batavia

Raymond Stanley is indicted on counts of burglary in the third degree, a Class D felony, grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal trespass in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Stanley is accused of entering a building on Lake Street, Le Roy, with the intent to commit a crime. He's accused of stealing property with a value in excess of $1,000. He is accused of possessing stolen property with the intent to benefit himself while impeding the recovery of the property by the rightful owner. He is accused of being on property owned by another without authorization.

Jacob J. Russell and Connor L. Andrews are indicted on counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a Class D felony and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Both Russell and Andrews are accused of possessing brass knuckles while having been previously convicted of a crime on Dec. 23 in the city of Batavia. They're also accused of possessing cocaine.

Jennifer M. Shaffer is indicted on counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated, a Class E felony, and driving while ability impaired by drugs. Shaffer is accused of driving drunk and under the influence of drugs, a misdemeanor, in the city of Batavia on Oct. 10. Shaffer is accused of driving while impaired with a child age 15 or younger in the vehicle.

Susan A. Samanka is indicted on a count of failure to appear for a photo as a registered sex offender, a Class D felony. Samanka is a registered Level 2 sex offender and is accused of failure to provide a current photograph of herself within the time period provided for by law. She is also indicted on a count of sex offender failure to register change of address, a Class E felony.

Jarvis D. Seymore is indicted on counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Seymore is accused of possessing a 2008 Nissan Altima on Oct. 28, 2022, with the intent to deprive the vehicle's rightful owner of the property. He's also accused of possessing cocaine.

Amy M. Gambino is indicated on a count of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony. Gambino is accused of violating an order of protection at a location on Alleghany Raod in Darien on Aug. 28.

Shante C. Johnson is indicted on a count of burglary in the second degree, a Class C felony, and criminal mischief in the fourth degree. Johnson is accused of entering a residence on Thorp Street, Batavia, on Sept. 26 with the intent to commit a crime inside the building. Johnson is accused of intentionally damaging a door and door frame at the residence.

Jarrod K. Foriathis is indicated on a count of escape in the second degree, a Class D felony, attempted escape in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal mischief in the fourth degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Foriathis, after being charged with a felony, allegedly escaped from custody at the Genesee County Jail on July 15. He is accused of attempting to escape. He is accused of damaging a wall at the jail.

Chad M. Johnston is indicated on counts of burglary in the second degree, a Class C violent felony, attempted burglary in the second degree, a Class D felony, and criminal mischief in the third degree, a Class E felony. Johnston is accused of entering a dwelling on Liberty Street on Dec. 6 with the intent to commit a crime inside. He is accused of attempting to enter the building. He's accused of damaging the property of another person with a value of more than $250.

Micahel J. Torres is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a Class D felony, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a Class B felony, and obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Torres is accused of possessing more than 500 milligrams of cocaine with the intent to sell it on July 12. He is accused of attempting to prevent a public servant from performing the servant's official duties.

Mark L. Frongetta is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a Class D felony, and menacing in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Frongetta is accused of possessing a dangerous instrument with the intent to use it against another person in the town of Batavia on July 1. He allegedly placed another person in fear for his or her safety.

Paul Lee is indicted on counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, two counts of identify theft in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor, and two counts of petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor. Lee is accused of possessing a debit card belonging to another person with the intent to deprive the other person of possession of the property. He is accused of the identity of another person. He is accused of stealing property at a location in Batavia on Aug. 24.

Lavar V. McKnight is indicted on a count of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony. McKnight is accused of violating an order of protection at 8250 Park Road, Batavia, on May 25. He is accused of pushing the protected person.

Neikia D. Newton is indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a Class B felony, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a Class D felony, and aggravated unlicensed operation. Newton is accused of possessing with intent to sell more than a half ounce of cocaine in the city of Batavia on Sept. 27. Newton is accused of driving a 2012 Ford on Route 98 in Batavia on a revoked license.

Owen C. Scouten is indicted on counts of vehicular assault in the second degree, a Class E felony, DWI, a misdemeanor, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, a misdemeanor, endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, and unlawful dealing with a child in the first degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Scouten is accused of driving a vehicle on a public highway, Lewiston Road, Batavia, on Aug. 20 in such a way that it caused serious injury to another person. He is accused of acting in a way that knowingly endangered the physical, mental, or moral health of a child less than 17 years old. He is accused of providing alcohol to a child.

Terry J. Wickham is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, a Class C felony, seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and criminal possession of a rapid-fire modification device. Wickham is accused of possessing a loaded AR-15 firearm on Oct. 25 outside his home or business. He is accused of possessing an AR-15 with the ability to accept a detachable magazine, flash suppressor, muzzle break (sic) or muzzle compensator, folding or telescoping stock, and a pistol grip that extends conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon. He is accused of possessing six clips capable of storing more than 10 rounds. He is accused of possessing a binary trigger system. 

Kiara A. Bates is indicted on two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree. Bates is accused of possessing a stolen 2019 Accura with a value greater than $3,000 and of passing fragrances belonging to Ultra Beauty with a value in excess of $3,000.

City Church hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at St. Anthony's on Liberty Street in Batavia on Tuesday evening.

The church is planning another hunt for Easter Sunday at 10 a.m. at St. Anthony's.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

For the second time, the owners of Casper Farm, a farm and retail meat shop on Route 5 in Stafford, have made a substantial donation of steaks, roasts, ground beef, and other cuts of meat to Cornerstone Church in Batavia.

"This has been such a blessing," said Marianne Fish, a member of Cornerstone who helped pick up the donation at the farm on Tuesday evening. "We just started the Pantry of Blessings and were lacking in meat."

Fish said the pantry is open to anybody who needs food assistance. Many people in Batavia access the pantry, she said, and the church makes deliveries to people being housed in local hotels. There are also people from Rochester and Buffalo who come to the pantry for assistance. 

"They're helping the community tremendously," Fish said.

The Batavian just happened to be in the shop when the folks from Cornerstone stopped by to pick up the donation.

"We do this because we want to help the community with product we have an abundance of, and if this community is in need, we want to be able to help the community out," Crystal Casper said.

This donation had a retail value of $1,000.

"We feel that this is a good thing to do, to give back to our community," Casper said.

A 21-year-old man from Greece who is missing and was last seen two days ago in Albion has ties to Batavia, and family members are asking local residents for any help in locating him.

Cooper Karas was last seen wearing black sweatpants, a black hoodie, and a black NF jacket.  

At 7:30 p.m. on Monday, he drove his 2013 silver VW Jetta to his grandmother's house in Albion and left his dog in the fenced yard (the dog is fine) and left.

He has a history of mental health issues and may have been upset at the time he disappeared. 

He is 5 feet 8 inches tall and 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

He attended Batavia High School for a time a few years ago and has family in Batavia.

If you have any information regarding Cooper’s location or safety, please call Orleans County Dispatch at 585-589-5527, the Albion Police Department at 585-589-5627 or Greece Police Department at 585-581-4033 or Genesee County Sheriff's Office at 585-343-5000.

Press Release:

Community Action is redoing the food pantry room and their shelves are outdated and bulky. 

Community Action reached out to Zonta International of Batavia for help.

The Zonta club was able to present them with a check for $500 towards these new shelves. This will help store food more efficiently for members of our community in need.  

Press Release:

The Spring 2024 session of Books Sandwiched In will take place on Wednesdays in April at Richmond Memorial Library! The theme for this series is “Remarkable Journeys,” as reflected in the book selections. 

First started in 1981, Books Sandwiched In is a program that invites guest speakers to review books, which are generally non-fiction. Each session will take place from 12:10 - 1 p.m. in the Reading Room and will include coffee, tea, and cookies. 

All who attend can enter for the door prize of a gift certificate to a local lunch spot. Feel free to bring your lunch. You do not need to read the books in order to attend!

Sessions will also be recorded and available to view on the library’s YouTube page following the presentations. The fourth session will feature a raffle of a signed copy of The Wager by David Grann!

Spring 2024 Lineup: 

Wednesday, April 3: Take a Journey to Space

Recent Batavian (and avid reader) Jessica Postle will review The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush.

“When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots - a group then made up exclusively of men - had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. 

Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978--Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon.” (from publisher summary)

Wednesday, April 10: Take a Journey to Freedom

Holland Land Office Director Ryan Duffy will review Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

“In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North. Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. 

Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles crisscrossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day.” (from publisher summary) 

Wednesday, April 17: Take a Journey of Faith 

Retired teacher Jim Kelly reviews: Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain by Jack Hitt. Jim will also share about his own personal pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago!

“When Jack Hitt set out to walk the 500 miles from France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, he submitted to the rigorous traditions of Europe's oldest form of packaged tour, a pilgrimage that has been walked by millions in the history of Christendom...Along the way, Jack Hitt finds himself persevering by day and bunking down by night with an unlikely and colorful cast of fellow pilgrims. In the day-to-day grind of walking under a hot Spanish sun, Jack Hitt and his cohorts not only find occasional good meals and dry shelter but they also stumble upon some fresh ideas about old-time zealotry and modern belief.” (from publisher summary) 

Wednesday, April 24: Take a Journey at Sea 

RML Media Services Librarian Laura Dumuhosky reviews The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann.

“On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon...it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers.” (from publisher summary)

This session will also feature a raffle for a signed copy of The Wager!

Press Release:

Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum for the next edition of our Trivia Night @ the Museum on Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m. In honor of the birthday of J. Robert Oppenheimer, our topic will be the Manhattan Project. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend.

The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next edition of our Guest Speaker Series. On Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m. we welcome avid bike rider and cycling historian Karen Lankeshofer, as she presents on Elsa Von Blumen, who first became a professional “race walker” in 1879 and was soon enticed to try high-wheel bicycle riding by bicycle manufacturer Albert Pope. She was a prominent figure on the bicycle-racing scene in the 1880s and competed throughout the Eastern United States ( including in Batavia). Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend. 

"This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!"

The Holland Land Office is proud to announce the next edition of our Java with Joe E. On Thursday, April 25 at 9 a.m., Don Burkel will be presenting, “Who Was Philemon (Phil) Tracy & What Is He Doing Here?” With the use of personal letters and photographs, a PowerPoint program will provide an in-depth look into Philemon Tracy and his family. Philemon Tracy was a Major in the Confederate Army from Georgia who is buried in the Historic Batavia Cemetery. Admission is free with coffee and pastries.
Java with Joe E. is sponsored by Pub Hub Coffee for 2024.

Eli Fish Brewing Company celebrated its sixth anniversary with a fun relay race, plenty of craft drinks and frozen fish this past weekend in downtown Batavia. The relay took runners around a block from Jackson Square onto School, Center and Jackson streets and back again to the Square, where a DJ was entertaining participants and spectators alike.

Billy Buckenmeyer's team won their heat in the event, and befitting of the Main Street establishment's name, real fish were used in place of the more traditional baton that passed from runner to runner for the relay. Each team received eight drink tokens and the winning team won a grand prize of four Mug Club memberships for the 2024 season.

Monday’s latest round of city school board budget discussions ended with a theoretical question for the group: If the state provides $300,000 more in Foundation Aid for the district, how do you want to spend it?

Choices included putting the money toward reserves to lower the amount being put toward the 2024-25 expenses, lowering the tax levy and related 2.26 percent property tax increase, or shuttling it toward personnel to hire more teachers.

As it is, a mental health grant and five additional full-time positions have been added to the budget to be effective July 1, and three bus routes that had previously been cut to save money were put back in, Business Administrator Andrew Lang said, because of feedback about how those changes would lengthen the time for students to be on a bus and that could result in behavioral and disciplinary issues.

Still, it seems as though the most vocal board members have eyes for more staff.

As has been the case during each budget talk so far, Vice President John Reigle made no bones about his stance. He previously shared his disappointment and concern about losing seven full-time equivalent grant-funded positions that were added with COVID-19 funds given to the district to assist with post-pandemic measures, five full-time positions that were reduced due to decreased enrollment, and four positions that were not replaced for retired or resigned teachers.

“I’m trying to save some of these positions or to refill some of the retirements or grant positions. It’s a hard pill to swallow to see all the losses,” Reigle said.

Board member Jenn Lendvay agreed with Reigle about where any extra state aid should go.

Board member Alice Benedict suggested a dual purpose, putting the money toward hiring staff and also some into the reserve fund.

Smith said that he didn’t want to “give you false hope … but there have been intense lobbying efforts” at the state level to loosen the purse strings in Albany and free up more funding for school districts.

“There's more negotiations to happen just as we're doing here in this session, same thing, same kind of stuff there,” he said.

He introduced David Lowery, Area 1 director of the New York State School Boards Association representing school boards in Genesee, Erie, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties. Lowery urged board members to appeal to their legislators before the budget is finalized.

NYSSBA’s talking points include to:

• Reject executive proposal to eliminate the state’s save harmless provision by cutting Foundation Aid for 337 school districts. Save Harmless stipulates that districts could not lose money if their estimated need declined.
• Reject executive proposal to amend the inflationary factor in the Foundation Aid formula.
• Support Legislative proposals to provide a minimum 3% Foundation Aid increase for all districts.
• Support legislative proposals to provide funding to the State Education Department to conduct a study on the Foundation Aid formula.
• Reject executive proposal to freeze the school aid database and cap aid payments.
• Reject executive proposal to permanently shift certain CSE special education costs from the state to school districts.
• Support executive and Legislative proposals to exclude certain external funds from the calculation of transportation aid for zero-emission bus purchases.
• Support legislative proposals to fund a full universal school meals program.
• Support legislative proposals to increase career and technical education funding through increases in the BOCES aidable salary cap and special services aid.
• Support executive proposal to remove “supplement, not supplant” language from pre-k funding.
• Support legislative proposals to increase funding for pre-k full-day and half-day programs.
• Support Senate proposal to increase investments in preschool special education programs and special act school districts.

Lang said that if the district were to receive a conservative estimate of $200,000 more in Foundation aid, putting that toward the fund balance would reduce the amount being used for the budget from $3.7 million to $3.5 million.

“That still, in my opinion, as a school business official, that's still an exceedingly high number of appropriated fund balance,” he said. “I would be cautious as to continually appropriate that amount of funding and relying on it to balance the district's budget with a 1 to 2%. You'd have to go back to that allowance of considerably less than one out of that fund balance of about $1.2 million.”

The board needs to focus on the expenses side of the budget, he said, and move towards a vote to adopt that on April 22. Reigle asked for a list of what types of positions had been cut and where they were located within the district, such as a social sciences teacher in the middle school, “just so we can kind of have an idea of where we're looking at what we're talking about,” he said.

The question was asked how reducing staff affects class size. Molly Corey, executive director of curriculum and instruction, said that tools are used to assess such dynamics, and although the state says there can be 28 kids in a class, “we’re really not making super large class sizes anywhere,” she said.

Jackson Primary between 18 to 24 kids, John Kennedy Intermediate has 20 to 24, and Batavia Middle School has 24 to 28. Smith added, “We’re really trying to concentrate on classes at the lower grade levels for obvious reasons.”

“I think this school district has done really well at keeping class size under 20,” Benedict said.

Lang had previously reviewed overall enrollment projections, which are expected to gradually decline. Numbers had dipped to 2,006 in 2021-22, and then rose back up to 2,031 in 2022-23, 2,072 in 2023-24, and then slipped back down to 2,047 in 2024-25, and are projected to fall to 2,034 in 2025-26 hover around there in 2026-27, fall again to 2,022 in 2027-28 and bounce back to 2,046 in 2028-29.

Reducing the staff was still “a big concern of mine,” Reigle said.

A $1.4 million mental health grant that Corey said her staff didn’t know it was receiving in August 2022 and still has access to will allow the district to add five more full-time positions. The same number of positions were reduced due to declining enrollment. They will be added on in July this year.

“We are pleased to say we can look at a couple new positions for next year,” Smith said. “A purpose of the grant is to expand our services,” he said.

About $286,000 has been spent so far, with $1.1 million remaining for the staff expense, Lang said.

As of Monday evening, the board is expected to vote on a proposed $60,373,861 budget during its meeting on April 22. That’s a 2.38 percent increase, or about $1.4 million more than this year’s budget. This plan would include a tax levy of $20,339,336 for a tax rate increase of 2.26 percent or 39 cents per $1,000 assessed value. That would be an extra $48.75 a year on a home assessed at $125,000.

A public presentation is set for 6 p.m. on May 14, to be followed by a budget vote on May 21.

The young players who are learning the game as members of the Batavia Stingers, so Batavia High School's varsity softball team members coaching the Stingers players is good for both teams, said Rob Kersch.

Kersch is Batavia's varsity softball coach.

The Blue Devils hosted a clinic for Stingers players in the auxiliary gym at the high school on Saturday.

"I wanted to make sure our kids are giving back to the community," Kersch said. "They were all little softball players, you know, like they're teaching and coaching right now. I wanted to give back, and they're excited about it, too. They want to get involved with these kids. The other thing is, you're looking at future Batavia Blue Devils. We want to foster some a relationship with them, and help build them up, so when they come up to us, they will be much better players."

Saturday's clinic was all about hitting. Clinics scheduled for April 7 and April 21 will concentrate on fielding and base running.

Current Stingers Board President Michelle Gillard said, "This is a great opportunity for our young athletes to learn and be mentored by older players."

Matt Landers, one of the co-founders of the Stingers, helped facilitate the clinic and said he thinks there is demand for the Stingers program to grow in Batavia, but more parents need to get involved, especially as coaches.

"I think that we definitely have a need in the community and more interest in the community," Landers said. "We're thrilled to be able to do this, again to keep this program going. But we know we can get bigger and have more more kids play ball, but it all comes down to having more coaches."

Photos by Howard Owens.

Jasper Thomas found the Kiwanis Golden Easter Egg in Centennial Park on Monday, with a prize certificate in it for a chocolate Easter bunny from Oliver's Candies.

The Batavia Kiwanis Club is hiding a golden egg daily through Thursday. The ticket can be redeemed at the club's annual Easter Egg Hunt in Centennial Park at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday.

Newstead Homes Kings beat Kelly's Holland Inn Stars, 6-1, on Sunday at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to win the Batavia Men's League Hockey Championship.

The Kings came out of the locker room hot, opening the first period with goals by Dan Eckerson, Evan Eckerson, and David Holtz. 

"We knew going in that they were going to come out flying, and we just had to play our game," Evan Eckerson said. "Gary (Schum), our goalie, he played a heck of a game, and you can't really ask anything else of him. He didn't allow a goal until 10 seconds left."

Eckerson said his team scored "not the greatest goal" to take a 1-0.

"But, hey, they all count. They all look the same on the score sheet. That got us on the board and that got us the momentum to keep going through the first period."

In the second period, the Kings took advantage of a penalty, with Shane Wiseman netting a power-play goal, assisted by Mitch Ernst.   

The Stars got some quality shots on Schum in the second and third period, but the goaltender was equal to the task.

"This team has been all about energy, checking the whole season long, and today they did a great job in front of me -- pressuring the puck and resolving the turnovers," Schum said. "Defensively, they were just great in our own zone today."

The Kings' netminder kept the Stars scoreless through four penalty kill opportunities in the third period until, with 9.3 seconds to play, Jason Hauesser scored for the Stars.

Evan Eckerson added two more goals late in the third period, getting the hat trick and securing the most valuable player award for the game.

Kings Coach Charlie O'Geen, the last original active member of the league, won his sixth championship.

"We won the championship with Charlie a couple of years ago," Eckerson said. "There's no better guy who deserves it more. He's one of the first ones. He's been here since the start, and he's still here, still winning championships, picking championship teams."

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

The Easter Bunny visited Batavia First Presbyterian Church on Saturday.

Snow and cold moved the Easter egg hunt indoors. There were also games, face painting, refreshments, and a basket raffle. The event was also a fundraiser for the North Bergen Community Food Pantry.

Photos by Howard Owens.

The hunt for gold Easter eggs hidden in Centennial Park in Batavia continues, with eggs found on Saturday and Sunday.

The Batavia Kiwanis Club is hiding a golden egg daily through Thursday. The egg contains a prize ticket for a large chocolate bunny from Oliver's Candies. The ticket can be redeemed at the club's annual Easter Egg Hunt in Centennial Park at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets!!

The city of Batavia has temporarily halted a $120 million expansion project with HP Hood in the town of Batavia due to “violations of the town’s contracted wastewater capacity limit,” and both municipalities are working to rectify the situation, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

Tabelski sent the town Planning Board a letter on March 13 notifying the group that the city had not been informed in a timely manner that the town had been established as lead agency for the proposed expansion of process lines at HP Hood on Feb. 13, 2024, and the city did not receive word of that until March 4. The city, therefore, objects to the town acting as the lead agency, Tabelski said.

In addition, ”due to violations of the town’s contracted wastewater capacity limit, the project cannot proceed,” Tabelski said in the letter.

When asked for further comments in an interview, Tabelski said, “As we are in active negotiations with the town regarding a new purchase capacity agreement, I’m going to respectfully decline an interview at this point.”

She did provide the two-page letter sent to the planning board, which includes background about the apparent increased wastewater discharge that was “identified as part of the state environmental quality review (SEQR) for the project application and 2021 SEQR amendment for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.” 

“The city was never furnished a copy of the 2021 GEIS (generic environmental impact statement) amendment and is an involved agency,” Tabelski said. 

In 1983, the city and town entered into a wastewater facility agreement that outlined ownership and operation of the new treatment plant. In February 2015, they entered into a wastewater facility agreement and a wastewater metering agreement. The city currently owns 84.55% of the total plant capacity, and the town owns 15.45%. 

Due to ongoing development in the town, including the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, the town’s sanitary sewer flows are exceeding the contractual limit of .85 million gallons per day (MGD) or 15.45% of the total capacity, Tableksi said. 

Each city and town resolution in May 2023 identified the parties’ mutual concerns about potential increased flow resulting from the Kings Plaza pump station project, and the average sewer flow was 1.2 MGD. In fall 2023, the town advised the city that HP Hood was expanding but that it was only the warehouse and would not create additional demand for water or sewer capacity. Hood already discharges 1.1 to 1.2 MGD. By the end of 2023, the town’s average sewer flow had increased to 1.33 MGD, Tabelski said. 

“This is well in excess of the town’s contractual limit of .85 MGD,” she said. “Consequently, the town has no capacity to allocate to expansion of HP Hood or any other facility at this time.” 

The city also cannot permit increased sewer flows from the town of Batavia until the wastewater treatment plan expansion study is complete, she said. 

“The city and town still need to enter into a proposed wastewater agreement that was circulated in January 2024. However, this agreement will still not allow for increased discharge beyond 1.2 MGD. This pending agreement will be the town’s limit for wastewater discharge.”

As for its objection to the town being lead agency for the Hood project, Tabelski said that “the town has failed to accurately and timely inform the city about the expansion of wastewater capacity demand at the Ag Park.”

“In addition, the town is in breach of the wastewater agreement with the city by discharging in excess of .85 MGD,” she said. “A lead agent under SEQR is responsible for thoroughly and accurately evaluating the potential environmental impacts prior to making a determination of significance on the action.

“The town’s excess wastewater discharge beyond contract limits threatens the city’s discharge limits and has the potential to exceed the city’s (State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit,” she said. “As a result, the city objects to the town’s lead agency designation for this action under SEQR.”

The Batavian sent questions on Wednesday to Planning Board Chairwoman Kathy Jasinski about why the town exceeded its wastewater capacity and what the town would do to rectify the matter so that it could proceed with the Hood project, which has received the blessings of Genesee County Economic Development for the $120 million expansion. 

Jasinski replied on Friday, referring The Batavian to the town engineer. The Batavian has sent questions to Steven Mountain and received an auto-response that he will be out of the office until March 27.

The Hood expansion is to be 32,500 square feet and pledges to create 48 new jobs while retaining 455 full-time equivalent jobs at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. This project accommodates its automatic storage and retrieval system refrigerated warehouse. It will also include new batching and processing systems and other upgrades, which will allow the company to increase capacity and begin a new production line.

HP Hood’s investment is projected to result in a local economic impact of $49.87 million in wages and tax revenue. The GCEDC approved sales tax exemptions estimated at $4.52 million, a property tax abatement estimated at $549,705 based on an incremental increase in assessed value, and a mortgage tax exemption estimated at $536,000, bringing the value of the proposed financial agreements to approximately $5.6 million. 

GCEDC’s board recently approved the Hood financial package, prompting The Batavian to ask if the agency was aware of the wastewater situation and request comment about the city’s action to put a hold on the project.

“We are aware that the city and town of Batavia are continuing discussions regarding the current capacity at the wastewater treatment plant as our communities plan for the future,” Director of Marketing and Communications Jim Krencik said. “The GCEDC Board of Directors approved incentives that directly support HP Hood’s warehouse expansion. All IDA incentives cannot be approved until the completion of a project’s SEQR.  The non-warehouse project is currently under the SEQR review by the town. Soliciting comments and feedback from interested and involved agencies, such as the city’s letter, is the first step in that process.”

In her conclusion, Tabelski said the city is willing to consider “other mitigation options to decrease wastewater discharge by the town” so that it can remain within the contractual limit.

“Unfortunately, until such wastewater reduction options are implemented by the town, there is no wastewater capacity,” she said. 

Press Release:

Richmond Memorial Library Trustee Position

Any qualified voter of the City School District of Batavia and a resident of the City School District for at least 1 year immediately preceding the date of the election (May 2, 2024) can run for one of two Richmond Memorial Library Board of Trustees seats. They are for 3-year terms which start July 1, 2024.  

Petitions for the positions can be picked up at the circulation desk. At least twenty-five (25) signatures are required from qualified voters of the School District. The petition must be turned in at the circulation desk between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on or before April 2.

Public Hearing April 8

A Public Information Meeting on the 2024-25 Richmond Memorial Library Budget will be held in the Richmond Memorial Library Gallery Room on Monday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. Future plans for the Library will be presented along with the 2024-25 budget. The regular monthly meeting of the Library Board of Trustees for April will take place immediately following the public meeting.

RML Voter Registration Day April 9

Any person qualified to vote who is not currently registered under permanent personal registration in the election district in which he or she resides, or who has moved to another residence within that district following the date of such registration, or who has not voted at a general election at least once in the last four successive calendar years, should, in order to be entitled to vote, present himself or herself personally for the registration or otherwise register at the Genesee County Board of Elections. 

Voter Registration for this year’s Library Vote will be held at Richmond Memorial Library on April 9 from 1 - 5 p.m. and from 7 - 9 p.m.

Richmond Memorial Library Budget Vote/Trustee Election May 2

Richmond Memorial Library’s Annual Budget Vote/Trustee Election will be held in the Library’s Gallery Room on Thursday, May 2 from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Any registered voter residing in the Batavia City School District is eligible to vote.

Press Release:

XiiR (Xtreme International Ice Racing) returns to Batavia for two shows. Friday, March 29 & Saturday, March 30 at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m.

XiiR is a motorcycle racing tour…ON ICE! Man and machine going from 0-60mph in under 3 seconds, with speedway bikes and quads that are modified to compete on an indoor ice arena. There are over 2000 metal studs added to the tires and there are NO BRAKES!

What does that mean? PURE ADRENALINE! It is the fastest sport on ice and one of the fastest sports in the world. 

Last year’s event sold out at the McCarthy Ice Arena so get your tickets early online at www.mccarthyicearena.com in person at the rink (22 Evans Street Batavia), or call 814-504-9979.