The Elba Lancers Girls Basketball season remains perfect, with a 54-26 win over Filmore on Saturday to capture the Section V Class D championship.
Sydney Reilly scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lancers to victory.
Brea Smith scored 14 points.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
T.J. Woodward acquired West Main Wine & Spirits from Chris Blossom 2 1/2 years ago with an eye toward eventually moving into the retail space next door.
Now located at 343 West Main St., Batavia, the move has enabled Woodward to expand the shop's inventory and upgrade the store's appearance.
"We've added a lot of new products and expanded some of the lines," Woodward said on Saturday during the store's grand opening in the new location. "We've had an opportunity to grow, for sure, in a new space because it's two and a half or three times the size of the old one.
The move was slowed by red tape, Woodward said.
"It took forever because the state was really difficult to get everything lined up with the state as far as permits and then doing all the work," Woodward said. So, it took a lot longer than we thought, but finally, we got through all that paperwork."
Woodward owns the building, which was a key factor in his decision to purchase West Main Wine & Liquor.
"I wasn't necessarily looking to get into the liquor business as much as it was, I own the building, and Chris was looking to sell," Woodward said. "I thought it made sense to buy it. I knew that NAPA (auto parts) was eventually planning on moving out, so I figured it would be a good opportunity to take the liquor store and move it over."
Store hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number is 585-344-2717.
Photos by Howard Owens
As more than a dozen sign-holding activists opposed to the idea looked on, the board of the Genesee County Economic Development Center voted unanimously to approve an incentive agreement with Stream U.S. Data Centers, LLC for the company to build a massive $6.3 billion facility on 60 acres at WNY STAMP.
After the vote, one woman said repeatedly, "Shame on you. Shame on you for your vote."
Outside the conference room, as GCEDC CEO Mark Masse walked back to his office, she yelled, "Shame on you Mark Masse."
Pete Zeliff, chairman of the GCEDC board of directors, said he thinks such reactions are over-the-top and the people protesting the project are not well informed.
"They haven't chosen to read all the reports," Zeliff told The Batavian after the meeting.
He's gotten a lot of emails about the project and he read the report on the objections raised at a Feb. 3 public hearing, he said.
For example, addressing concerns about the amount of water being used by a data center project, he said, "20,000 gallons a day of water is for toilets, for waste, it's not cooling or anything like that."
The advantage of Stream, also known as project Double Reed, is that it will only use a handful of backup generators that will only be used as necessary, far fewer than the other proposed projects, so the emissions will be minimal, he said.
He said he supported the project because of the revenue it will bring to the three affected taxing jurisdictions -- the town of Alabama, Oakfield-Alabama School District, and Genesee County.
The three jurisdictions will split $7 million in the first year alone.
U.S. Data Center's winning bid promises to pay at least 105% of the taxable value of the property. Of the course of the 25-year PILOT agreement, it will pay $128 million in fees (after the PILOT, the property will be taxed at its assessed value).
Those fees will be important to Genesee County, County Manager Matt Landers said to The Batavian after the meeting. The county has been wrestling with how to pay for a water project.
"We are dedicating 100% of that revenue towards phase three of the water project, and that's a project that has a potential price tag of $150 million," Landers said. "Whenever we have an opportunity to capture some dedicated revenue for a project like that, we will take advantage of it. So that is definitely something that is positive coming out of this."
Landers and Zeliff also both like the job creation aspect. While the jobs per acre of the project might be fewer than another project might generate, these jobs will pay on an average $89,000 each.
"Any job that we create is great," Landers said. "I know, as a community, as a county, we have to work on getting more housing so we can take advantage of all these jobs that are coming here. Looking around our business parks, it's pretty impressive to see how many jobs they have been able to create over the years. The challenge now is to make sure we have some housing for those jobs. I believe over 100 jobs are being created. That is good to see. I look forward to hopefully the next projects having even more jobs."
The local economy needs those 122 jobs, especially at that pay scale, Zeliff said.
"That's way above normal in Genesee County, Zeliff said. "There were people at the meeting talking about how they want their children to be able to walk through the refuge but this project is not going to affect the refuge. This is a project where their children can get a job when they're old enough to get a job."
Zeliff said the board and staff have done its due diligence on this project and he believes all of the environmental concerns of the opponents have been addressed.
"I really don't see a negative with the project," Zeliff said. "It's not as many jobs per acre, but they're good, well-paying jobs for the county of Genesee."
At Wednesday's WNY STAMP Committee meeting, Masse made the case for Stream Data Centers.
The water district project was part of his pitch.
"This project will help the county cover the shortfall of the water project," Masse said. "It will help maintain rates for all Genesee County residents for water. It will help the health and welfare of all county residents through the water project."
He also said the project is in line with DEC regulations. The noise levels are within the standards set by the environmental review process in 2012. The project is allowed under the 2012 site plan. There is no discharge of heated water. It won't affect the reliability of the power grid nor lead to an increase in rates. It has low air emissions. And, no wetlands will be impacted by the project.
Masse said it also uses far less water than the other two proposed projects.
It was also the only project with an agreement with a Fortune 500 company to lease 100 percent of the data center once it's operational.
"Rampart had promised the highest PILOT payment for three projects, but community members made it clear that money should not be the only factor taken into consideration for this process," Masse said to the committee. "Our job was to determine which project was the best for the community and STAMP, and based on the information provided to us by the three projects, Project Double Reed will have the smallest environmental impact and will best address concerns expressed by the Nation with respect to visual and noise impacts and with respect to local benefits."
The case for Double Reed is also made in the resolution approving the project.
The resolution states:
The agency has determined that the two other competing proposals are not the most advantageous to the State, and that it would be in the public interest to reject the proposals submitted by Potentia Holdings, LLC (hereinafter referred to as "Project Hydroscale") and Project Rampart, LLC (hereinafter referred to as "Project Rampart"), respectively,''' because, among other things, those proposals" prospective profitability is speculative and implementing either proposal is anticipated to yield adverse environmental impacts discussed herein.
GCEDC staff also found the owners of Project Double Reed easier to work with, that the planners demonstrated the greatest "good faith" effort throughout the application process. Project Hydroscale kept changing its proposal, according to the resolution, even after the deadline for changes.
The troubling aspect of Project Rampart's team, the proposal states, is threats of litigation and "other bad behavior trying to manipulate the review of the application."
The resolution states, "Project Rampart’s actions throughout the application review process have indicated that Project Rampart would be unable to have a productive relationship with the Agency and other STAMP stakeholders."
The resolution also states, "Project Double Reed is pledging the highest capital investment at $6.3 billion, with Project Hydroscale at $5.4 billion, and Project Rampart at $3.3 billion."
Project Double Reed pledged an $18 million purchase price for the 60 acres it will acquire.
While the PILOT agreement for Stream U.S. Data Centers is unusual in that the company will pay more in fees than it would in property taxes without a PILOT, the company is receiving an abatement on sales taxes for construction and equipment not to exceed $462,560,000 based on the first $5,782,000,000 invested.
That sales tax incentive is about 7% of the first year in fees it will pay to local taxing jurisdictions.
It will also receive a $9 million break on the mortgage recording tax, which wouldn't be charged without the purchase of the property.
Previously:
Jon Tesch is working in his dream job.
He's the proprietor of Uncle Jon's Diner at Hartshorn Road and Pearl Street Road in West Batavia. It's the former location of The Family Diner, which closed a year ago.
"I grew up right here in Hartshorn Road, right up the street from the restaurant," Tesch said. "I came here as a kid all the time with my grandparents. I worked here for a little bit for Brian and LeeAnn when they owned it previously, and it was always the most fun job I had. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always wanted to open a restaurant. So, it's always been a dream of mine to actually open this very place."
Uncle Jon's was a diner before and it's a diner now but Tesch said he has some ideas of his own to help draw people in.
This Easter, the Easter Bunny will visit and there will be an Easter egg hunt.
"I want to do an all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving and Christmas, too," he said.
So far, he said, the customer feedback has been encouraging.
"Everybody's been real happy, and we have a real great customer base and a lot of new customers every day who are becoming our regulars," Tesch said.
Who can't use a little stress relief these days?
East Pembroke resident Don Thomas is here to help. His recently released album (CD and streaming) is his ninth, and like all prior releases, it's all acoustic guitar instrumentals with an emphasis on melody.
"I'm very excited about it," Thomas said about the new release, Sunset. "I like the way it turned out. There was a lot of rewriting, re-recording coming down to the end. It's meant to be another chill pill in my catalog."
Thomas is from New Berlin, Wis., not far from Milwaukee, and has been a performing musician most of his life. He spent some time on the road with a band called Snapshot, mostly as the keyboard player, opening for acts such as Journey, REO Speedwagon and Cheap Trick.
"I still once in a while get to talk with Rick (Nielsen, of Cheap Trick)," Thomas said. "I haven't talked with Robin (Zander) in quite a long time. When they were still touring, I'd bump into him at the House of Guitars. Whenever they would come by, I'd make a point to be able go and say, 'Hi.'"
When Snapshot stopped touring, Thomas came to Western New York looking for work with bands in the area and wound up working in studios.
"I've been in studios for 50 years, working, producing people, recording people," Thomas said.
He ended up with a studio on Goodman Street in Rochester, a design and music studio.
"My wife came down with ovarian cancer, and we shifted gears on everything," Thomas said. "We moved back here to East Pembroke, near her family. At that time, I built a studio and started working on music here and with different groups and individuals in the area. I started recording my own music, which is this guitar style, which I say is stripped of style. It's a melody-driven finger style, peaceful guitar playing."
He said he wasn't sure what he was going to do with his music. He handed out a few CDs to friends and one of them said he should participate in a show at a museum in Rochester.
"It was basically a craft show and he says, 'Get a booth and sell CDs,' and I went, 'oh, okay,'" Thomas said. "At that point, I had one Christmas CD, and I went to that show, got a six by six spot, and put two speakers on a table, and sold 350 CDs in two days."
That set Thomas and his wife on a path of traveling the country, particularly in the northeast and south, visiting trade shows, craft shows, vendor shows, selling his CDs.
He did that for 20 years. Then COVID-19 hit.
"We came home to care for our two mothers, and this is what we've been doing since 2020, so in between arriving at home and readjusting at home, in between, all that is where I recorded this new CD."
With all that going on, recording this CD took a bit longer than his prior albums.
"This CD marks another expression of style and is very carefully meant to entertain lightly," Thomas said.
The title of the new album is "Sunset," with a photo of an ocean sunset on the cover, which sums up the album nicely - music to carry you off to a warm, breezy, late afternoon along on a beach.
"My catalog is completely guitar instrumentals," Thomas said, though he is working on a larger project that involves a band and vocals.
"It's new material, and I have been working on this project for about six years, trying not to sound like everything else on the market," Thomas said. 'I have a fresh approach."
The new CD is streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. Thomas also has CDs for sale. Links to the streaming platforms and CD purchases can be found at donthomas.com.
The high school musical version of The Wizard of Oz has all the elements of the classic tale of dreams and wishes and a newfound appreciation for home and family.
Le Roy Jr./Sr. High presents the L. Frank Baum classic this weekend in three performances.
The musical version of The Wizard of Oz follows the tale of Dorothy Gale, a young girl from Kansas who dreams of adventure beyond her mundane life.
Swept away by a tornado, Dorothy lands in the magical land of Oz, where she kills the Wicked Witch of the East and frees the Munchkins.
Guided by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy embarks on a journey along the Yellow Brick Road to find the Wizard of Oz, who she hopes can help her return home. Along the way, she meets a Scarecrow seeking a brain, a Tin Man wanting a heart, and a Cowardly Lion desiring courage.
Together, they face challenges from the Wicked Witch of the West and ultimately discover that the Wizard is a humbug, but Dorothy learns the true power to return home lies within herself. With a newfound appreciation for her life, Dorothy clicks the heels of her magical ruby slippers and says, “There’s no place like home,” returning to her family and friends in Kansas.
All three performances this week are at 7 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Tickets are $13 at the door for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Tickets can also be purchased online at a slight discount.
Photos by Howard Owens.
After averaging 13 points per game in 2023/24 for Oakfield-Alabama, Gavin Armbrewster had high hopes for his senior hoops season, says his coach Ryan Stehlar.
Then he suffered a complete tear of his ACL during the 2024 football season.
Rather than undergo surgery, Armbrewster decided to tough it out, try to help his team and compete in 2024/25.
"Although this injury happened, he still wanted to end his basketball career on his own terms, trying what he could," Stehlar said in an email calling attention to the point guard's efforts this season for the Hornets.
"He missed four total games out of 22 due to his leg giving out at practice and needing time to recover to play again," Stehlar said. "This happened a night before a game, and he still elected to play the next game in a ton of discomfort because he didn't want to let the team down."
Here are the highlights of Armbrewster's senior season, Stehlar said. p
"In his last six games, including sectionals, he averaged double digits in points, averaging a PPG of 16.8," Stehlar said. "He hit 30 total 3-pointers and even had a game where he hit 6. He was our leader in this category for the season and one of our best free-throw shooters."
Stehler called Armbrewster "a great kid."
"(He) did something I have never seen in my 17 years of coaching. He showed amazing poise each night, learned how to play differently, never wanted to let his teammates down, but, more importantly, persevered under extremely difficult circumstances. "
Photos by Jordyn Tobolski
Last week, The Batavian met with Mark Masse, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Council to ask him to respond to some of the issues raised at a public hearing on potential incentives for construction of a data center in WNY STAMP.
The public hearing was held on Feb. 3 in the town of Alabama.
More than two dozen people spoke, raising a range of objections to the construction of a data center on the site.
On Thursday, the GCEDC board may consider whether one of three potential projects -- from STREAM U.S. Data Centers, LLC, Project Rampart, LLC, or Potentia Holdings, LLC -- should be welcomed into the technology park.
Q. We asked Masse to respond to the appearance that the data center projects don't seem to generate as many jobs per square foot as a project like Edwards Vaccum.
Masse: "I think if you look at the average salary, I think these jobs are in the triple digits, $100,000 average, $80,000 to $100,000. With the way technology is going in AI, I think that those are high-value, high-technology jobs. Now, are those the number of jobs that we would like to see? And again, all of these applicants are very conservative on their numbers, because they're concerned about clawback and not meeting numbers. So our anticipation is they would come in higher than what they pledged, but what they pledged is a number that they feel is easily achievable for them. And data centers were proposed way back in 2012 as one of the original uses at the site, along with all of the other advanced manufacturing when we did the technology districts.
Q. Data centers have been controversial in other communities. People mentioned North Tonawanda. Have you looked at those data centers and how they've been received in those communities, and whether that's a concern for you?
Masse: "I think it really depends upon a lot of variety of factors. So our board has been very clear that they don't want any crypto or any bitcoin, absolutely none. And if you look at a lot of the louder, noisier ones, they tend to be the crypto Bitcoin operations. So we would actually put into the documents that if we come to find out you're doing Bitcoin or crypto, we would terminate benefits and claw back. And that clawback would obviously include a very significant sales tax exemption, so we feel pretty good about the penalties that would be in place, but our board's been adamant that we don't want crypto in that technology has also come a long way. And I don't think the building in Tonawanda was originally built as a data center. It was an adaptive reuse. So the facility that they're going to be building (in STAMP) is going to be brand new. It'll have all of the lessons learned from previous projects, such as noise mitigation and things like that. So we anticipate it to fit within the parameters of what was analyzed for the EIS, and we would anticipate them to propose and follow through on any potential mitigation that we would suggest for noise or that the town board planning board may suggest for noise. If we decide to go through our board would decide on either one or none. I think there's no desire to do more than one data center at STAMP."
Q. What about excessive greenhouse gas emissions?
Masse: "Again, we've done our analysis on the air emission side of that. We're following all of the permitting requirements by the DEC. The GCEDC does not meet the definition of a state agency under the CLCPA guidelines, but we do an analysis for that under the CLCPA, and the DEC would also do an analysis of that if a company were to move forward with air permitting. So we feel that it's within the parameters that would have been previously analyzed under the EIS, and that any of those air emissions would be permitted through the DEC process."
Q. One speaker spoke about hydrology in the region, in the wetlands and surrounding areas. What are the concerns there that you are looking at? What is your response?
Masse: "Again, the sanitary sewer would be force main discharged into the village of Oakfield wastewater treatment facility where it would be treated and discharged. Any on-site stormwater would be captured on-site. The DEC requirements for that are that the water can't flow off of the site at any greater rate after development than it did before development, so any cause concerns for flooding or things like that wouldn't happen. And they do enforce bioswales, green infrastructure, and things like that to ensure that the water quality on site is maintained. If there is runoff from parking lots or things like that, that it's contained on-site and treated on site before any of that would be potentially discharged."
Q. A letter read at the hearing stated that the project contradicts New York State's international commitments to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and long-term stewardship of the wetlands. Any response?
Masse: "So again, everybody seems to be talking about the wetlands on site, as if they are like a wildlife refuge. This is agricultural land that has been farmed for a number of years. Our EIS originally proposed only impacting, I think, nine acres of wetlands, and then when we revised it. We're down to six, and they are classified as wetlands. But if you go out there, a lot of them are just drainage ditches through fields, a depressed area in a field. That's not year-round; they dry out, so I don't understand. And same thing when they talk about like pristine habitat. It's been farm fields. It's been farmed. It hasn't been good habitat. They rotate crops. Many of the crops there are not what the birds would use to do their hunting. So again, it's been farm fields for over 200 years. We do comply with all regulations that are out there. We've had a jurisdictional determination done between Army Corps as far as what wetlands they take jurisdiction over. We're complying with all of those. That was last updated in 2023, I think, and they're good for five years. I know the state regs are changing where they're going to drop their jurisdiction to anything greater than seven acres, but that doesn't affect what we're doing on-site. So, again, I understand their concerns, but I just don't think they understand the land that's out there and what it really is."
Q. People mentioned the Big Woods (on the reservation). Does that the neighbor the site, or is it just close by?
"If you look on the map there, you see the power line kind of rerouted. The yellow area is 310 acres; if you go directly to the west at the edge of that line, that is the Big Wood. So that power line reroute, there'll be no development to the west of that. That's a 115 kV line, and we rerouted it that way to help provide a visual buffer so you can't go past that, so to speak. And as part of our agreement, the settlement agreement with the nation, we did provide for the green area, basically, aside from that 80 acres on the south, the majority of that green area there is a buffer area and wetlands that are basically not going to be touched, so that's just going to be grown forever wild."
Q. There was a statement that a data center will consume 200 megawatts of electricity annually, training the regional system, and the center would use 800,000 gallons of fresh water daily. Are those numbers accurate? Are those legitimate concerns?
Masse: "As far as the power goes, it's not going to strain the system. Anybody in New York State who tries to draw down more than 10 megawatts off of any power line anywhere is required to undertake a study with a New York independent system operator, where they will take your request and they will do an analysis of the entire grid and bring in all the operators, so National Grid. RG&E NYSEG, NextEra, and they'll run a model to say, if you were to draw X amount of megawatts off, how does that affect everything in the system? And if it requires some improvements in what they call remote ends or other substations before you draw down the power. Those improvements have to be made. So we did two different studies, each one for 300 megawatts, and it took us about four to five years to get through that study. So the NYISO has given us, I think, there was $6 million of potential improvements at a station up in Rochester, and that was it for us to get the 600 megawatts. So, according to the NYISO and the study they've run, there is no degradation or problem on the overall grid to draw down 600 megawatts. Those studies are all being done in conjunction with a lot of solar projects because they're trying to put power on the lines while we're trying to draw it off. So, all of those are being taken into consideration across the state in various studies at various times. So as far as the power not being available, it's there. The NYISO has confirmed it for us. And as far as causing issues on the grid, it will not.
"As for us, the 800,000 gallons per day of water, that was what one applicant put in with their first application. After reviewing and discussing with them, they came back with a revised, I think, 30,000 gallons per day. So, all three of them are probably between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons per day of water, which is not a significant use. A lot of them are going with closed-loop cooling systems. The ambient air temperature here obviously is very helpful for them to be able to use air for cooling."
Q. Evelyn Wackett brought up threatened species, the short-eared owl, northern Harrier Hawk, monarch butterfly and bog turtles, any threats to these species?
Masse: "We did receive what's called a part 182 incidental take permit. We did propose a net conservation benefit. So, we created 58 acres of grassland habitat on the site that'll be maintained in perpetuity. Part of that will be a 33 acre site that'll be turned over to the DEC to be merged into the John White game farm, as far as the others, they were not identified in any of the studies we've done. I do know that as part of the construction of the substation, there is a berm there, and I've talked to our environmental company about using that berm as a pollinator field, specifically to help monarch butterflies and other pollinators. It'll also help us maintain that berm and also give it more coverage on that as well."
Q. One of the more dramatic moments, Kristen Moser, with her recording from in the Big Woods of birds and then a truck going by. What do you say to that?
Masse: "Number one, it's hard because I don't know her data points, right? I don't know where you were when you did the recording or what time of day. It's hard to say any of that. I mean, if you go to (Route) 77, there's heavy truck traffic on 77 all day long, coming up and down that road. So there's not much I could really comment on that without knowing more details about where those recordings were taken and what the time was and the distances involved."
Q. I think she's equating the truck traffic that's there for construction with -- and we've kind of discussed already -- the sound issue of the plants.
Masse: "My question would be, I don't know where she was when she recorded the truck traffic. That's the point. If she was in the Big Woods, I doubt it because all truck traffic right now comes in off STAMP Drive and then goes right down the hammerhead to the Edwards site. You know, the town has received some complaints from some truck traffic coming down the north end of Crosby. I think those were mainly concrete trucks or gravel trucks coming from Orleans County down Salt Works Road. So the town made sure that they've got to come around and come in off a 77."
Q. More than one speaker questioned whether public funds should e used to incentivize uncertain benefits, without first conducting an independent economic analysis of costs and benefits. Response?
Masse: "First of all, this is a common misconception. Public funds are not being invested in this. Companies do not receive cash. They receive abatements of taxes that they would normally pay. In this particular case, two of the three data centers would be paying about 105% to 110% of the property tax rate under a pilot. They would get a PILOT, but they would be paying more than market rate for what the property taxes are. The significant abatement is the sales tax exemption. Now, what people probably also don't realize is that in 2012, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an opinion that servers are tax-exempt from sales tax. If I think something along the lines of, if a company is using the internet, broadband is part of it. So basically, that was done to, I think, attract the Yahoo facility up to Lockport. Now, if data centers start becoming extremely interested in New York State, there is a chance that the Department of Taxation and Finance could revise that opinion and say that servers are tax-exempt altogether, in which case it's a moot point. So my guess is that these companies would ask for the abatement, and then they would probably apply to the Department of Taxation and Finance for an opinion, and if the opinion comes back and says they're tax-exempt, then really all we've given up is a mortgage tax exemption to get somebody to pay 110 or 105% property taxes on the site."
Q. They're paying 110% of the property tax rate?
Masse: "We do a fixed dollar pilot, so we calculate based on the square footage and choose a rate per square foot. We actually had the companies make us their offers. So they independently submitted their final investment offers, and it was calculated on a per square foot basis, times the square footage. And then there was, and I think some of them had an escalation rate every year, whether it was two, two and a half percent, something like that. So it would start at a fixed dollar, and then it would go up after that. So when we do a fixed dollar pilot, they pay the dollar value in the pilot. It's not 10% or 100% of whatever the current value is, which is what some of them are when they do the abatement."
Q. Okay, so, I guess I'm kind of confused. If they're paying more, they're paying what their taxes would be without the pilots ...
Masse: "They're paying more than what the taxes would be."
Q. Without a PILOT. Why would they do that?
Masse: "That's how much they want to come to the site, and that's why power is such a scarce resource for companies like this."
Q. I know it's been the practice for GCEDC to be the lead agency, but given the the wide range of environmental concerns here, is it best for GCEDC to be lead agency on this, or should somebody else be lead agency?
Masse: "We did the original EIS, and usually whoever was the lead agency for the EIS should remain as lead agent for that. We did all the original studies. We've done the appropriate ones. And again, we're required as lead agency to send out a notice every time we want to re-establish ourselves. It goes out to all interested, involved agencies, which includes the Army Corps of Engineers and the DEC. We receive comments from the Army Corps and DEC on any of the SEQR analyses we do; they get copies of it. So, there is appropriate other parties that have a significant investment and interest in the site, who are actively involved in the review and commenting on the overall environmental review."
Q. How does the general public have confidence that all the environmental concerns have been addressed through the SEQR process?
Masse: "We have at least 7,000 pages of studies, reports, documentation, comments from DEC, and responses to DEC. And again, at the end of the day, any company that wants to build there has to get a permit from the DEC. So if there were something inappropriate or something that wasn't there, then the DEC probably wouldn't issue a permit. We would hope we would hear if they had concerns before that. And again, they've expressed their comments on some of our SEQR things."
While Plug Power has paused construction of its $290 million green hydrogen plant at WNY STAMP it has continued to make full PILOT payments to local taxing jurisdictions, according to Mark Masse, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.
According to the tax agreement between GCEDC and Plug Power, the payments are $147,599 annually to Genesee County, $308,368 to school districts, and $42,805 to the town of Alabama.
The project has been on pause since January 2024, Masse said, and that pause led GCEDC to take over the construction of a $55 million 450-megawatt substation electrical transmission to STAMP projects, which Plug Power originally agreed to fund.
Empire State Development agreed to allow GCEDC to tap into a $56 million grant to help pay for the substation. The grant was intended for other infrastructure at STAMP. Masse said that once completed, the substation will generate fees for electric delivery that will enable GCEDC to recover the funds and return the expenditure to the grant account.
"As companies come online, they will buy into the substation on a per megawatt charge," Masse said. "So, we'll take the total cost of the station divided by 600 megawatts and come up with a per megawatt charge. So, for ballpark, if it's $200,000 a megawatt, somebody wants 200 megawatts, it's a $40 million pay-in to buy into the substation, which will enable us then to basically get that money back for New York State, so we can use that to pay for the substation, and then repurpose the FAST New York funds back for what we originally wanted to use them for on infrastructure."
Masse said he has no insight on what Plug's long-range plans are for the project.
Each year, projects that receive GCEDC assistance must submit Annual Performace Reports that detail the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment.
"We summarize all of those. We share them with the board," Masse said. "The board reviews them every year, and then the board makes a determination, did they meet their job requirements? Do they have the insurance requirements? And where are they in that one plus three."
The "one plus three" means a project has one year to complete construction and three years to complete its job creation promise.
"Then the board would make a determination -- do we want to ask them to come in and explain anything? Do you want to move forward with a termination? Any of those things are always on the table," Masse said. "In Plug's case, they are current with all of their PILOT payments, and the payments they're making to the municipalities are significant, which is the other thing to balance in the whole piece of it as well."
Plug Power seems like a company very much in limbo. Its stock price has been hovering around a buck fifty for a few weeks and hasn't traded above $2, except briefly, for months. The company continues to get bad press over its inability to turn a profit, with one recent article noting Plug Power has lost $3.12 billion of other people's money since 2010.
An important potential path for Plug Power is producing more of the hydrogen it distributes. If ever completed, the WNY STAMP plant is expected to produce 45 metric tons of green liquid hydrogen daily. It would be fair the most product plant under the company's control so its surprising that there is no clear indication that Plug intends to complete the plant.
Plug Power's representatives have never responded to The Batavian's requests for comment on the future of the plant.
Just before Donald Trump took office in January, the Plug Power secured a $1.7 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. After taking office, Trump froze DOE grants and loans for green energy.
In an interview with a site called Sherwood News, Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said he's not worried about the stall in funding.
"I see that the DOE loan will be supported," Marsh said. "It’s a contract with the government. I’m not too worried; it’s not out of line with the goals of the Trump administration. So, you know, from a policy environment point of view, it feels hectic at the moment, but I’m really not that concerned that these things will all work themselves out."
The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce presented its 2024 honorees with their awards during a ceremony at Batavia Downs on Saturday night.
Profiles of each of this year's winners:
NOTE: This is the sixth of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.
For the 4-H Critter Crew learning isn't just something that takes place in a book or through a lecture. It's hands-on. It's fun.
That certainly was the case this past week during the crew's monthly meeting at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Batavia where they made coffee cakes.
Why coffee cakes? Because this year's learning theme is rainforests and coffee and cinnamon both come from rainforests.
"It's a lot of fun, a lot more ingredients for us to explore," said Stephanee Surabian, founder and leader of the 4-H Critter Crew. "We'll be doing different projects involving, like, flamingos. We have an exotic pet guy coming in with snakes and reptiles geared more toward an educational rainforest theme. So it's a perfect pairing for what we're doing this year."
The Critter Crew is a service and educational club attached to the Cornell Cooperative Extension for younger age 5 to 18. It's being recognized this year by the Chamber of Commerce with a Special Service Recognition Award.
By the fall of 2022, Surabian and the children of the world had been through a lot. As she was preparing to give birth to her fourth child, she was diagnosed with cancer (she's in good health now), and it was also the final months of the pandemic. She figured kids needed activities to help them get out of the house and reconnect with people. She also thought 4-H could use a program that went beyond dealing with livestock.
"I was seeing a need for the kids to have just that normalcy again right after the peak of COVID," Surabian said.
The club is more than making things and learning about nature. The crew also focuses on serving the community.
For example, there is the reverse trick-or-treat in October, which involves visits to the Manor House. The kids dress up in costumes, entertain the residents, and hand out candy and other treats.
"It makes everyone feel young at heart and fills the hearts of those who are not able to be near their grandchildren," said Joseph Burke, one of the people who nominated Critter Crew for the service award.
They also have the Adopt a Grandparent program for the holidays when they deliver gift bags filled with essential items. They also hand out Christmas cookies and sing Christmas carols.
"It warms the hearts of everyone who is present," said Burke. "They do a great job of bringing smiles to the residents’ faces."
Surabian said they have an outreach program for widows on Valentine's Day. They create and deliver cards, picture frames, and other knick-knacks to nominated widows. They're planning their first Easter Bunny visit to the Manor House this spring.
Another project involves collecting expired food products and converting them to livestock feed. In the past year, they collected more than 200 pounds of food.
Last year, collectively, they performed more than 300 hours of community service.
"Having the kids make those community ties and hands-on relationships really bridges that gap," Surabian said. "When they get older, they'll already be very much integrated and blended into the community. So I think that's a big, big step in navigating life."
Craft projects include making birds wings (again, related to the rainforest theme), which they will wear in the Memorial Day Parade. There are also guest speakers scheduled.
On the fun side (that also includes learning) in the works for the club is a visit to the Wild Center, in Tupper Lake.
"My goal toward the end of the summer is to take an educational field trip to explore the tree tops to get a forest canopy perspective, maybe do some zip lining through the forest," said Surabian. "Then there are some underwater cavern tours with underground waterfalls, which some people don't know are in a rainforest, so I thought it would be perfect to mix with the crafting and baking and then that hands-on learning, too."
Surabian is originally from Arizona. Her husband is from Batavia. They have four children. She has an associates degree and was working toward her bachelor's when she was diagnosed with cancer.
"I kind of took a left turn and put all my focus and energy into volunteering," Surabian said. "I absolutely love being busy. I thrive on it. Prior to my volunteer work, I was a compliance officer, so I stayed very busy working and staffing nurses all over the country."
All four of her children, Gavin, 13, Morgan, 11, Kensley, 6, and Lincoln, 3, participate in Critter Crew.
She's clearly energized by working with the kids in the club and she said she loves it.
"I think my favorite is seeing how they engage with the elderly," Surabian said. "That is the most rewarding experience outside of the fun that they have. Actually, I lied. Okay, so the food, I'm sorry. I just reminded myself -- the food, I think, is probably the most fun because, surprisingly, I try to keep it very basic, but there's so many things that we've done that kids have never even tried before, so that is a whole level of fun for me, to be able to broaden their food horizons."
Photos by Howard Owens.
Anneka Pray, the 18-year-old Pembroke graduate who was critically injured a week ago in a motor vehicle accident near Syracuse, is making "amazing progress," according to Tracy Rudolph.
Rudolph is the organizer of a GoFundMe.com page set up to assist Pray and her family following the accident.
Pray, who has been blind since birth, sustained a traumatic brain injury.
Rudolph writes: "She was heavily sedated and minimally responsive last Friday. Today, she has been moved out of the ICU to a bed on the pediatric floor. Anneka is eating, drinking, talking and walking. She will be transferred to neurology rehab next week. This progress is possible because of your prayers. Thank you for praying faithfully for Anneka's brain recovery. Please keep praying for recovery with her brain, fractured skull and carotid artery—blessings to all of you."
Previously: Pembroke graduate critically injured in Thruway accident near Syracuse
Don Santini, a Section V football coaching legend who coached the Le Roy Oatkan Knights early in his career, died Wednesday.
He was 85.
Santini was the head coach in Le Roy from 1966 through 1974 before returning to his alma mater, Fairport High School (1957).
He led the Knights to the program's first-ever undefeated season (8-0) in 1966. The team won four league championships with Santini at the helm.
He was the first coach in Section V history with 200 wins, finishing his career with 2004, which now ranks fourth on the all-time list.
He compiled a 57-15 -2 record at Le Roy.
Santini started his coaching career in 1963 in Morrisville.
After returning to Fairport, Santini became rooted in the community and led the Red Raiders to seven Section V titles. His Fairport teams also won two state titles.
Even though Santini spent only eight years in Le Roy more than five decades ago, he is fondly remembered by Le Roy's football faithful.
Ed Henry wrote on social media, "Don Santini stressed his athletes to stay focused on game day as they were playing for pride and tradition. He was the ultimate motivator who inspired excellence in his teams. He was enthusiastic, excitable, fiery, and had a work ethic with no equal."
Jim Bonaquisti, who started his playing career a year after Santini returned to Fairport, said the former Knight's coach was still a coach he and other Le Roy players wanted to impress.
"We scrimmaged Fairport my junior and senior season," Bonaquisti wrote on social media. "I know I played a little bit harder because even though he wasn't my coach, I didn't want to let him down. Coach always showered you with praise for the great effort."
Santini was inducted into the Section V Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
NOTE: This is the third of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.
The secret to success isn't complicated, the way Jeff Heubusch explains it: Offer people a good product at a fair price with a friendly smile, and they will keep coming back.
That's what he and his crew at Southside Deli have done for more than 35 years.
His assistant manager, Denny Schultz, who has worked at Southside for 24 years, explained it best.
"He's consistent," Schultz said. "He's here all the time. He lives at the store. If anyone comes in from the community, they know how hard he works. He's compassionate for his customers. He's instilled it in me, as well. You want every customer to feel welcome and special. You learn their names. You get a good rapport with returning customers."
It's that commitment and that success that led to Southside Deli being named Genesee County's Small Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.
Heubusch said the award is a big honor that recognizes the reputation Southside has gained in the community.
"This side of town has always had a bad rap kind of reputation in the community, and I don't see that. I see compassion. I see humble people who just need to be accepted," Heubusch said. "It's definitely changed over the years, but for the better."
The store, as any regular knows, represents Batavia's diversity. Every segment of Batavia's community visits the store daily, either for a sub, snacks, drinks, or some essential grocery item.
That wasn't an aspect of the business Heubusch necessarily anticipated when he bought the location more than three decades ago but it's a big part of what he enjoys about the business.
"I think over the years, it has become a passion. It's something you have to grow into," Heubusch said. "When I came into this business, I didn't know much. Everything was trial and error. You listen to your customers and get their needs, get them in here, and give them a fair price. It's and they come back. People don't want just a deli; it's a place you can go to, and everybody's happy. It's just a great atmosphere. And we developed that over the years, and I got great help here. They're compassionate, they care."
As a young man, Heubusch spent 12 years working in a salt mine. He only quit when a mining accident nearly took his life.
His year-long recuperation gave him time to reflect and reassess what he wanted to do with his life.
Heubusch, the son of a miner, purchased Southside Deli two years before the accident. He kept his mining job even as he tried to build the deli business. Digging out the salt of the earth so motorists could drive on de-iced asphalt offered Heubusch a sense of security not available to entrepreneurs. He didn't want to give up that steady paycheck and good benefits while trying to build his own business.
While convalescing, Heubusch said to himself, "Am I going to lay on this couch the rest of my life and live on comp or Social Security disability?"
"Once I was able to get around and be productive, that's when I said, really, 'it's all or nothing.' "
Born in Wyoming County, Heubusch graduated from Warsaw High School in 1977. He was 17 and couldn't get a job, so he went to work in his mother's upholstery business.
When he turned 18, he got his first job in a salt mine.
He was laid off, rehired, laid off and rehired again a couple of times over the next few years. During that time, he also worked for U.S. Gypsum and Le Roy Machine.
He bought a house in Batavia, and when he started working in the mine again, his daily commute took him down Ellicott Street.
Every day, he would drive past Southside Deli (Heubusch kept the name from the previous owner; In the 19th Century, it was Ebling Meat Market and the location has always been some sort of market).
On the second floor of the building is a balcony. As he drove by each day, Heubusch would see a for sale sign hanging from the balcony rail.
That got his mind working.
"I'd see it and think to myself, 'Man, I'd love to work for myself.' I kept seeing that, fueling my idea of what I would do if I owned that."
There's a reason working in a salt mine is a metaphor in our culture's lexicon for arduous work. It's hard labor.
In flush times, Heubusch worked 10 to 12-hour days, seven days a week.
"There were days I never saw daylight."
One day, finally, he called a realtor and got the ball rolling.
Escrow closed Aug. 10, 1989. Heubusch opened Southside Deli for the first time under his ownership four days later.
Besides figuring out the deli business and making a great meal, Heubusch learned how to hire the right help, people who naturally walk in with good attitudes and friendly smiles.
"I've got my hardcore of people, but people graduate from high school, they go to college, they move out of the area, they get married, but for the most part, I've got a very good core of employees that actually help the newbies," Heubusch said. "All my employees who have ever left said this was like their favorite job. They were young, and they would learn. They would become more social. They would learn the aspects of how business works and be able to talk to people, and it was a very, very great learning experience for them, and they moved on. I've got people who worked here who are now doctors and lawyers."
Schultz said he and the rest of the Southside crew are proud to see the deli get recognition from the Chamber.
"It's huge, especially for him, you know, but for us too, especially a lot of us long-standing people," Schultz said. "It's almost like validation of just how hard he's worked, and we've worked to be a successful business. We're Team Deli."
NOTE: This is the second of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. There are tickets still available to the event.
In every sense of the term, Alexander Equipment, 3266 Buffalo St., Alexander, is a family business.
"The only problem with our industry is that it's gotten where all these big companies have gotten bigger, and people are just numbers," said Tom Gadd, second-generation co-owner. "They've lost their touch. I mean, it's really just like texting. I don't get into texting. I'd rather talk to somebody. You know, it's just because it's my age, but people like to deal with people, and people don't realize it anymore. Everybody's not just a number. I mean, I know some of these bigger companies employees that are there, they're like, 'We're just numbers there. We're a spot to fill it.’ I mean, it's just they lose that closeness, I guess. So, maybe you've seen it in your business, I don't know, but it's just nice when it's smaller and people know everybody a little bit better."
Gadd's parents, with the support of their parents, purchased Alexander Garage in 1972. Gadd and his brothers grew up in the business. Today, the business is run by Tom, his wife Tracy, and sons Spencer and Michael (Tom and Tracy also have two adult daughters, Taylor and Emily).
Spencer and Michael also grew up in the business and came back to it after graduating from college. Michael has a degree in engineering, and Spencer has an MBA.
“The boys are coming in. They've got different ideas and are much better with technology," Tracy said. "Their whole generation is good with advertising on Instagram and all of those things, and they're much better with new ideas of how to do things. But I feel like we have a pretty good mix as far as hanging on to our core values and what grandma and grandpa instilled in mom and dad and instilled in their boys, and still being able to move forward."
That attention to core values and changing with the times is among the reasons Alexander Equipment will be honored by the Chamber of Commerce on Saturday as the Agricultural Business of the Year.
Coming out of high school, Tom Gadd wasn't focused on joining the family business. He became a paramedic, a career path he enjoyed (and continued as a volunteer with the Alexander Fire Department), but 10 years into his career, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. That drew both Tom and Tracy into the business as Tom's parents stepped back.
That was in 1995. They've been running the business since.
"This wasn't the route that I was anticipating, but when mom got sick and they needed somebody, we would kind of come in and help out," Tracy said. "I did it after hours for a while, and then she decided that she probably wasn't going to come back, so I started working full time."
Tracy said Tom's grandparents always had a farm in Pembroke, and his mom grew up on the farm.
"I think they wanted to try something business-wise, a little different than farming," Tracy said. "Grandma and Grandpa, I don't think, were real involved in the day-to-day stuff. They were kind of like a silent partner. I would say Mom and Dad kind of took it and flew with it."
In the early days, Alexander Equipment was a Chalmers dealer with a focus on agriculture. Parts and repairs have always been part of the business, as well. While farmers still remain an important customer base, the residential side of the business has grown over the years, especially with Alexander Equipment carrying Kubota products.
At Alexander Equipment, employees are also part of the family.
There's Kenny, for example, in the parts department. "He's been here forever, so he's like a brother," Tom said. "A couple of his kids are Goddaughters."
For years, Alexander Equipment has had a good relationship with the high school, and some students have come to work for the shop, including one kid, now 16, who has been working there for two years.
"He's a really good kid," Tracy said.
"We have another woman who, as a young lady, helped here. She's my age, but she was in our wedding," Tracy said. "She worked here when we got married then left for a while, was raising her family, and has since come back. She works just part-time, but she knows everyone. She knows the business. She does real estate on the side. Two of their girls are our Godchildren. So it really is very family-oriented."
Tracy noted that the family feeling creates a better atmosphere for customers.
"We've got a lot of customers who have been here for a long time, and that's what we try to get when people come in. We want them to feel like they're walking into some place they know and can be comfortable at. And obviously, that's family."
The Chamber Award caught the Gadds by surprise, Tracy said.
"It was completely unexpected. We didn't know that we'd been nominated or anything else," Tracy said. "It's heartwarming. It's a little bit humbling just to know that people think of us that way and think that we're an example, I would say, or that we're good people -- it's hard to put in words. It's overwhelming, a little bit, you know. It makes you feel like you have a responsibility to do better."
When board members of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation walked into the meeting room at Batavia Downs on Thursday morning, they found at their assigned seats a bit of a surprise.
There was a 13-page book containing 10 proposals to reform policies for the organization.
The booklet, said CEO Byron Brown, was the result of two months of work with his executive staff to identify areas of concern and propose suggestions for policy changes.
"We have been looking at concerns that have been expressed about the operation of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation since I've been here as CEO," Brown said after a closed session meeting where most of his proposals were approved by the board. "We've done a top-to-bottom review so we can be more transparent as an organization, to look at ways to reduce expenses in the organization and drive greater profitability, and the reforms are around those items."
For the past few years, the OTB has been beset by a number of controversies, including how free tickets to sporting events are distributed, executive compensation and buyouts, health insurance, travel expenses, and management participation in tip distribution.
The policy changes also address some less public issues, such as how raises are handled and the distribution of free play cards and gift cards.
Brown thinks if his new policies had been in place years ago, some of the public controversies could have been avoided.
"I have worked very closely with the board and the staff," Brown said. "The board was very open to looking at these issues and felt very positive that these reforms and these new policies will really strengthen the operation of Western Regional Off-track Betting Corporation."
The booklet also contained a bullet-point list of some of the reforms Brown has already initiated as the corporation's new CEO, such as tighter controls on how requests for sponsorships by area charities are handled and monthly reporting on advertising spending for broadcast.
Erie County rep pleased with reservations
The policy revisions were welcomed by Tim Callan, the Erie County representative on the board who has been perhaps the most persistent voice seeking reform since the board was reconstituted by the state Legislature more than a year ago.
"I'm very pleased with what Byron has done here," Callan said. "A couple of the items in the reform agenda -- about travel and changing the travel policy to get some things back under control there, changing and updating the procurement policy -- these were things that throughout last year I had been raising questions about. The sponsorship program, where the corporation gives sponsorships and donations to various groups, I've been raising a lot of questions about that. So to see that those three areas are being addressed by the new management team, I'm very happy to see that."
Callan, ever a stickler for details, does have concerns about how the reform package was brought to the board, and in the closed-door discussion (which he is also concerned about), he objected to two proposed policy proposals, which the board ultimately did not support.
Brown proposed reducing the cost of employee contract buyouts.
Some employees, including top executives, have contracts that stipulate how much severance they will receive if the contract is terminated early.
In July 2024, the board of directors approved a buyout of former CEO Henry Wojtaszek's contract equal to one year salary, or $299,000. Outgoing CFO Jackie Leach's buyout was half her annual salary, or $122,000, and operations manager William White received $87,000.
Brown's report says that a review of contracts found there is no standard severance pay and benefits package for employees under contract. One employee, not named, has reached a settlement that allows that employee to work from home until November, earning until that time $174,907.
Brown recommended capping severance to four months' salary. The board tabled the proposal and called for research on standard procedures in the gaming industry.
Callan said he opposes providing OTB employees with any severance pay, even though the practice is common in corporate America.
He said WROTB is not a private company. It's a public benefit corporation with a mission of generating revenue for the state and the 17 municipalities that control the corporation. As a quasi-state agency, employees are part of the state's generous pension system.
"That's something you folks in the private sector are not getting," Callan said. "You guys have to have 401(k)s, and Roth IRAs or whatever you do to help provide for yourselves in retirement. Well, folks here have that state pension ability separate from whatever saving they do on their own. So it's not an apples and oranges comparison for me to say, a private casino where, you know, they're not going to get a pension, and it's a private entity."
Wrapped into the contract buyout policy proposal was a proposal to address inequality in health insurance coverage for non-union employees.
Non-union employees hired before 2012 pay only 5% of their insurance premiums. Those hired after Jan. 1, 2012 pay 72% for a family plan (single plans remain 5%).
There are 38 employees who were hired before 2012 and 72 hired after the change policy.
In an interview, Callan disclosed that the monthly premiums for Batavia Downs employees are significantly higher than typical for group insurance policies.
Human Resources Director Danielle Fleming later confirmed that a family health insurance plan is $3,325 monthly. The employee contribution, if hired after Jan. 1, 2012, is 72 percent, or $2,394.
Brown's proposal, which has not yet been approved, is to find a way to close the gap between the two groups of employees and set the employee-share of future management hires at 20%. Currently, seven members of management staff pay a 20% share of their premiums.
"It's obviously incredibly expensive for the employee. It's obviously also incredibly expensive for the corporation, where the corporation to bear the expense," Callan said. "I loudly expressed my objection to that in the executive session and said that I would not vote for it. And I thought that needed further discussion. When we have members of the management team make $190,000 or more, and persons in the mid-$100,000s, to send a message and say to them and say, "Okay, you only have to pay 20% of the cost of health insurance,' but somebody here that makes $17.50 an hour has to pay 72%, that, to me, is not right, and so the management team, after some members of the board objected and raised questions on that, agreed to pull it back, and I think we're gonna have some further discussions on that topic next month."
Callan said that while overall, he is pleased with the policy changes, especially since several of them are responsive to issues he's raised over the past 13 months, he thought it was a violation of the open meeting law not to have the agenda explicitly state that the board would do more on Thursday than engage only in a general policy discussion, but actually have written policy changes to consider and vote on.
He also said it could be a violation of the open meeting law to have most of the discussion in closed session.
Asked about the exemption used under the state's Open Meeting Law, Brown said it was a personnel matter.
"There were a number of personnel items that were discussed, so that was the reason why the board went into executive session in that particular discussion, where we were discussing salaries, benefits for specific individuals," Brown said.
Callan said the only policy item that addressed specific people was the health insurance discussion, which involved seven individuals. Otherwise, the rest of the policy discussion did not touch on specific individuals. In his view, the policy discussion should have occurred in open session.
"We have a lot of discussions in committees, including an executive session, a lot of which I don't think should be an executive session under the law, but that's another story you and I have spoken about before," Callan said. "I don't think, in hindsight, it should have been an Executive Session."
Accountability and profitability
Among the policies highlighted by Brown in an interview were changes to how sports tickets are distributed and whether the OTB will continue to purchase a suite and tickets to Buffalo Bills games after the coming season.
When the Bills move into the stadium, it appears the cost of the suite will double, raising the annual cost to $200,000, which may not have the return on investment the OTB seeks.
Brown said Batavia Downs is negotiating with the Bills organization.
"We're looking at tightening the ticket policy, making sure that when we do provide tickets and benefits, those are going to our customers, and they're going to our customers in a way that generates more business for the corporation," Brown said. "We're looking at travel policy to tighten our policies on what we spend when people have to travel for business purposes, going to conferences, going to training. All of those things, I think, would have eliminated some of the issues that the corporation has faced in the past."
The ultimate goal, Brown said, is a corporation that is more efficient and more profitable.
"The agenda is about going forward, looking at issues with the board, with the staff, that we saw as concerns, things that we felt could be improved, ways that we could increase transparency, that we could increase profitability, reduce expenses," Brown said. "So, going forward, this will make the corporation stronger. This is a place where people love to come and, after expenses, generates over $90 million a year. We want to continue to produce that kind of revenue and grow the revenue."
The policy changes approved by the OTB board of directors:
Merit Raises: Over the past three years, 102 OTB employees have received merit raises for a total cost of $392,166. Merit raises are supposed to be approved by the board's personnel committee. There is no documentation indicating these raises were approved by the personnel committee. There were 22 raises in 2022, 50 in 2023, 28 in 2024. The average per year is $130,722. The new policy would budget $100,000 for merit raises. Department heads would recommend merit raises, and if approved by the CEO, the request would go to the personnel committee for approval. All raises would need to be submitted by July 1 of each year. One issue this policy will address is the appearance of favoritism. Five employees received merit raises in each of the past three years.
Video Record Board Meetings: Video recording all board meetings would be inexpensive and easy to accomplish, and multiple "good government" groups recommend it. Some of the municipalities represented on the OTB board are more than a two-hour drive from Batavia, making board attendance difficult for some interested parties. Recordings would be posted on the OTB website within 24 hours of the meeting.
Renewal of Buffalo Bills Suite: The current contract for the suite expires after the the coming season. The suite is considered a great marketing tool for Batavia Downs. The casino conducts drawings for tickets and also provides tickets to high rollers. However, the cost for suite in the new stadium will nearly double. During the past season, OTB paid $114,205 for 16 tickets per game. A new 12-person suite would cost $200,000 per year, with price increases of 5% per season. The return on investment would be low. The cost outweighs the benefits. OTB will try to negotiate a lower price suite.
Travel Policy: WROTB has been criticized for "extravagant" travel. While the spending on travel for some executives exceeded state limits, and a public benefit corporation, WROTB, is exempt from those caps. The comptroller recommends OTB implement and enforce policies that are reasonable. The new policy would require a form to be completed that lists all anticipated expenses for both in-state and out-of-state travel. For in-state travel, the CEO would review and potentially approve the travel. For out-of-state travel, if the CEO recommends approval, the board of directors would be asked to approve the travel.
Transparency of Procurement: For procurement of goods and services, currently, no quotes are required for costs less than $5,000, for $5,000 to $10,000, documented verbal quotes from at least two vendors, for $10,000 to $15,000, written quotes from at least two vendors, and for more than $15,000 public bidding that is subject to board approval. There are also policies dealing with sole-source procurement and single-source procurement. The new policy would require bidding on services and purchases of $15,000 (which is less than the requirement of municipal law). The reform also recommends a written policy for procuring goods an services that would clarify the difference and use of sole source and single source vendors.
Job Postings: An average of 73 jobs are posted annually, and most are posted internally. Jobs are posted on bulletin boards and if external candidates are sought, on social media. Under the reform, the process for applying through the OTB's website will be improved and all publicly advertised positions will be consistently posted on social media with a link to the Batavia Downs application page.
Tipping Policy: Batavia Downs does not currently have a tip-pooling policy, which can lead to operational, legal, and employee-related issues. The approved reform is to write a uniform tipping policy for the facility, including who is eligible to receive a portion of the tip pool, as well as policy for distribution and reporting tips for tax purposes. Supervisors will no longer receive a portion of the mandatory 20 percent tip for booked events.
Free Play Policy: The new policy will standardize free play coupons that an authorized person will sign. Upon redemption, a note will be made in the computer on who authorized the free play. This will assist in auditing free play. After March 15, only free play coupons created under the new policy will be honored.
Gift Card Tracking: Grocery and gas gift cards are used as an incentive for booking hotel rooms. In 2024, Batavia Downs purchased $160,000 in gift card, at $20 each. The gift cards were tabulated into the cost of rooms, so there was no additional cost to the corporation. Other gift cards can sometimes provided to the hotel for hotel packages or requested by officers or department heads to reward staff members for work done above and beyond their duties. Gift cards are logged but there is no standard approval process. Under the new policy, officers and department heads will complete a request form that will require approval by the chief administrative officer. A record will be maintained of gift cards requested by officers and department heads for future auditing purposes.
Download PDF: WROTB 2025 Reform Agenda.
Jason Ostrowski dazzled and electrified a near-capacity crowd at Batavia Downs on Thursday night, playing the best songs of two iconic rock and roll piano players, singers, and songwriters, Elton John and Billy Joel.
Previously: Rochester native returns to Batavia Downs on Feb. 27 with a high-energy homage to Elton John and Billy Joel
Photos by Howard Owens.
A 17-year-old Corfu resident was killed Sunday evening after a bicycle he was riding on Tesnow Road in the town of Alabama was struck by a vehicle and the youth was ejected from the bike.
Arthur G. Breton, III, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Breton was riding his bike north in the northbound lane in the area of 7824 Tesnow Road at 6:38 p.m. when he was struck.
Daphne C. Sundown, 37, of Basom, with her son as a passenger, were also northbound on Tesnow, driving a 2022 black Chevy Blazer, when the vehicle crested a hill over a knoll in the road, according to the Sheriff's Office. Sundown was unable to see Breton and struck his bike with the front driver side of her vehicle.
Sundown and her son immediately exited her vehicle and began rendering aid while calling 9-1-1.
Alabama Fire and Pembroke Fire departments personnel, along with Mercy EMS, responded to the scene and performed life-saving measures. Breton succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Drugs and alcohol have been ruled out as a factor in the accident.
The crash is being investigated by members of the Sheriff's Office along with the Crash Management Team.
Besides emergency responders, several bystanders assisted at the scene.
UPDATE: Superintendent Matthew Calderon confirmed that Breton was a senior at Pembroke High School. He sent the following message to the school community:
I am writing to share difficult news.
Last night, one of our high school students, Arthur Bretan III, was struck by a car while riding his bicycle, and he died as a result of the accident. Arthur was well-liked by many and enjoyed his participation in band. Today and this week, our district’s Trauma, Illness & Grief Team will be implementing a support plan for students and staff. Specially trained grief counselors are onsite to assist. This morning during first period, we informed all junior-senior high school students about Arthur's death to provide correct information and to inform them how and where to get support throughout the day if they need support.
We encourage students to remain at school where they can access grief support services. If students ask to go home, we strongly suggest that they be supervised by adults, who can best provide guidance and support during this difficult time. There will be a variety of emotional and/or behavioral responses, and it is normal to experience feelings of disbelief, sadness, anger, confusion or even numbness when learning about a loss such as this. Our children will benefit from our extra love and support to process this difficult news. The link below may provide some helpful information to assist you:Guidelines for Supporting Your Child During Grief
Our community always comes together to love and support one another through these hard times, and I am confident we will be there for each other once again.
An 18-year-old graduate of Pembroke High School, who recently made the Dean's List at the University at Albany, was critically injured in a four-vehicle accident on the Thruway in the town of Salina, according to State Police.
According to Troopers, Anneka Pray was a front-seat passenger in a 2016 Jeep Compass driven by Christopher Baker, 22, of South Glens Falls.
According to the initial investigation, a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, operated by Christopher J. Hernandez, 23, of Newark, lost control and swerved, causing a Ford F-550, driven by Barry J. Darling, 41, of Solvay, to brake and exit the north shoulder of the roadway to avoid a collision.
The Jeep rear-ended the Ford F-550 and partially entered the passing, where is was struck by a westbound Freightliner tractor-trailer operated by Sarjo Drammeh, 35, of Wisconsin.
The tractor-trailer fled the scene but was later located at the Seneca Service Area on the Thruway.
Pray, who has been blind since birth, participated in cross country at Pembroke and was praised by her teachers for knowing what she wanted and going for it.
“Anneka advocates well for herself,” Chelsea Hale, the vision teacher at Pembroke, told The Batavian in 2018. “She wants to be as independent as possible.”
She also participated in three musicals while at Pembroke.
Pray is listed in critical condition at Upstate University Hospital.
Baker, in serious condition, was also transported to Upstate. Darling sustained minor injuries and was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital.
The accident was reported at 6:08 a.m. on Friday in the area of mile marker 284.8.
The investigation is continuing, according to State Police.
A GoFundMe.com page has been set up to assist Pray and her family. According to the page, Pray suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Batavia's Business Improvement District hosted its annual celebration of beer and cider as it returned on Saturday, with the sun out and lots of people in a party mood.
Photos by Howard Owens.
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