there was no discussion to be had by the city leaders. Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian was the only member to speak.

"It's a shame that the county hasn't come to the aid here," she said. "They're always passing the buck."

Further, despite the packed house—at least a couple dozen residents filled the audience—only two citizens spoke.

Saturday was quite an experience for me.

I've taken a bus ride with the Batavia basketball team before, but this one with Notre Dame was completely different and was a ton of fun, even though the team lost to Prattsburgh 70-64.

I live less than 10 minutes walking from Notre Dame, so I decided to walk to the school. As soon as I got in the building, coach Mike Rapone was doing a walk-through with his squad.

Prattsburgh and Notre Dame make trips each year to play together and their home courts and it is always a great game, with the home team usually winning.

We then got on the bus and it took exactly two hours to get to Prattsburgh, which is a great town that is old time. The buildings on the main street are from the way-back and the people there are just good folks.

The ride there was a lot of fun.

The kids from Notre Dame know how to bust each other's chops. There was the ribbing of Tommy Rapone on his Pokeman fetish, the gum wrapper belt put on Rick Lair when he fell asleep and just a lot of goofing off.

But when the Fighting Irish arrived at Prattsburgh, it was all business. I had some business to attend to, visiting friends from Notre Dame and Section 5 Talksback that made the trip.

I watched the jayvee game with the varsity squad for the third quarter, then midway through the fourth I went down with coach Rapone to hear his pregame speech. 

Rapone is not a yeller and not a big ra-ra coach. He's one of those guys that has been around long enough to know everything the other team is going to do and he ran through it with his kids. He knew what players on the Vikings did and what to do if they pressed or went box-and-1 on Kevin Francis.

Notre Dame jumped out to a quick 15-6 lead  in the first quarter. But Francis picked up his second foul and had to sit down, and that's when the flow of the game changed. Prattsburgh took advantage of arguably the Genesee Region League's best player being on the bench and wound up leading 34-27 at the half.

There was nobody on ND that could rebound in the second half and Prattsburgh was dropping 3-pointers like crazy. Patrick Wightman scored 21 points and hit five 3-pointers and Ryan Caron scored a game-high 29 points.

The crowd was totally into the game, with fans from both sides cheering when big things happened.

When the game ended and Notre Dame took it on the chin, Rapone gave his post game speech and basically told his team what they did wrong and hopes that they learn from the mistakes made in this game and become a better team from the loss.

Then the two teams, coaching staffs and all of the media and some locals that were there got together to enjoy pizza, subs and cookies together. It is a tradition that when the two teams play that they get together afterwards and enjoy and meal.

This is not done with any other rivalries as far as I know. Very cool.

As we loaded the bus to go home, I was expecting a depressing ride and kids sleeping. Yes, some were depressed and yes some slept, but it wound up being as much fun as the two hour ride there.

It started with Greg Barr leading a chorus singing songs from cartoon movies of the past. I could not stop laughing. 

Then those that were not sleeping, gathered around my seat to talk and hang out. The conversation was good and everybody got a preview of the video, seeing the footage I took on the bus ride up.

There is a sad point that I must end on. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association is attempting to cut the amount of games that a team can play in a season.

That would mean Notre Dame would play it's regular season games and then have three open slots. They aren't going to back out of the Lions Club tournament, which only allows them to play one extra non-league game. This very well might be the end of a great rivalry and tradition that has lasted for many years. Rapone and Prattsburgh coach Jim Burke are both over 500 career wins and good friends.

The kids enjoy playing each other and making the long trips.

But it looks like a great tradition is over.

Sad news for local gastronomes: Sallome's Deli in Batavia is dark. The Oak Street eatery has been closed up since at least last week. A sign on the door simply reads: "Closed until further notice," and a number is given where customers are encouraged to leave a message. We called that number and left a message. Anyone with a gift certificate is encouraged to call the same number (201-7300) and leave an address where a refund can be mailed.

Sallome's opened up this past summer.

We will keep you informed of any updates.

Later tonight, Batavia's City Council will vote to cease its funding and operation of the county-wide ambulance service managed by the city fire department. Discussion among members of Council was had at a recent budget meeting, and Council President Charlie Mallow has assured us that they are essentially all in agreement and that tonight's vote is merely the formal act on what has already been decided.

Seventeen of the 18 other municipalities in the county that benefit from the ambulance service have expressed their desire to continue with the city-run service. So we may see a few speakers at tonight's meeting. The vote will follow the Council's conference meeting, which begins at 7:00pm at City Hall.

From the Batavia City Fire Department:

City of Batavia firefighters were kept very busy for hours with back-to-back house fires in the city, Saturday night beginning at 10:22 PM.

The first alarm came in for 12 Elm Street with report of a possible explosion and flames showing Within three minutes, city firefighters arrived on scene and quickly extinguished a fire that was found in the side stairwell of the three-story apartment house. Four residents were alerted by smoke detector and were safely outside the structure when the firefighters arrived. Firefighters performed a search and rescue for a fifth resident, thought to be on the third story. After searching the apartment, it was determined that the resident was gone for the evening. Damage was confined to the stairwell. The home was ventilated for smoke removal. The American Red Cross provided the residents with temporary accomodations. Total damage was estimated at $2,500. The cause is under investigation.

While still on scene at the Elm Street fire, a second fire alarm was called in for a house fire located at 45 Walnut Street. With a two-minute response time, the firefighters arrived to find flames coming from the windows of the two-apartment structure.

A general alarm of fire was made to all off duty city firefighters as well as a mutual aid request to the town of Batavia Fire Department. The town supplied an engine and a rescue truck to the scene and a second engine to stand by at City Fire Headquarters. The fire was declared under control in approximately 25 minutes.

The homeowner smelled smoke and discovered the fire in the ceiling above a wood stove. He alerted the other occupants and all escaped safely before firefighters arrived. The American Red Cross was also able to assist the occupants of this second fire of the night.

The home was completely gutted with a damage estimate of approximately $50,000.

Fortunately, there were no injuries to residents or firefighters in either fire with fire crews returning to quarters at 2:20 AM.

Firefighters were battling a blaze at 12 Elm St. Saturday night, when a second alarm was sounded for a fire at 45 Walnut St., according to a report in the Democrat & Chronicle.

The Elm St. fire caused an estimated $2,500 damage to a multil-family complex, 

The two-apartment building on Walnut was gutted, causing an estimated $50,000 in damage.

Off-duty firefighters and units from the Town of Batavia were called in to help Walnut St. blaze, which took 25 minutes to suppress.

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