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The Hilton Board of Education has selected Casey Kosiorek as the next superintendent of the Hilton Central School District pending formal appointment to the position at the next Board of Education meeting on Oct. 27. He will step into this role when David Dimbleby retires at the end of this calendar year.

“The Hilton School District Board of Education would like to sincerely thank the staff and community members who participated in the search process,” said Board President Daniel Wellington. “We have reviewed all the information given to us from the finalist interviews as well as their Day in the District. Together with our own observations and your invaluable input, we have taken great care to select our next leader and are confident that Casey will carry on the tradition of keeping our schools at the heart of the community.”

Kosiorek is currently the superintendent of the Byron-Bergen Central School District and has served in that position since 2012. Kosiorek earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Master of Science degree in Education from Canisius College. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Rochester.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the next Superintendent of Schools for the Hilton Central School District,” Kosiorek said. “I look forward to learning and understanding the great pride, traditions, and work that has taken place and I’m excited about working with all stakeholders in the Hilton learning community to continue on the trajectory that has been set on doing what is best for our students. My family and I look forward to becoming a part of the community in the near future. I am humbled by this opportunity.”

The Board worked with Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES District Superintendent and Search Consultant Jo Anne L. Antonacci throughout the search process. Wellington stated, “The Board was very pleased with the process that Mrs. Antonacci led us through and the resulting selection of our new Superintendent.”

Bill and Nancy Brach clearly love their business, Brach Machine, Inc., which is now in its 30th year in Batavia. Yesterday, the Brachs showed a visitor around their shop with verve and eagerness to share the details of what they do, how they do it and why it's important. 

Going through the stockroom of completed parts, Nancy stops and remarks, "These are parts that most people wouldn't have a clue as to what they are."

"I have no idea," the visitor admits.

"Right, exactly," said Nancy, "but there's someone for whom these are a vital part of their business."

Making vital parts for business is what Bill Brach set out to do when he started his business in 1985. Brach machine makes the tools that make it possible for other manufacturers all over the world to make the parts that make our daily lives a little bit easier.

The ignition on your car, die cast. Your refrigerator handle, probably die cast. The sprinkler head on your hose, die cast.

"You've had your hands on hundreds of die castings," Bill said.

When asked to describe his business, Bill has a ready answer that he enunciates clearly in a voice of good cheer that tells you it's a well-rehearsed line intended to precisely describe the business he's in, as precisely as the tools his employees make.

"We manufacture consumable tooling for the high-pressure die-casting industry."

That's it. That's what Brach Machine does. In a nutshell.

High-pressure die casting involves injecting metal in liquid form -- zinc, aluminum, magnesium, copper, lead, and tin -- into molds to make parts, tools and pieces. Brach Machine makes the parts that make the injection possible.

It's no wonder Bill chooses his words carefully. What he does isn't easy and mistakes are measured in fractions of a millimeter. After showing a visitor a tool that can measure a gap that is a quarter of the width of a human hair, Nancy explains such exacting specifications are necessary for their customers to achieve the quality their customers expect.

A tool that comes out of Brach Machine, cut and crafted from a piece of iron with no do-overs, might be worth $4,500 or more. It needs to be cut and shaved and polished to exact specifications. 

That means the people Bill and Nancy hire need to be able to do quality work and have some level of experience suitable to the task. Such employees are hard to find, especially in a tight job market with the unemployment rate hovering near 4 percent.

Brach Machine is advertising for employees more than they ever have and is hosting a pair of open houses to celebrate both 30 years in business and to commemorate Manufacturing Day.

The open houses are Tuesday Oct. 27 and Thursday Nov. 5 with three times available for tours each date: 8 a.m., 11:30 a.m., or 2:30 p.m. Spots are limited, so the open house will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. RSVP to: Tim Gleba, production supervisor, via e-mail tim@brachmachine.com or phone 343-9134.

Prospective employees are welcome as well as anybody interested in one of Batavia's world-class businesses and manufacturing sites in general.

"The thing we want to share with people is this is a place where you can get a job, and it's a good job and it's a stable job and it's a fair-paying job," Nancy said. "It has benefits and we'll keep you here as long as you will stay."

Brian Doktor

Dave Beedham

Al Bailey

Dozens of members of Zonta Club of Genesee County gathered at the Dibble Family Center on Wednesday to stuff care packages with food and household items to give to victims of domestic violence.

Pictured are members of the committee, Ann Marie Brade, Mary Barnard, Beth Kemp, Heather Parker, Rhiannon Hawley, Patti Pacino, Kristen Elkins, and Karen Crittenden.

There's a report of people selling CDs at the Tops in Le Roy, knocking on car windows, scaring people.

"It's been an ongoing problem in other parts of the county," a dispatcher tells an officer.

Le Roy PD is responding.

UPDATE 2:23 p.m.: A dispatcher confirms with a deputy that he had previous contact with the CD sellers and the deputy informed the sellers they need permits and to "move along."

The county serves the public, and increasingly, the public is online, which is why County Manager Jay Gsell thinks the county needs a stronger and more consistent digital presence.

In his 2016 budget, he's proposing a new position in the county's IT department that would be responsible for the county's Web site and its social media activity, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

"There is also a difference in generations in how they deal with us," Gsell said. "They are different in where they go for their information, where they look for information and how they interact with county government whether they're asking questions, registering complaints or things of that nature."

The county's Web site could be more user-friendly, but more importantly, Gsell said, it could contain more information that is more current and timely and relevant to residents.

"We're the public sector -- if we're not public and media friendly, we suck," Gsell said. "We're also not doing our job. The idea is to put information out and give it out so the public can access it."

Increasingly, people want to find their information and interact with government and businesses in social media, and the county should be where the public is, Gsell said, which means an active presence on Facebook and Twitter, for example.

"If you don't have a more duel-enabled communication, you're missing out on how you connect with people, how people connect with your services, how they issue complaints, how they issue praise in some cases, or even how we deal with some things we change, for instance, taking on credit card payments in the Treasurer's Office," Gsell said.

The salary for the new position will be about $35,000 and represent a total expenditure with benefits and related expenses of $58,000.

The position is part of a $106,756,416 spending plan being proposed by Gsell.  

On the revenue side, Gsell is proposing a $27,283,304 tax levy with a $9.89 tax rate per thousand of assessed value. That is a 3-cent increase over the 2015 tax rate.

One new position previously proposed that didn't make the budget is an additional Sheriff's deputy with a primary responsibility to keep a sharp eye out for drunken drivers.

The position would have been funded through STOP-DWI money -- fines levied against convicted drunken drivers -- but Gsell said he could tell the idea wasn't going over well with a majority of the Legislature, so he dropped the proposal from the budget. He said the consensus among legislators seemed to be that even if the position was legal and above board, it might engender the perception that there was a level of entrapment in the strategy to catch more drunken drivers. Any case of actual entrapment could open the county up to litigation, something the Legislature would like to avoid.

"It's not like it was, 'Oh, my, this is the best thing since pockets,' so we said, 'You know what, it's not worth the angst and having the legislators have a discomfort as we're trying to present a hundred plus million proposal to let that become the litmus test of what's going on for 2016,' so we pulled it out," Gsell said.

The budget also includes an increase in hours for the County Attorney, making the job a full-time position. The additional 7.5 hours per week means an additional $30,000 in salary and a total increase in expenditure for the position of $37,095, but that cost is offset, Gsell said, by a decrease elsewhere in the budget for contracted fees for outside counsel.  

The budget proposal also includes a new public health sanitarian in the health department and a new case manager in Genesee Justice. Gsell said the case load at Genesee Justice has started to overwhelm the current staff hours in that department.

Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the Legislature, also floated the idea that members of the body should consider whether it's time for a pay raise for legislators. There was no further discussion of the idea after he threw mentioned it.

The time has come, says Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post, for town property owners to start paying the piper.

They've enjoyed the benefit, as well they should, Post said, of a zero-rate property tax for 35 years, and over the last 12 or 15 years, gotten that benefit while the town has spent cash reserves to keep its budget balanced.

With a drop in sales tax, increased costs for employee benefits, greater expenses in the highway department, and loss of income on certificates of deposits, the town needs to institute a property tax, Post said.

With only $2 million left in the fund balance, Post said it's time to slow the rate of deficit budgets.

"I don't want to risk our bond rating and the security and the financial future of my successor, and I don't think it's fair," Post said. "To be quite honest with you, it's possible to stretch it right down to the wire and leave and let somebody else figure it out, but I'm not wired that way."

The proposed property tax rate is $1.42 per thousand of assessed value. That will raise approximately $500,000 to help cover town expenses, but Post still projects spending more than $600,000 from cash reserves, leaving a projected fund balance at the end of 2016 of $1.4 million.

The total anticipated general fund expenditure for the Town of Batavia is $4.64 million, down from $4.92 million in 2015. Even with the $300,000 cut in spending, there isn't enough money to go around, Post said.

For the past several years, town revenue has remained flat and in some years decreased, Post said. A big portion of the sales tax that flows into the county (shared by the county government with the various towns, villages and the city) comes from the sales tax on fuel sales. With gas prices dropping from roughly $4 a gallon to nearly $2 a gallon, and the expectation that gas prices won't increase anytime soon, Post is projecting a drop in sales tax revenue for the town of $150,000.

"It's like running a business without no receipts," Post said. "You put a donation in and have a Santa Claus in the front ringing a bell hoping someone will throw enough money in to make payroll every week. That's kind of what it's been like here. You have to really work hard to leverage as many dollars as you can from every funding agency that allocates funds, make grant applications and sustain a model that supports success."

Building a sustainable local economy has been a big focus of the town board for decades, Post said, and those efforts have led to Gateway II with Ashley Furniture, Milton Caterpillar, Sanitary Sewer, and more recently Med-Tech Park and the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

But those efforts haven't come cheap. The town invested $1 million in infrastructure to support such projects and has had to forgo revenue on construction sales tax and mortgage tax, given away in the form of incentives for developers and business owners. While Post doesn't begrudge those incentives, he says he has to budget with the reality he faces, which means he can't forecast those revenues on any potential new projects in the town, no matter how big.

"If we're not in that market (of tax incentives), then we don't get those projects," Post said.

Those projects have brought into the town tens of thousands of dollars in permitting and zoning fees, Post said.

Also, those projects have increased the total assessed value of property in the town by $128 million, with some $64 million of that increase already out of PILOT exemptions and taxable with the new property tax.

Without that increase in taxable assessed value, local property owners would likely be looking at a property tax of $1.75 per thousand rather than $1.42 per thousand, Post said.

Post praised town employees for doing a great job of finding ways to cut spending and gave employees credit for saving the town about $600,000 in expenditures in 2015, but there's only so much that can be cut, he said. There's a public hearing on the proposed budget Nov. 4 and he invites residents to make alternate proposals to the proffered spending plan.

If board members approve the Town of Batavia's budget for 2016, property owners there will find themselves paying a municipal tax on assessed value for the first time since the 1970s, Supervisor Greg Post said last night after the board passed a resolution moving the proposed budget forward in the approval process.

There will be a public hearing on the budget Nov. 4.

The tax rate would be $1.42 per thousand, creating a levy of $500,000, which would still leave the town's budget with a spending deficit of $600,000.

That's nothing new in the Town of Batavia.

Post, who has been in office for 12 years, said the town has been using its fund balance to avoid a tax levy for 15 years.

With sales tax lagging, income on investments of the fund balance nonexistent, increased pension and health-care costs, and dwindling reserves, the town has little choice but to institute a property tax, Post said.

Post spoke with reporters at length last night about the proposed budget and we will have a more complete on the budget story later this morning.

We will also have stories on the county's proposed budget and the plan to create a new position in the IT department to manage the county's Web site and social media presence, as well as a story about a local manufacturer who is finding it difficult in this tight job market to find qualified employees.

UPDATE: Here's the town tax story: After years of operating at a deficit, Town of Batavia asking land owners to pony up property tax

Christina Volpe, who scored 23.5 points and 15.8 rebounds per game to help lead the 1999 Lady Irish to a 25-1 season and a state championship in 1999, has died at age 34 at home in South Carolina.

Volpe apparently succombed to cardiac arrest. The cause of her heart attack is unknown.

James Johnson, high school sports reporter for the D&C, has a lengthy and well-done story about Volpe posted this morning.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is in possession of a Camper Trailer Hitch found near the intersection of Vine Street at North Street. Please contact Officer Davis with the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350 to identify and claim this property. 

The slight bump in Genesee County's unemployment rate for September over August can be attributed to people leaving the workforce, said Scott Gage, director of the Job Bureau.

The local labor market remains tight, with an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent.

The local trend holds statewide, Gage said.

"The labor force went down by 81,000 people (statewide)," Gage told WBTA. "Some 55,000 people retired, the other 21,500 either are going back to school or left just because their summer job ended."

There were 700 people in Genesee County who chose to leave the workforce at the end of the summer.

The 4.4 percent rate is still three-tenths of a percentage point than a year ago and much improved over the 5.9 percent rate in 2013 or the 7.1 percent rate in September 2012.

Employers continue to report they're finding it difficult to fill open positions and help wanted signs dot the landscape locally.

The NYS Labor Department reports 23,100 non-farm jobs in Genesee County, down for the 23,800 in August and down from the 23,400 in September 2014. Government jobs have dropped by 300 year-over-year while goods-producing jobs and private-sector service jobs have held steady at 4,100 and 13,500, respectively.

"We're seeing job openings across all sectors," Gage said. "Manufacturing, retail, service jobs, health care. There are job openings."

From Steve Hyde, president and CEO of Genesee County Economic Development Center:

As we take a collective breath from this month’s exhilarating announcement about 1366 Technologies becoming the first tenant at the Science Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in the Town of Alabama, we can look back as a community and realize what a magnificent accomplishment this is for Genesee County.

Governor Cuomo’s announcement created a buzz unlike anything we have experienced in recent times; and why not – the first tenant at STAMP is the largest economic development project in the County’s history. It triggers the first phase of what we believe will be a transformative economic development game changer for the Western New York and Finger Lakes regions for generations to come.

The public and private sector support throughout the 10 years to bring STAMP from a concept to this first development has been building steadily. This support gained steam and momentum especially over the last 24 months when it became a crescendo after a coalition of local and state government officials, organized labor, regional business and economic development agencies, higher education and others helped secure $33 million in the state budget as part of the Fiscal 2014-2015 budget deliberations last year.

Like any effort of this magnitude, you need a solid foundation of support, or else the effort crumbles. The foundation for STAMP was built at the local level and in particular the annual funding provided to the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) by Genesee County. This foundation was further enhanced and enabled through the longtime support of the Town of Alabama.

Last week the Governor and other state leaders as well as local and regional elected officials, regional economic development partners and others from the Buffalo and Rochester metropolitan regions came to Batavia to celebrate this monumental achievement. I wanted to take this opportunity on behalf of the GCEDC Board and staff to thank the Town of Alabama for its steadfast support of our efforts to make STAMP a reality. 

From the town’s representatives in the state legislature, Senator Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Hawley, to Genesee County Legislative Chairman Ray Cianfrini to the members of the town board: Supervisor Dan Mangino, Deputy Supervisor Janet Sage, Council members Bill Cleveland, Pam LaGrou, Kevin Fisher and Planning Board Chair Ron Gilbert – thank you! The work of the town was further enhanced through the participation of town officials Sage, Fisher and Gilbert on their STAMP Committee.

It also should be noted that elected officials represent the interests of the constituents in the communities they represent. In this regard, the town has been extremely forthcoming in sharing information about STAMP to residents. These meetings also have provided town residents a forum to provide their feedback and comments. It is a process that we look forward to continue to work with the town on now and in the future as we move to implement our first project on the STAMP campus.

There is an old saying that local government is where the rubber meets the road. In this instance, local government in the Town of Alabama is where the silicon meets the solar wafer.

Before the start of the school year, John Ioge figured he was interested in a career in civil engineering, maybe mechanical engineering or perhaps the medical field or even teaching. Whatever it was, he figured he would eventually wind up in a job far from home.

Now, the sophomore at Oakfield-Alabama is honing in on a career in mechanical engineering and feeling pretty certain he will be able to find work in Genesee County.

The developments recently with WNY STAMP as well as a new course at O-A in STEM is driving much of John's change in thinking.

"I now realize there are going to be jobs in this area," John said. "At one point, I didn't think I was going to stay here because there's not any jobs, but now there will be jobs at home. So why not stay home? Why not stay where my family is?"

O-A Principal Lynn Muscarella sought to start the STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for students just like John. She realized that with STAMP coming to Alabama, she wanted to make sure Oakfield-Alabama students had a good grasp of career opportunities in STEM.

"Last year I had seniors who weren't even aware of what is happening in their own backyard," Muscarella said. "I said, I can't allow this to happen. These kids are right here, so why not get them somewhat prepared to think about what's going to be here so they can stay if they want to."

STAMP stands for Science, Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Park, a 1,340-acre parcel in Alabama that the Genesee County Economic Development Center and its economic development partners from throughout the region are marketing as an ideal location for high-tech manufacturing.

Two weeks ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was in town to announce the first new development in the park, 1366 Technologies, a Massachusetts-based company that will construct a new plant to make silicon wafers for solar energy panels. The plant will employ from 600 to 1,000 people once fully operational, perhaps as soon as early 2017.

The STEM classes at O-A are part of the sophomore-year curriculum for the first time and will run throughout the school year with classroom time every other day for the participating students.

The instructors are Kathy Rushlow and David Porter, with Rushlow developing most of the course.

Seven weeks after the start of the school year, Rushlow is seeing some progress among her students, many of whom came to class without a clear understanding of what sort of degrees colleges offer and what their post-high-school educational options are.

"I think they are much more aware of what STEM is and what the different career choices are in the STEM field," Rushlow said. "I think that's been eye-opening."

The classes aren't intended to give students any kind of training that will lead them to a particular job; rather, it's an overview to expose them to the array of options available to them if they decide STEM might be something of interest.

The class also reinforces the importance of the other coursework in high school.

"It's surprising to them to see there's a second side to that coin, that even in the medical fields, they need that science and math, that background, on top of the medical information," Rushlow said.

Classic rock fans might recognize the smiling guy with the gray hair. It's Peter Frampton. Next to him is somebody a few people in Genesee County will know, Ben Sheridan, a 2008 graduate of Byron-Bergen High School. 

Sheridan, who plays keyboards, is on tour with Frampton and when the band stopped in Albany last night, a group of family members and friends traveled there to see him play.

He hooked up with Frampton after meeting Peter's son, Julian, while working at a Starbucks in Los Angeles. Julian is the man with the acoustic guitar in the photo.

Info and photos submitted by Anne Sapienza.

Article by Serena Strollo-DiCenso, BHS Junior and member of @ct Genesee.
Photo by Howard Owens of: Anita Strollo, Scott Wilson, Kevin Keenan, Sandy Martin and Jen Zambito.

When Federal Drug Free Communities Support Program funding ended after 10 years, the committed individuals from the Genesee Drug Free Communities Coalition continued to meet on a regular basis to determine the scope of their work. Renamed @ct Genesee Coalition, their vision is simple; they want to keep Genesee County, its youth and its families healthy, safe and substance free. 

Working closely with the WNY Prevention Resource Center, this coalition is basing their coalition development on the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), a proven model that helps coalitions choose data-driven actions that result in sustainable change. @ct Coalition members understand that local problems require local solutions.

“We recently developed a community survey to help understand Genesee County’s needs and concerns regarding substance use and abuse," said @ct Genesee Coalition President Anita Strollo. "Following this framework will not only help our process, but will ensure outcomes, and put us on track for future grant funding.

"The SPF comes down from the federal and state levels and it’s what they look for when assessing which coalitions are doing the right things for their communities. Those are the communities that are considered for money. Money is pretty important."

The coalition meets regularly at Batavia High School at the invitation of Scott Wilson, @ct Genesee vice president and Batavia High School principal. @ct Genesee is seeking new members who are like minded and who will pick up the mantle and join their efforts.

“We are always looking for new members with fresh ideas," Wilson said, "whether you want to attend meetings or run fundraisers, everyone has something to contribute.” 

The community survey will be distributed shortly and the coalition can use the information gained to focus their energies toward what will best suit Genesee County.

“What the community needs to know is that we are here and we care,” says Strollo. 

The next meeting of @ct Genesee Coalition is at noon at Batavia High School on Nov. 17. The meetings usually run one hour. For more information, please contact Anita at (585) 813-5371 or e-mail anitastrollo@yahoo.com.

Via our news partner, WBTA.

Bodycams may be in the future for Genesee County Sheriff’s Deputies.

Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha proposed the idea to the Public Service Committee for recommendation Tuesday. The Sheriff said the department "has been researching the implementation of a body camera program for our officers for about two years."    

There’s room in the department’s budget for the $495 bodycams according to the Sheriff, with a total cost of $42,000 for the 32 deputies.

Sheriff Maha also remarked that "Some people tend to act differently when they know they are being recorded and that's also a benefit to our people out in the field."

The cameras would record both audio and video and could potentially be used as evidence for both prosecution and defense.

Brandon C. Smart, 38, of River Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass and harassment, 2nd. Smart allegedly refused to leave a home on Summit Street and threatened to kill the residents. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Brad Michael Prinzi, 34, of Batavia Elba Townline Road, Oakfield, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speed violation, operating without vehicle inspection certificate, inadequate plate lamp. Prinzi was stopped at 12:27 a.m. Tuesday on Townline Road, Bergen, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Brodes J. Gibson, 54, of Thorpe Street, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful fleeing, 3rd, reckless driving, DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st. Officer Christopher Lindsay attempted to stop Gibson for alleged traffic violations at 7:44 p.m. Oct. 11 on East Main Street, and Gibson allegedly failed to stop and instead engaged police on a short pursuit into the parking lot of Batavia Gardens. He was stopped in the east driveway and taken into custody without further incident. He was jailed without bail.

Katherine L. Urf, 54, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with DWAI/combined influence of drugs. Urf was stopped after complaints of an erratic driver at 4:24 p.m. Oct. 12 on Hutchins Street, Batavia, by Officer Peter Flanagan.

Khadijah A. Davis, 24, of Arnett Boulevard, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant. Davis allegedly failed to appear on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Rachel M. Jordan, 19, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Jordan allegedly failed to cooperate during grand jury proceedings.

Tera Michele Williams, 42, no permanent address, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. Williams allegedly failed to appear on a disorderly conduct charge.

Gladys May Patmore, 54, of East Buffalo Street, Churchville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and stopping on a public highway. Patmore was allegedly found sleeping in her vehicle at 10:16 p.m. Saturday off of Lake Street Road, Le Roy, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

On Saturday, the Batavia Kiwanis Club hosts one of its most popular events, Pancake Days, this time for the 58th consecutive year.

Pancake Days are from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ARC Community Center on Woodrow Road, Batavia. The price is $6 for adults, $4 for children 10 and under, and $4 for senior citizens.

Pictured are committee members Theresa Asmus-Roth, Susan Maha, Lawrence Friedman and Jeanne Walton.

Larry Hanley was out on Ellicott Street this morning driving his electric-powered, with a radio, C-Cab three-wheel bike.

He built the C-Cab himself.

"I made the templates with cardboard and I kept cutting them until I got it to where I liked it," Hanley said. "That saved on wasting wood."

He started the project with a "plain old three-wheeler" in May and it didn't take long, he said.

Asked why, Hanley said simply, "It's just something that I've wanted to do for a long time."

Le Roy and Bergen took one big step forward Monday night toward the goal of community leaders winning a competition with a $3-million prize to help drive local economic development. Consultants presented the outline of a strategic economic development plan.

The plan focuses on bringing infrastructure to the Le Roy Food and Tech Park as well as Appletree Acres in Bergen, but also contains several other goals and tactics for spurring economic growth.

Le Roy and Bergen entered the competition as a team and are among the finalists, and as a finalist the community group leading the effort received $50,000 to come up with the plan to submit to the America's Best Communities competition, which is sponsored by Frontier Communications.

The competition committee hired Saratoga-based Camoin Associates to do the research, conduct the interviews and come up with recommendations for the plan.

The committee came up with the following vision statement to include in the plan:

Our economy is grounded in strong agriculture and food-production industries, a resilient manufacturing sector and vibrant village centers. Our proactive economic development investments provide the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth. Our communities maintain a high-quality lifestyle and livelihood through a collaborative ethic and adaptation and reinvention and by leveraging our historic and natural assets.

Robert Camoin, president and CEO of Camoin Associates, said the second sentence is meaningful in the competition and significant.

"It says you're not going to let happen to you whatever happens to you," Camoin said. "You're taking a proactive approach toward your economic future."

Alyson Slack, an economic development analyst for Camoin, outlined 11 key points in the plan, which includes further investment in the Le Roy Food & Tech Park, marketing the park to target industries, preparing the I-90 interchange for future development, promoting the region's top-quality workforce, exploring the creation of a craft manufacturing incubator for entreprenuers who wish to work out of their homes, and protecting farmland.

"Employers are pleased with the local workforce," she said. "They appreciate the work ethic and the skills that are based on the agriculture history of the area, which fosters a strong willingness to work, problem-solving skills and mechanical know-how."

The big problem facing both Appletree Acres and the Food and Ag park is the lack of high-speed broadband, insufficient electric capacity and no high-capacity natural gas pipeline. If the community wins the $3 million, those issues could be addressed.

The 40 or 50 people who attended the "stakeholders meeting," were invited to provide feedback. Robert Taylor raised a concern about the need for housing to support economic growth and another audience member pointed out that a study of the village land area some years ago found about 50 percent of the village is under-used for housing.

Camoin asked several times for feedback on the proposed plan with little response, then asked if people in the audience were happy with what they saw and heads nodded yes. Taylor said he liked the plan, he just thought housing needed to be more strongly addressed.