batavia

The preliminary design phase for the Ellicott Trail project, a bike and hiking path in Batavia, has been completed. 

According to Joseph Neth, project manager and engineer technician for the Town of Batavia, the proposed trail will begin at Pearl Street in the City of Batavia and extend east to Seven Springs Road in the Town of Batavia. The trail will be between 4.3 and 4.6 miles long and 10-feet wide. The trail will have both on- and off-road segments. Existing pavement will be used where feasible, and the off-road segments will be composed of stone. 

The trail will cross both public and private land. According to Neth, the project has received letters from private land owners stating they were open to the idea of the trail crossing their land.

"The trail will create an alternative form of transportation," Neth said. "It connects some of the historic and commercial areas of the city and the town. The trail will be a recreational form as well and that's something we don't have yet in Genesee County."

The steering committee held an informational meeting earlier this month to get input from the community on the preliminary draft. Only three members of the community showed up to hear the committee's presentation. Although the period for public comment has ended, the committee will still accept comments on the project throughout the rest of the process.

The next step is to submit a draft report to the Department of Transportation for approval in August. The project has been approved for approximately $1,000,000 in federal grant funding administered by the DOT. The preliminary design phase cost $69,000.

After the draft report is approved, the project will go through a final design phase and then contracts can be prepared so the project can go up for bid. If the project continues on schedule, trail construction will begin in 2017.

Nateeka M. Gibson, 26, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Gibson is accused of stealing a bottle of liquor from West Main Wine and Spirits at 4:31 p.m., May 17. Gibson was identified as the suspect after a surveillance photo appeared on The Batavian.

Wendy Sue Pritchard, 39, of MacArthur Drive, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Pritchard allegedly committed thefts from Walmart twice in one day, Thursday, totalling $1,343 in value. She was jailed on $1,000 bail. Also arrested and jailed on $1,000 bail on the same charge was Warren Thomas Cotton, 38, of Minneck Road, Lockport.

Heidi Lynn Harder, 40, of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Harder allegedly stole property from Walmart with a value of $695 on Thursday.

Jocelyn T. Carson, 24, of Rodney Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with confinement of a companion animal in a vehicle during extreme temperature. Carson allegedly left a dog in a vehicle for at least an hour with no water around 6 p.m., June 20, at 9993 Alleghany Road, Darien.

Jonathan David Knauss, 21, of Depot Street, Corfu, is charged with petit larceny, operation of an unregistered motor vehicle, no front license plate, unlawful removal of registration plate and driving without insurance. Knauss allegedly stole a license plate from a vehicle and affixed it to another vehicle. He was stopped at 2:41 a.m. Sunday on West Main Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Andrew Ziemba Perdock, 28, of Dowd Road, Fillmore, is charged with petit larceny. Perdock is accused of shoplifting from Kohl's Department Store. Also arrested was Scott Logan Marsh, 19, of Main Street, Mount Morris. Perdock was also charged with petit larceny for allegedly stealing from Dick's Sporting Goods.

A 17-year-old of Holland Avenue (name withheld by Batavia PD) was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear and to abide by a release under supervision contract. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Scout A. Marble, 20, of Birchwood Drive, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on an aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd chage.

Christopher G. Landry, 41, of Howell Road, Fairport, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Landry alleged violated a complete stay away order by sending text messages to the protected party.

James A. Mitchell, 37, of Center Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Mitchell is accused of stealing cash from his employer, The Little Ridge Restaurant.

Darrell Smith, 48, of La Salle Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, criminal possession of stolen property. Smith was arrested on a warrant and jailed on $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond.

Nina M. Kelso, 31, of Columbia Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a failure to care for an animal case.

Joseph Antwon Fletcher, 18, of South Main Street, Mount Morris, is charged with violation of probation. Fletcher was arrested on warrants.

Tonya L. Buzzell, 32, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and disorderly conduct. Buzzell allegedly refused to leave a residence on Ellicott Street at 11:28 p.m., Friday.

Jesse A. Russell, 25, of Basom, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, operating while registration suspended, unlicensed operator, inadequate muffler and unlawful possession of marijuana. Russell was stopped by a trooper on Route 33, Batavia.

Silver Shoe Farm, on Pratt Road, Batavia, hosted today its 8th annual carriage driving competition, drawing drivers from throughout the region.

Medics is being dispatched to an address on Lewis Place, Batavia, for a male who has been sprayed in the eyes by a skunk.  

A motorcycle accident is reported on the westbound Thruway at mile marker 387.6. The rider of the bike is conscious. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

When offered a ride in a Polaris Slingshot this evening, I accepted of course, as a matter of journalist obligation, a reportorial call of duty. 

The report: What a blast.

John G. (he didn't want to give his last name for publication) picked up his new trike in Rochester yesterday. He was parked near Tops talking with a friend when I happened by.

He took me for a spin down Main Street.

The three-wheeler is 1,500 pounds with a 180 hp engine, so it really moves. Like a mullet (business up front, party in the back), the Slingshot has the look of a sports car (if your car is a Starfighter) ahead of you as it zooms down the road with the feel of a motorcycle pushing from behind. On turns and acceleration (and, man, can it accelerate) it reminds you of a top-end sports car, but with the rumble and heft of a powerful bike pushing you along.

"It's just as much fun to drive slow as drive fast," John said.

We turned a lot of heads -- including a couple of police officers on patrol -- going down Main Street.

When we parked back at Tops he said, "If you wait around 20 minutes, we'll have 20 people here, about one arriving a minute."

The words were barely out of his mouth when two people on motorcycles pulled up beside us, and a minute later, two more people walked up, as I pulled away, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw more people walking up.

A truck bearing a wide load caused a traffic snarl on Ellicott Street shortly after 6 p.m. when the driver found it more difficult than anticipated to maneuver his rig onto Harvester Avenue. The cargo was apparently intended for a business on Harvester. The driver eventually got the load moved enough to allow traffic to pass, but no word on whether the puzzle of how to get it down Harvester was eventually solved.

Dealing just with hard numbers -- setting aside speculation on hoped-for new revenue and "the multiplier effect" of jobs created -- the tax abatement plan approved Thursday by the Genesee County Economic Development Center Board for a new hotel at Batavia Downs should be profitable for taxpayers, according to data obtained by The Batavian from a GCEDC staffer.

The abatements will save developers about 11.5 percent on their $5.49 million investment, and the new taxes the project generates will be about a 100-percent return to taxpayers, if you accept the notion that the project doesn't get built at all without the tax incentives. If not, it's at least 42-percent return.

By law, the developer must certify that the project requires a tax break to be feasible, according to Rachael J. Tabelski, marketing and communications director. That is a requirement for all projects considered by the GCEDC.

"We have to trust the applicant that when they say this project won't be a viable project without the tax incentives," Tabelski said.

ADK Hospitality, the hotel's developer, will save $638,000 in taxes over the next 10 years, but it won't be getting off totally free. The hotel's owners, over the next 10 years, will pay $1.1 million in various taxes.

Tabelski was quick to point out that the $638,000 in tax breaks is not money taken from taxpayers. It's just money that isn't paid to the government; money that doesn't exist if the project isn't built. Thus, the $1.1 million in taxes ADK will pay over the next decade is all new revenue for schools, the county and the state (but not the Town of Batavia, which doesn't have its own tax on property).

That figure doesn't include sales tax generated by the hotel, or any anticipated increase in sales tax generated by the hoped-for increase in business at Batavia Downs. It also doesn't include employment taxes generated by the anticipated $600,000 in payroll for 25 full-time equivalent new hires at the hotel. 

The developers told the GCEDC Board that the project would generate a total of $2.8 million in tax revenue between now and 2025, but there isn't a breakdown available on what categories of taxes comprise that total. It likely covers fire district, property, bed tax, sales tax and payroll tax.

The $1.1 million in hard numbers we have includes:

• $56,000 paid to the Town of Batavia Fire District;
• $550,000 paid in county bed taxes;
• $500,000 paid in property taxes over the life of the PILOT.

A PILOT is a tax break given to developers of projects that industrial development agencies, such as GCEDC, believe will create or retain jobs. It is a reduction in taxes on the increase in assessed value of a property.

Let's say a property is valued at $100,000. A business ads a new wing to its building and increases the assessed value to $150,000. The business continues to pay all property taxes on the initial $100,000 in assessed value, but gets a reduction in taxes on that additional $50,000. PILOT agreements vary, but typically, there would be no taxes due the first two years of the increase, and then taxes would be incrementally increased every two years until the 10th year, when the property owner is paying the full tax bill on the increase in assessed value.

In the case of the hotel property, the developers are buying land from Western OTB, which is currently tax-exempt and has no assessed value. It will be assessed next year, and its assessed value will go from zero to whatever that assessed value is, and the PILOT will be calculated based on that increase, unless the project is not yet completed, in which case there will be only a partial assessment with a full assessment to come during the next annual assessment period after the project's completion.

The PILOT on this project is worth $300,000. The remaining abatements are for the mortgage tax on the purchase and on the sales taxes due on material purchased during construction.

As for the multiplier effect, that's a controversial notion to some, but the idea is that if you create a new job and pay that person money, they will spend some amount of that money locally, and the churn of that money will help pay other people's wages, lifting everyone's boats. That $600,000 in new payroll could be worth millions in economic growth locally.

These figures also don't include wages paid to construction workers and purchases made from local vendors -- if any -- during construction.

An oven fire is reported at 4 Evergreen Drive. City firefighters are responding. The location is between North Spruce and Vine streets.

It was a big day for the students at Jackson School. They moved up a grade, receiving certificates of continuation from administrators during a ceremony in the Batavia High School auditorium.

A grass fire is reported behind 20 N. Spruce St. City firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: Fire is out. City assignment is back in service.

A car vs. bicycle accident is reported at 8400 Lewiston Road. The bicyclist "is down in the road, blocking traffic, not moving." Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. The location is in front of Tops Market.

Members of City Fire, IAFF Local 896, are in the midst of their annual fundraising effort on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association this morning, asking passing motorist to "fill the boot."  The firefighters are on Main Street and Ellicott Street around Court Street and will be in place until 1 p.m.