Batavia City Council

A call was put out Sunday for members of Batavia Players to rally together and attend Monday’s City Council conference session to support Norm Argulsky and Jo Coburn as they spoke on behalf of the nonprofit.

The two members wanted council to know how much the organization means, not only to Batavia Players themselves, but also to area businesses and the community at large, in light of financial troubles and owing the city back rent, Coburn says.

“I just want everyone on council … to see all the other positive things in the community that we do. We do a lot, I don’t think everybody realizes it. We are involved in every bit of it,” Coburn said after the meeting. “We’re just asking for more time to bounce back. We are just getting known on Main Street. It’s not that we don’t want to pay it. We’re limited in the ways we can raise money.”

The Players have paid $160,000 in rent from 2020 to 2023, however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater was shut down and they were unable to perform and therefore unable to make money, she said. So they fell behind in rent. 

“We’ve been in discussions with the city since November about rent renewal and repairs,” she said. “It came to our attention that maybe not everyone on council has the information about what we do.”

The city had asked Batavia Players for a five-year financial projections plan, and one was submitted without enough detail, Coburn said. Another one is being drafted to include more of what happens at the theater — newly built and celebrated at Batavia City Centre — such as open mic nights, civic organization meetings, education sessions, dance recitals, college productions, stage combat lessons, the recent Hometown Christmas festivities, a scavenger hunt collaborating with other city businesses, Halloween trick-or-treating and tours, and live performances.

About eight members of the Players, including their attorney Ted Graney, showed up to the council meeting. “We just want the city to know how deep the support goes,” Coburn said.

She understands the city’s position, and officials have been patient and supportive, she said. She hopes that they will “please continue so that we can be the flagship live performance” venue for downtown. She doesn’t want it to get contentious and hopes that both sides can work something out, including leaks that have erupted from the green room ceiling. 

Batavia Players will be celebrating a 100-year existence in 2032, Argulsky said, and Batavia is "very, very luck to have a group" like it that performs 12 productions a year and brings a "cultural-plus" to the city.

The Players can only raise so much money and sell so many tickets, though, he said, and it's quite an expensive endeavor to operate a theater, and he wanted city leaders to keep that in mind. He and his fellow troupe members hope a friendly solution can be found. They are having a fundraiser specifically to raise $25,000 for the back rent through donations and sponsorships.

City Manager Rachael Tabelski said that the theater owes approximately $27,000 in back rent. The Batavian asked what the city's next steps would be, and if it would take legal action against the organization. 

 “We are awaiting an executive summary and five-year financial projections of the Players' plan moving forward,” she said.

City Council members said they have nothing against the theater, but that there are expenses involved in operating City Centre and unpaid bills fall on taxpayers to cover. 

City resident and longtime fiscal conservative John Roach took City Council on a trip down building demo lane Monday when he asked that the leaders keep in mind a prior project that didn’t progress as promised when looking again to put grant money into a dilapidated city complex.

Roach was the lone speaker during a public hearing about pursuing a Restore NY grant to address six buildings within the Harvester Center complex on the east side of the city.

“I don’t mind the idea of the grant. It’s probably not the worst idea in the world. I would like some reassurance that we’ll watch this real, real careful," Roach said. "We once before helped out the Harvester complex when it was owned by somebody else. The city helped get grant money and they ripped down Masse Mall. At that time, we were told that if you took down the old Masse Mall, business would move in that area. Some of the buildings had some new fronts put on, business didn’t really move.” 

He said he would like some assurance that the current Harvester owners do something more with grant money than just demolish buildings that aren't code-compliant. 

"Again, Masse Mall, the last time, it wasn’t too reassuring that this won’t happen again when we just help somebody out, get rid of some buildings, and nothing else happens.”

It was 15 years ago that Tom Mancuso, president of Mancuso Development, was lauded for the state-funded $1.5 million grant to advance his Masse Gateway project. Designed as an entrance off of Masse Place into the Harvester industrial complex, the project demolished old buildings and erected space suitable for light industrial and commercial use for small businesses. 

As money was spent and work began, there was the groundbreaking fanfare and visionary dreams of an entire entrepreneurial cluster in that area. Creamy Creations was the first client to move in, followed by Merrill Lynch in 2012. At some point, Creamy Creations moved out and now has a Batavia address at 5 Jackson St.

Masse Place is listed for lease, but, as Roach said, “business didn’t really move.”

The Harvester complex and two Masse Place facilities were sold in June 2021 to John F. Wachter Jr. and John F. Wachter III of New Jersey.

With goals to improve the east side business climate, revitalize a deteriorating Harvester Center in need of rehab and renovation and increase the city’s tax base, City Manager Rachael Tabelski has now recommended that City Council agree to submit a grant application for up to $1 million. The Restore NY grant is available for communities with populations less than 40,000.

Another city resident, John Ognibene, wrote a letter opposing the use of a grant to demolish buildings to install parking lots.

“I believe that City Council should vote down the application for the NY Restore grant for the Harvester Center … I believe there are many alternatives that could be used instead of tearing down buildings,” he said. “Batavia has a long history of tearing down old historic buildings for parking lots and a decaying mall.”

Ognibene, who is also a member of the city’s Planning & Development Committee, suggested that the Harvester complex be submitted for the state and national registry of historic sites, which would make the rehab work “eligible for historic tax credits,” he said. 

He’d like to see the back of the building converted into apartments and townhouses, an easy conversion into “a mix of market rate apartments and affordable apartments if done correctly. " Another suggestion was to amend the city zoning laws to allow a full-service restaurant to operate.

“If the City Council votes to approve the application for Restore NY, then you are sending a clear message to building owners that you can let your buildings deteriorate, and we will give you a grant to tear down the buildings,” Ognibene said. “I have no problem with the Harvester Center getting a Restore NY grant, but it should 100% not be used for tearing down any buildings. It should be to restore the site back to its former glory.”

Tabelski laid out the two-pronged plan for the Harvester Avenue complex.

“So the owner of the Harvester campus that was purchased a few years ago has been cited for multiple buildings that do need to come down for unsafe conditions. Separately, he's working with the economic development arm of the city with Tammy Hathaway, and this grant came up as an opportunity,” Tabelski said. “So there's two totally separate actions occurring. One is city code enforcement is working with the owner to cite large unsafe structures, and then conversely, we have the BDC working with the owner on redevelopment plans, one of which would include demolition of certain buildings that happen to also be mentioned in the code.

“The potential cost for the project isn't completely finalized, but it will be between $8 and $12 million for demolition of these buildings. As you may know, the Harvester campus is 29 acres, a million square feet of building, mostly which housed manufacturing. Some of the buildings are still being used as incubator space, mainly in building one in the front and the yellow building 19 houses Merrill Lynch,” she said. “But there's a lot of the campus that's underutilized or unutilized, and we see a lot of potential there. So, the application consists of the campus owners’ plan to demolish six buildings. The six buildings are listed here as buildings, four, five, 21, 20, 13, and eight … And when we cite them, we're not saying they have to be demolished, they need a structural engineering report to make a determination whether you're going to rehab it or demolish it. So we're moving that forward. And this would come to the next business meeting on Dec. 9.”

Council agreed to move the grant application to a vote at its next business meeting on Dec. 9.

With goals to improve the east side business climate, revitalize a deteriorating Harvester Center in need of rehab and renovation and increase the city’s tax base, City Manager Rachael Tabelski has recommended that City Council agree to submit a grant application for up to $1 million.

The Restore NY grant is available for communities with populations less than 40,000 and requires a public hearing, which has been set for 7 p.m. Monday in Council Chambers, second floor, City Hall.

“The Harvester Campus project qualifies for Restore NY funding for an extensive demolition project,” Tabelski said in a memo to council. “The owners of the Harvester Campus are looking to strategically demolish six buildings at the campus and commit to redeveloping the remaining buildings into a multi-use campus similar to Larkinville in Buffalo.

“Some of the buildings slated for demolition have been cited by the city as unsafe, and in need of demolition. Removal of these buildings will offer additional parking, lighting and green space to support the remaining buildings, businesses and future redevelopment on the campus.”

Larkinville is a collection of businesses, new apartment buildings and public spaces along Seneca Street in the southeast section of downtown Buffalo and has been promoted as “one of the city’s most impressive transformations.”

Where once sat empty warehouses and vacant parcels, the space now accommodates weekly concerts, food truck rodeos, beer gardens, breweries and distilleries.  

Harvester Center has struggled to hold onto certain businesses, losing three eateries, a coffee shop, and a children’s entertainment and adults’ fitness venue in the past year or so.

The Restore NY grant project meets several objectives, according to the resolution, including:

• Being consistent with the city of Batavia Comprehensive Plan, Downtown Revitalization Initiative, Strategic Investment Plan, and Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan.
• Facilitating effective and efficient use of existing and future public resources so as to promote both economic development and preservation of community resources.
• Developing and enhancing infrastructure and/or other facilities in a manner that will attract, create and sustain employment opportunities where applicable.

The hearing is part of a council conference session that also includes time for public comments and discussion about a $1.85 million Restore NY grant for the Carr’s Reborn project at 105 Main St.; taking out a bond for $2.5 million for water meters and installation; a sidewalk improvement project paid for with a $1.4 million grant; and a request from Tabelski to add a building maintenance worker to public works personnel.

Byron Brown had his facts and figures at the ready for a meet-and-greet with Genesee County and city municipal leaders Thursday, a quality that didn’t go unnoticed as he answered questions and gave well-polished objectives for the future of Batavia Downs.

The newly hired president and CEO was, in a word, “comfortable,” Legislative Chairwoman Shelley Stein said.

“So this is my first time in meeting Mr. Brown, and I believe that he was well prepared. He had his facts, and his numbers absolutely spot on," Stein said after the 50-minute meeting in courthouse chambers. "And the fact that he prepared for us in such a way, I think, speaks volumes about his willingness to be part of a community here in Genesee County and that he will value the host that we are, our city, our town and our county." 

During the session, Stein asked Brown about the revenue that is typically distributed from Batavia Downs to 17 municipalities, including Genesee County. She noted that since the hiring of him and Steven Casey, chief administrative officer and Director of Communications Michael DeGeorge, those three salaries add up to more than the revenue from video lottery terminal money for Genesee County in a year. “That money has already been spent,” she said.

“So I'm sure that that's a conversation that we will continue to have going forward, as I think there were too many questions at the same time coming, but we'll continue that with our board member, Mr. Zambito, and we will continue to probe and push on that because the work of the last three years with (former CEO) Henry Wojtaszek have just been stacked on top of each other,” she said. “Really, nice growth stats, and we've enjoyed those, and it helps our taxpayers here in Genesee County. He's got big shoes to fill, and we're going to give him room to do that, but we also want him to know that we're paying attention.”

As for paying, those first year salaries are $295,000 for Brown, $190,000 for Casey and $130,000 for DeGeorge for a total of $615,000.

Chuck Zambito is on the Western Regional Off-Track Betting board as a representative of and liaison to Genesee County. 

“It’s a great corporation,” Zambito said. “The gaming industry is changing every day. Our goal is to make the corporation better, stronger and more profitable.”

After introductions of each legislator, council member and Brown’s team, Brown parlayed some numbers into talking points for his new missive as the new leader of the Park Road enterprise. He reviewed some of his resume, including having been a member of Buffalo City Council, three terms in the state Senate and most recently as mayor for five terms, earning title to being "the longest serving mayor in the history of the city," he said.

“And one of the things that attracted me to this position is the revenue that it provides to 17 member municipalities in Western New York,” he said. “I thought that that was critically important, and wanted to be able to not only protect the revenues that are provided but to try to grow the revenues that are provided to the 17 member municipalities.”

Since OTB was established in 1974, the gaming facility has provided more than $260 million to those 17 municipalities, he said, with more than $13 million going to Genesee County.

“From my perspective, as former mayor of the City of Buffalo, I think that these revenues are important to the municipalities that receive them, so my new and existing management team will be working to preserve and to grow revenues. I also know here in Genesee County and in the city and town, it is important that this organization continue to be successful and profitable," he said. "It is an important employment source for this community, and we certainly ought to make sure that those employment opportunities are protected and preserved. 

"And if we can grow for the folks that live in this part of our state, obviously with the property, with the corporation being physically located in Genesee County, the majority of the employees at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation reside in Genesee County," he said. "And so, this is a large employer, over 430 employees, and my focus with the management team and certainly the board of directors will be to protect the employment base, to grow the employment base, and to continue to provide revenues for this community and the other municipalities that derive revenues from OTB.”

County Legislator Marianne Clattenburg asked if Brown was keeping public safety in mind as the track backs up to city neighborhoods, and “the track has always been safe,” she said.

“Public safety will definitely be a priority of mine. My record in public service is one of being a strong supporter of public safety, law enforcement, and fire service. When I was in the New York State Senate, I had a very close relationship with the State Police. Certainly, as mayor of the City of Buffalo, I worked very closely with our police department, one of the largest municipal police departments in the state of New York, outside of New York City, actually the second largest police department, and enjoy strong support from deputy sheriffs in Erie County, Buffalo Police Officers, New York State Police," he said. "And in any community, public safety is critically important. Legislator Deleo is one of our security officers at the property. They do a very good job on the property. We also have a relationship with the Sheriff's Department, which certainly will continue. 

"Yesterday … many people from Batavia Downs attended the road dedication for Sergeant Sanfratello, and it just brought back to me how important public safety is," he said. "That certainly was a tragedy that occurred, and we will be working very closely with law enforcement, very closely with our security officers, to make sure that on the property, in the property, around the property, we are maintaining a safe environment.”

Legislator John Deleo added, “Batavia Downs is one of our polished diamonds, and I hope it continues to shine.” He also expressed concern about “whether we’re on parity now” or if more was going to the state. “If we’re not, I hope that you can break this situation and keep the money home.”

“That is a great point; we are not at parity right now,” Brown said. “That is part of our legislative agenda. As a former state senator, I served on the Gaming, Racing and Wagering Committee in the New York State Senate, so I have familiarity with the operation of that committee. We will be very focused, very aggressive in pursuing the legislative agenda that the board has established for us,” he said. “That certainly is one of the items in the legislative agenda and we have been formulating our strategies so that we can hit the ground running when the legislature goes back into session in January.”

The legislative process is one where relationships are “critically important,” he said, and he believes that his background and that of his team are keys to opening more doors of the process, at least to “be able to get in the door and have a conversation about the things that are important to WROTB … and to Genesee County,” he said.

“One of the issues that we're really zeroing in on is the tax rate and getting parity. We have a higher tax rate than other properties, and we want to make the case to the state that it made sense to bring us into parity with other properties, not only because it would make Western Regional Off-Track Betting more financially profitable but it would also produce greater revenue to the 17 member municipalities, and that will strengthen 17 municipalities in Western New York, including Genesee County,” Brown said. “One of the things that I have learned in government is there are threats that are seen and threats that are unseen. We will be paying close attention, and we will be very plugged into what's happening in Albany so that we can stay ahead of the curve. We don't want to find things out after they've already happened to us; we want to know what's happening before threats arise and try to pick those things off before it's too late to do anything to prevent them. So that will be our approach. Legislatively, we're going to be very active in Albany.” 

City Councilman Bob Bialkowski said that some city residents have complained about the noise levels and timing of concerts — continuing later at night past city ordinance — and Brown said he is “a stickler for the rules.” He offered to meet with neighbors to hear about issues when necessary.

“We don’t want a growing, thriving business and a declining community,” he said. “If a concert is supposed to end at a certain time, it will end at that time.”

Another goal is a potential hotel expansion, which the board has already been exploring. A property should at least be refreshed every seven to 10 years, he said, to continue a strong patronage of the hotel.

“The hotel is one of the, if not the, most successful in the region,” he said. “We have been able to improve the quality of the three restaurants and have been getting good reviews. That keeps people coming back.”

He referred to a Downs commercial and said that he’s had to practice the tagline “over and over,” predicting he might just show up in one of the promotions sometime: "You’re not going to just like coming here, you’re going to love coming here,” he said, really punching his voice on the love.

“We plan on being very visible, not just in the property, but very visible in the community as well. And I have a history of extensive community engagement in the different government offices that I have been in,” he said. “One of the things that I took real pride in is getting out with the people, getting out into the community, and building strong relationships with the community.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. had shared concerns about times when VLT money was withheld at the state level, which caused financial stress for the city. Brown said he would “certainly work to help with that” and that it’s part of the mission to strengthen and grow the corporation, as it was when he was mayor working with the Seneca Nation and its casino. There were times when expected monies did not come, he said, and he was urged to give up, but “we stayed plugged in” to the governor’s office and the Senate Commission, and the situation eventually turned for the better. 

“We hope to be very articulate about the needs of the corporation and the needs of the surrounding local community, and we will be a voice with you in expressing the needs of the community to our legislators and to our governor,” he said. 

Jankowski appreciated the meeting and Brown’s words, he said. 

“And I'm confident that he has all the skills he needs and the intentions to do a really good job in Genesee County. I liked his answers to our questions. He seems very thorough, he seems very well thought out. And I think he has a really good plan, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with the Batavia Downs,” Jankowski said. “He obviously has no control over (VLT distribution), but as someone who's actually working at the downs and may have input in that decision, I'm confident that he will go to bat for our county and try to keep us in the loop as far as continued payouts and so on, so that our budget is able to keep up with the rising costs of a lot of things. We look forward to that VLT money to help us through that. So I think he realized how important that was to us, and I think he's going to do his best to help us out with that.”
 

With some 80 firefighters, including nearly all of the city fire department’s team, city management, public works, and eight responding fire companies plus Genesee County Emergency Management, the Howard Street fire on the city’s Southside this past weekend gave pause for officials and spectators alike, City Council President Eugene Jankowski says.

Considered to be the city’s largest structure fire in recent years, the blaze at Baskin Livstock was reported early Saturday morning, and city firefighters are still hitting hot spots, Chief Josh Graham said. Jankowski noted this week that social media posts pointed to the collective response and teamwork throughout the work to get the fire under control and out.

“Somebody commented on social media and said that you must train a lot together, because everybody seems so cohesive, all the different fire units over there all seem to really work well together. And I know we have a really good emergency management as it is, but that's a good side. And everybody was working together and getting the job done,” Jankowski said during Tuesday’s business meeting at City Hall. “It was a big fire, and it was nice to see everybody working together, as they always have, but other people … they seemed shocked when they mentioned it was interesting to see that everybody was working together.”

“Everybody” included fire companies from the town of Batavia, Elba, East Pembroke, Bergen, Le Roy, Stafford, Albion and Alexander, which covered 10 additional incidents in the city on Saturday, Graham said. 

The city manager and assistant manager brought food and refreshments to the firefighters at the scene and DPW Director Tom Phelps was also called into assist with water needs. He tallied the gallons of water required to help battle the blaze from the city water and wastewater system.

“We were pumping out about 2.6 million when the fire came in, then we were at 3 million,” Phelps said, adding that the water volume was increased to 3.5 million gallons and ended at about 4 million when the fire was at full momentum. There were repairs to waterlines in the area, which includes nearby Graham Manufacturing, in the last three to six months, he said.

“That's something I never would have thought of, that the water sewer plant would have had to be brought into this and have somebody there to be able to adjust the water supply, because I just never thought of it,” Jankowski said. “So it's important that we have those things in place. We thank you for all coming down on a Saturday. I mean, people could have been out of town, could have been anywhere else ... everybody was able to get in. Good work on that.”

Given the proximity of Graham’s property, the situation could have been worse, but the site only suffered some melting plastic and was saved from more extensive damage and loss, Graham said. There were still some hot spots that city firefighters were continuing to monitor and put out at least through Wednesday, he said. 

He has not named a cause of the fire as it is still being investigated, and the site's insurance company has been at the scene, he said.

Anyone who has walked or cycled down a city street may have experienced some trepidation when dealing with automobile traffic on major routes and wished there were more options for pedestrians and bicyclists to get from home to shopping, recreation, work and appointments.

City management is hoping to do just that with a citywide transportation study, with the eventual goal of improving transportation options and safety for people who use modes of transportation other than motorized vehicles. 

City Council has tentatively approved the study for $80,000, which will be paid for with a $70,000 federal grant and $10,000 from the city, and City Manager Rachael Tabelski briefed council members about the study during this week’s conference session.

“The corridors we've identified that we really want to focus on include downtown Batavia, the Uptown Connection, which would be connecting transportation options from downtown to the Harvester campus, the Healthy Living triangle that connects the McCarthy Ice Arena, Austin Park and Ellicott Trail with the newly constructed Healthy Living campus, improving the Ellicott Street corridor — that's one of our main focuses of the study is to look at the traffic in that corridor and look at any type of traffic calming measures that help it help pedestrians and bicyclists feel safer in the Ellicott Street corridor — the West Side commercial corridor, and then parks and recreation areas and how they connect to neighborhoods,” Tabelski said. “So those would be the goals and the focus of the study. Once the study is done, you can then apply for grant funds using the study in the future.”

The city has been awarded a $70,000 grant from the Genesee Transportation Council. It will match the funding with $10,000 of committed funds and establish a steering committee to work with a consultant to complete the project.

The study will identify opportunities for enhanced connectivity between neighborhoods, reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, and ensure that all residents, including those in underserved areas, have access to safe and efficient active transportation options, according to the plan. It will also aim to bolster the use of non-motorized transportation, such as walking, cycling, and multi-modal transportation options, which align with the goals of the city’s 2017 Comprehensive Plan.

The city has already made progress on improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure through various initiatives, Tabelski said, including the Transportation Enhancements/Alternatives Program, Healthy Schools Corridor, approximately $5 million in sidewalk investments over the past decade, and the creation of the Ellicott Trail that winds throughout the city. However, officials believe there remains a need to identify and implement further improvements to create a more connected and accessible transportation network and a healthy living corridor.

Once the final plan is adopted, it should provide a framework that will help the city achieve the following:

Create a citywide transportation plan as a guide for implementing and enhancing safety, access, and connectivity for all modes of transportation.

Provide opportunities to promote healthier, more active lifestyles for city residents by improving mobility and connections to jobs, shopping, and recreation in the downtown area, focusing on the "Healthy Living Triangle."

Improve access to the South side of Batavia through improvements to the Ellicott Street corridor, including pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

Connecting downtown, Ellicott Street/Ellicott Trail and the Uptown corridor (Harvester Street and Swan Street) will improve walkability, access to businesses, arts and culture, and create a feeling of safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Reduce the risk of traffic accidents on major routes within the city.

There are several projects underway that will have an impact on transportation in Batavia, city management says, including:

Ellicott Street Corridor -- a key route through Batavia that connects Routes 63 and 5 -- had a major overhaul several years ago to make it a two-lane highway for trucker traffic and seemed to hamper much of the traffic entering from side streets, is in need of improvement to better connect neighborhoods, key destinations, and the growing pedestrian and cyclist traffic. 

Ellicott Trail, a multi-use path that runs through the corridor, requires upgrades to enhance safety and accessibility for non-motorized users. Additional housing developments and mixed-use projects have added affordable and market-rate housing units, increasing pedestrian and bike traffic. With 38% of traffic consisting of light trucks and an active rail line crossing near downtown, the corridor faces significant challenges.

Planned upgrades will focus on improving traffic flow, ensuring pedestrian and cyclist safety, reducing speed, exploring traffic-calming measures, improving crossings, and improving signage. 

Environmental Justice and equity: the city is home to several environmental justice block groups, and the demographic composition underscores the importance of making the transportation system more accessible, inclusive and safe for all residents, especially the Ellicott Street Corridor. The transportation plan will focus on addressing the needs of these vulnerable populations, ensuring that improvements benefit all residents, particularly those in underserved communities.

Downtown/Uptown Connection: In 2017, the city began advancing downtown revitalization projects to stimulate economic growth and revitalize its downtown. To date, it has resulted in $65 million in improvements. These grant-funded improvements have enhanced the downtown, improving connectivity for residents, supporting multimodal transportation between downtown, the uptown connection of Harvester Avenue and surrounding residential neighborhoods, helping to sustain economic momentum.

Zoning code update: For the first time in more than two decades, the city is reevaluating and comprehensively updating its city code. The code update will be comprehensive, user-friendly, pro-economic development and simple to read.

The mandatory task is to form a project steering/advisory committee by identifying all applicable stakeholders, such as state transportation facilities and other infrastructure (road, bridge, bike or pedestrian facilities or transit). If stakeholders are not part of the committee, they must have the opportunity to review and comment on draft recommendations that impact their facilities.

Other tasks include publicly announcing a request for proposals, and a designated group will evaluate the responses and hire a consultant with specialized experience in active transportation planning; having the consultant collaborate with the committee, which may include representatives from the Genesee County Planning Department, town of Batavia, Batavia Development Corp., Batavia Improvement District, Genesee Community College, Chamber of Commerce, City Council, Genesee County Economic Development Center, Batavia Police Department, local business owners, GTC staff, Regional Transit Service and Office for the Aging. These entities will assist by providing relevant data, reviewing project tasks and evaluating feasible options. 

The consultant is to perform an analysis of current conditions and assess the needs of the project area, including the city’s background, historical context, planning documents, existing land use, ownership and zoning regulations; a comparison of the findings to the goals and priorities outlined in the city’s strategic plan, ensuring alignment with the vision for the community’s future development, including integration of complete street and traffic calming elements where applicable; analyzing motor vehicle traffic patterns, identifying physical and program needs; and engaging the public through meetings, surveys, stakeholder interviews and/or focus groups.

The committee and consultant will collaborate to identify opportunities to enhance active transportation throughout the city based on the needs previously identified and eventually recommend improvements to multi-modal circulation and access throughout the area, in preparation for a final report that summarizes the key findings and recommendations. 

Public participation is crucial to the study, and the consultant plans are to include and engage low-income, minority, disabled, senior and youth populations. Two public meetings will be scheduled to gather input on existing conditions, needs and goals and to then present draft findings and recommendations and obtain feedback before finalizing the study. 

A tentative schedule has been set to begin with November for scope of work approval, an RFP release in January 2025, selection of the consultant and City Council approval in March, a signed contract by April, a kickoff meeting in May, existing conditions analysis and needs assessment finalized by August, concept plans, strategies and recommendations finalized by October, a draft final report by the end of 2025, and a completed study by February 2026. 

Granting an age exemption would mean a loss of more than $2 million in taxable property value for the city; however, given the city’s overall $100 million property value, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says the timing seems right.

City Council is looking at giving property owners age 65 and older who meet certain income limitations a greater tax exemption on their home, similar to what Genesee County has already adopted. The county’s resolution increased the exemption levels for county tax, and “in response, the city would also propose to increase the income levels of individuals to qualify for the exemption,” Tabelski said.

“So to be in line with the county — we haven't changed the limit since 1994 — I'm bringing it to you for your discussion and decision,” she said during this week’s conference meeting at City Hall.

She has recommended adjusting the scale to mirror the county’s income limits for homeowners 65 and older with incomes at or below $23,800 for a 50% property tax exemption and capping off at $32,199.99 with a 5% exemption.

Council briefly discussed this option previously, and Tabelski brought it back to the table to potentially include in future budget talks. She said it would become effective in the 2025 assessment roll year. 

Exemptions would be 50% for a maximum income of up to $23,800, slide down to 45% for up to $24,799.99, and continue decreasing by 5% increments while the income level increases about $1,000 each time until it hits the highest income of $32,199.99 for an exemption of 5% (see table below).

Exemption Minimum Income Maximum Income

50%               $0                         $23,800.00

45%               $23,800.01           $24,799.99

40%               $24,800.00           $25,799.99

35%               $25,800.00           $26,799.99

30%               $26,800.00           $27,699.00

25%               $27,700.00            $28,599.99

20%               $28,600.00           $29,499.99

15%                $29,500.00           $30,399.99

10%                $30,400.00          $31,299.99

5%                  $31,300.00           $32,199.99

The city’s current sliding scale for property tax exemptions begin with an income of $16,500 or below for the 50% exemption, and tops out at $24,000 for 5% exemption.

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said he was for this exemption. He emphasized the importance of approving this plan as another way for people to retain their own properties.

“Not only is it important to keep in line with the county, but more important to help people in the city; this might make the difference of whether they’re able to stay in their house, so I think we should do all we can,” Jankowski said.

A councilman asked how this would impact city revenue. 

“We’ll lose up to $2.6 million. So that is your assessment value, so it’s not pure revenue, it’s what we assess properties at,” Tabelski said. “So this exemption would take $2.6 million out of that value. But in the last year, the assessor had reported to us that we have $100 million in taxable value from 2023 to 2024, so this would be a year to go ahead and do that. So the value that came in is not only reassessments of homes, but also new businesses and improving businesses.”

The consensus of the group was to move forward with the exemption. 

While a wine bar and waste disposal company may seem as opposite as you can get for entrepreneurial pursuits, they each have qualified for a $20,000 Revolving Loan Fund grant and city leaders' encouragement as worthwhile endeavors in the city of Batavia.

City Council approved the grant requests from Jon Waggoner of Waggoner Holdings for building improvements at 41 Jackson St., which will be home to Shush Wine Bar, LLC, and to Jean Lucas of Enercon Systems Inc., doing business as Eco Waste Solutions at 109 Cedar St.

Eco Waste Solutions is a government contractor that converts waste to energy, especially in remote job locations where sewer systems and waste removal do not exist, City Manager Rachael Tabelski said during Monday’s council meeting at City Hall. 

“Rather than burning waste or burying waste or disposing of it in other ways, they have advanced technology used by the military, natural resource companies and remote communities,” Tabelski said. “They have purchased a building on Cedar Street and would like to do exterior renovations. And I believe, Tammy, correct me if I'm wrong, this location is the U.S. headquarters for research, development, manufacturing and assembly.”

Batavia Development Corporation Director Tammy Hathaway revised that to say manufacturing is “actually done in Ohio,” and assembly is performed on Cedar Street. It’s a Canadian company with a CEO who lives in Hamilton.

“It's a very interesting story. The CEO was actually traveling with her and her husband with their muscle car to a car show in Syracuse. They stopped here in the City Centre when I was going to have lunch and fell in love with Batavia, so they drove around. This was two years ago when they found the site was released on Cedar Street; it was the old Verizon building. And a year later, started the motions to purchase the building,” Hathaway said. “They do have a contract with the Department of Defense, and the incinerators are used — soldiers cannot, but they have to dispose of their trash when they're deployed overseas. They were using jet fuel and it was giving a burn lung syndrome, and so this eliminates that.

“They're very interesting units to see. It's like the back of a box truck, a small delivery truck. They assemble into three components. You can put a tire on one side that comes out clean air on the other,” she said. “They also use it in expeditions. They have smaller units for expeditions, the Andes and different places, so that there's no trash (left behind).”

The company project is for $65,000 of renovations, Tabelski said, and CEO Jean Lucas requested a $20,000 from the city’s Revolving Loan Fund. The BDC reviewed and approved the request, which was now before council for a vote.

“I’d like to also add that this is a two-part project. This is for the exterior renovations,” Hathaway said. “They will have a project that will be for interior renovations as well that they will not apply for funding for.”

City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. added a point about the fund’s origins.

“I think that's the original intent of it, was to improve the outward appearance of various businesses and the storefronts,” he said, encouraging any council questions.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski asked if any of the manufacturing would be done on the premises, and Hathaway said that’s all done in Ohio. There are “research technicians and engineers; they’re putting it all together” here in Batavia, she said.

“There’s a lot of components on the inside,” Hathaway said, as Tabelski added, “and so higher-end jobs and more of the R&D high-end assembly; it’s here.”

The current staff is 10 to 12 people, and “they probably don’t really expect to have many more than that,” Hathaway said. One unit will be assembled on the inside of the building and tested outside at the rear, per the space available, she said, and to ensure that “everything is done absolutely to perfection.”

A key piece to an outside company being located here is that it has used local contractors since the beginning of the lease, she said.

“Anyone that they needed for fabricating, an electrician, they used all locals,” she said. “At one point, the CEO had logged 28 local companies from the city of Batavia and the surrounding area.”

The Batavian first wrote about Eco Waste Solutions being located at Cedar Street in August 2023 after speaking with an employee at the site and it soon after was awarded a $100,000 Empire State Development grant and $180,000 in excelsior jobs tax credits to manufacture its waste disposal systems as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $27 million financial package.

The other project would also require an investment of $65,000 but is “a little bit different,” Hathaway said, in that it would involve more interior renovation, including a “rearrangement of where the kitchen was” at 41 Jackson St., which is the older, longtime Salvania’s Restaurant and the more recent Gilliana’s Diner. 

The building has “received about a quarter of a million dollars of private investment thus far,” Tabelski said, and property owner Jon Waggoner of Waggoner Holdings has requested the $20,000 from the Revolving Loan Fund. 

The renovations are in preparation for Shush Wine Bar LLC to move in and open by early next year, business manager Rob Credi said during a previous interview with The Batavian. 

City Council approved both grants during a business meeting that followed.

What to do when there are vacancies and few good candidates, but then qualified employees want to live beyond residency requirements for the city of Batavia?

That was a question on the table for the City Council during its conference session Monday evening after city management explained the dilemma of a Batavia Police officer. He would like to purchase a home that is “merely minutes” outside of the city residency boundaries — and therefore Chief Shawn Heubusch requested a residency waiver.

“Officer Samuel Freeman has been a member of the department since April of 2020 and has displayed a strong commitment to the department based upon him taking on additional roles,” Heubusch said in a memo to City Manager Rachael Tabelski. “Officer Freeman’s current residence meets the residency requirement, but he does not own the home. He is seeking a waiver of the residency requirement so that he may purchase his own home in a neighboring township to his current residence.

“Officer Freeman is a very dedicated officer,” Heubusch said during the meeting. “He works second platoon or the three to 11 shift. He has indicated to me he has no intentions of leaving our department. He loves it here.”

City Council has granted waivers before, usually for management positions including assistant manager and fire chief  to code enforcement officer — and at one point several years ago approved 14 waivers at one time, allowing employees to live within Genesee County when it seemed more prudent to do so than risk losing employees.

Tabelski spoke about a time about five years ago when the city reconfigured its residency borders and how that may need to be recalculated.

“I provided everyone with a map so you can look at it. As you can see, several years ago, back in 2019, I'll say, yep, April of 2019, defined our border as the adjacent towns to the city. However, when you look at the 15-minute and 20-mile radius, there are actually locations where you can't live but are closer than some of the locations inside this border,” she said. “So with this waiver, if council does grant it, I'd also like permission for a work group to be assembled to reexamine the residency proposed policy for the city of Batavia, because giving away waivers isn't the point of having a residency requirement.”

When the city used to get 120 candidates for the police officer Civil Service jobs, there were just 100 this last time, Tabelski said. Recruiting and hiring is getting more difficult as it is, not even accounting for having the residency requirement on top of that, Heubusch added, which further exasperates the situation of potential loss of current employees.

“I would just add that Officer Freeman is a very dedicated member of the department. He is a field training officer. He's currently a member of our emergency response team. He has become a firearms instructor in the Department. He takes on a lot of additional responsibilities.  He loves the city of Batavia and working here, but he's a country boy at heart, and he's just looking for some property so he can go hunting,” Heubusch said. “Quite honestly, that's what it boils down to. And again, we've had issues with locating candidates. To Rachael's point, we did discuss this residency back in 2019 with other department heads over here at the time. We made some changes to it. There still are issues with retention and recruiting because of our residency, it comes up from time to time. So we'd like to take a look at that.”

While the waiver is an understandable request, perhaps the issue does need a more thorough review, Councilman Bob Bialkowski said.

“Maybe we’re doing something wrong here,” he said. “At 4:30, there’s a whole line of people leaving. I’d like to see more and more people becoming stakeholders in the community.”

They all agreed that a waiver was the right thing to do now, with a workgroup appointed in the future to review the overall problem and determine if there are other solutions. 

During the business meeting that followed, council approved the waiver by a vote of 6 to 0. Members David Twichell, Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis, Eugene Jankowski, and Tammy Schmidt all said yes, and Bialkowski added, “Sadly, yes.” 

Due to the very nature of their work, which involves traumatic incidents and injuries, police officers and firefighters have a higher likelihood of developing addictions to opioids as a result of stress and mental health issues, Lynda Battaglia says.

And as director of Genesee County’s Mental Health Department, Battaglia wants to alleviate those employees’ stressors in any way possible — beginning right alongside of them.

"We think of the physicality of their jobs. The extra gear and uniform and what they have to carry, what they have to do, physically, they're more susceptible to potential injury as well as acute or chronic pain, oftentimes, which is treated with opioids,” Battaglia said during this week’s City Council meeting. “On top of that, we have their continued and repeated exposure to traumatic events every day that they are working. They're responding to calls that are unpredictable. They have very high stress jobs. We couple mental health with the physical demands of the job, coupled with, you know, the potential for high risk. These disciplines are at higher risk for developing dual diagnosis, which is mental health and opioid addiction.

"So by us getting ahead of the curve and developing this program and doing check-ins, it will allow for firefighters and officers to just be able to share what's on their mind, that they can get that out instead of keeping it in. To keep it in it just grows, and that's when real problems start to be created,” she said. “So we need to address it more in the moment. I'll have specific and certified counselors assigned to this program that are culturally competent, that they understand the work that these two professions do in these two departments.” 

Mental health is becoming a larger issue for public safety officers across the country, Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said. It’s part of the city’s police and fire pilot wellness program for embedded services in both departments. Services will be paid for with $18,000 from an Opioid Abatement Fund through Genesee County. 

Bi-annual mental health check-ins will be scheduled every six months with licensed mental health professionals, with a focus on assessing mental health and providing support. There will be ride-alongs at least once a year to offer opportunities for clinicians to accompany officers and firefighters during their actual working shifts, plus periodic wellness workshops, which will be open to all officers, firefighters and their families, and crisis intervention as needed. 

“So a lot of the programs that we're looking at doing are, they're not groundbreaking, but they're simple and to the point. We're going to look at some mental health check-ins with our officers and our firefighters. They'll be scheduled on a regular basis. Obviously, we're in August now, so probably one before the end of the year, and then, evaluate the program moving forward right along,” he said. “So we'll have clinicians right along with the officers and with the firefighters on staff to get a better understanding of their jobs and what some of the stressors are and try to assist them with whatever that may be. A lot of it will be breaking down barriers between public safety individuals and mental health. That's the biggest thing we have  to overcome. 

“So we're pretty excited about the program. We've been talking about it for a long time, doing everything that we can support our officers and our public safety employees in the city,” he said. “We think this is a huge step forward, and I want to thank Linda for the opportunity to partner with us also.” 

City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr., a former police officer and retired lieutenant, added that’s “another step in a positive direction, it’s a positive thing to address this.”

Heubusch emphasized that he was not looking for any direct feedback from the clinician sessions spent with officers; there wouldn’t be any reports issued to him, and the police union has not opposed this plan, he said.

“It’s just getting the officers, firefighters, accustomed to that person that's with them, and then breaking down the barriers, having some conversation. It's not a fitness for duty type thing, or anything like that. That is really just having a support mechanism for our staff and an outlet at some point in time,” he said. “One of the biggest things that is climbing in our field is suicide, and unfortunately, officers are seeing that there's no other out for them so we want to do everything we can to wrap services around them if they need it. If something comes up where there is a need for further services or treatment, those are discussions that we'll have.”

These sessions were not going to be considered formal therapy, Battaglia said, just an opportunity for employees to talk and share with the mental health professionals. 

Three weeks isn't exactly right around the corner, but it's at least on the horizon for a dozen business owners desperately waiting for handicap parking to be restored, and that's where the timeline stands as of Monday evening, according to City Manager Rachael Tabelski.

Work has been mapped out with traffic cones, tape and fencing several weeks ago, and officially kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony a week ago, and now is expected to further ramp up with the ongoing commotion of the $15.5 million building project.

"Construction continues to progress toward site and utility work being finished in the next three weeks to open up that first row of parkng which we did discuss will be reopened for those Washington  Street businesses," Tabelski said during council's conference session at City Hall. "Once the site work is complete, the contractors will move on to placing footers for the building and bringing in various construction trailers on site for the remainder of the project."

The city proposed this plan as business owners heavily complained about losing that adjacent row of parking next to their offices, citing the on-street parking on Washington Avenue as insufficient and dangerous for people with disabilities and assistive walking devices. 

In related action, City Council approved:

• A contract with Barron & Associates to perform work for the new police station being constructed downtown in the parking lot of Alva Place and Bank Street. The company was selected out of four proposals to perform special inspections services for the construction at a cost of $40,000. 

  Barron, based in Clarence, is a geotechnical consulting company that performs subsurface investigation and analysis and design and consulting services, construction inspections and testing.

• A $200,000 law enforcement technology grant obtained by Police Chief Shawn Heubusch to be used for small equipment and contract services for the police department.

• An agreement with Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp./Batavia Downs for city police services on several dates at the Park Road facility throughout the summer.

  Dates include June 21 and 2; July 5, 12, 19 and 26; and August 2, 9 and 16. 

Downtown property owner Sharon Kubiniec made a return visit to City Council Monday evening to remind the elected leaders that, despite the good intentions and efforts made so far to rectify a parking issue around the new police station in progress, “we are not flourishing.”

Taken from the city’s mission statement to create and sustain a vibrant, affordable, safe community that includes a supportive environment where businesses continuously flourish, she emphasized that the last portion was certainly not true for those dozen small business owners since construction began a couple of months ago. 

Kubiniec also read through the city’s vision statement, countering with how life has been since work began in the parking lot at Alva Place and Bank Street in downtown Batavia several weeks ago. One portion that states, “our community members will be actively involved in the decision we made and active in bringing our plans to life,” was countered with, “We now know that in March of 2023, the negative state environmental quality review (SEQR) was approved by Batavia City Council. A negative SEQR means that the construction project has no negative effect on the environment,, traffic, and noise level of the area … that the parking lot surrounding the project area will remain open to the public.”

“Each affected business should have received direct notification of the proposed parking lot closure last summer when the plans were finalized. 

“You took 85% of our parking,” she said. “We bought these businesses because they had parking.”

“I just want to have a sit-down meeting where I can have a back and forth because I really do believe that you guys can give us answers that will put our fears to rest,” she said during the council’s meeting at City Hall.  “I’m not trying to be contentious with you. I'm just trying to gain information. And I don't know how this process works. I've never heard of a SEQR before … I’m just trying to gain information. I don't believe you understand the undue stress that this has placed on the businesses along Washington Avenue. We are all just trying to go to work, do our jobs and make a living every day as each patron, patient, employee and citizen of Batavia approaches us to complain about the egregious lack of parking in our offices.

“We still do not have handicapped parking. We appreciate the new plan to open up one row of parking. But I beg of you that you allow us to have a two-way conversation regarding the next two years, two years that will deeply affect our businesses,” she said. “I want to say my words very carefully because I have no ill will towards anybody. This has just affected my life immensely over the last couple of months. I'm not sleeping; I'm stressed to the max because my property value has changed when trying to sell a business, and that is all halted because our whole parking lot was closed off. That scares people; they don't want to buy businesses in downtown Batavia because they find out our city council can just close a parking lot without any warning.” 

She also said that one of their worst fears — patient safety being compromised by using Washington Avenue for handicapped parking — has already happened, with three people falling between their vehicles and the medical office to which they were headed.

“We have cameras on our sidewalks, and our sidewalks right now are being utilized 10 times more than they ever were before. So I have much more traffic on my particular property,” she said. I’m just begging you to have a meeting with the business owners to just sit down because, as I just did with (Police Chief Shawn Heubusch), he was able to put one of our fears to rest by telling us that the employees of the police department will not be parking on the outside, but they will be in that secured facility. So please just sit down with us. That’s all we’re asking. I’m not looking to break anybody; I’m not looking to attack anybody. I just want to get information so that we can put our minds at rest and assure our patients that they’re going to be in a safe environment.” 

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr., a decades-long police officer and retired lieutenant who, in a prior meeting, said he thought some of the protests was in a tone of being against the new police station, asked if the business group had an attorney. Kubiniec said yes.  

Jankowski quickly referred the matter to City Attorney George Van Nest, who advised council that since the group had retained counsel that no discussions should take place. 

“Under the circumstances, since counsel has been retained, I would suggest to the council it's not prudent to engage in back and forth dialogue if there's a potential litigation threat,” Van Nest said. “The second thing I would say, council, is there was an update issued April 30, relative to phase one, phase two parking. There's nothing more to add to that at this point in time relative to timing. When there are further updates, they’ll be provided by the project team.”

The business group had initially attempted to seek answers from the city and encountered what it called “a gag order,” so it retained an attorney to file a Freedom of Information request so that all involved could read the SEQR and background materials and get those answers, Kubiniec told The Batavian. 

“The city responded that, ‘due to the volume of records involved, the city of Batavia will have records available by Sept. 6, 2024.’ This was a disappointing response given that these records are mostly electronic and typically available within 20 days,” she said. 

Kubiniec commended Heubusch for being willing to take time and answer some of her questions before the meeting began. 

The Batavian reached out to the two at-large council members, Bob Bialkowski and Rich Richmond, and Jankowski for further comment about why the elected city leaders won’t talk to the business owners and if they feel they are representing the city’s vision statement for businesses.

Jankowski passed those questions on to City Manager Rachael Tabelski, who responded later Tuesday afternoon. 

“We have engaged in various and multiple discussions with the business owners; the fact is that the business owners have retained counsel, and it would not be prudent for the City to engage in any further dialog at this time,” she said. “We have been open and transparent regarding the plans for the police station and the accommodations the City is making to assist the impacted businesses, which we will continue to do when practical.”

Bialkowski responded to The Batavian and said that “I sympathize with the business owners,” but that it seemed as though the city had done all it could do at this point. He believes that a front row of parking to be used for those with disabilities will be available to those businesses. He didn’t understand, however, why the two sides couldn’t talk just because the business owners have an attorney, as many professionals do. 

Richmond did not respond to a request for comment.

The city released an updated parking plan on April 30 in an effort to compromise with its initial layout, which restricted parking for the cluster of businesses along Washington Avenue and State Street. At that time, Dr. Adam Gregor said that while he appreciated the effort, he didn’t believe it was really enough of an improvement. Kubiniec said it was “a step into the right direction” but did need more moving forward. 

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The last two days have seen a whirlwind of activity — social media posts, email chains, a petition and attempts to reach out to City Council -- from the group of Downtown Batavia business owners upset and overwhelmed with parking issues due to the new police facility construction staging area and a lack of handicap parking directly in front of their offices in the parking lot at Alva Place and Bank Street.

The business group is seeking at least a thousand signatures on the petition, filed with change.org. The petition urges the “City Council of Batavia to take immediate action by restoring promised parking spaces during construction of our much-needed Police Station.”

“By doing so, they can improve accessibility for those who need it most while supporting local businesses that contribute significantly to our city's economy,” the petition states.

The idea behind the document is so that “the city can understand how many people this affects,” property owner Sharon Kubiniec said Saturday. The business group will then present it to city council and pertinent staff involved in the project, she said.

"April 10, they promised one row of parking along the north side of the buildings as well as the west end to be provided by Dr. Canzoneri and Village Physical Therapy. So we’re looking for one row of handicap parking, we’re concerned about our handicap patients," Kubiniec said. “I have been in that building for over 40 years, and very rarely has Washington Avenue sidewalks ever been plowed. And the snow builds up there. December when patients are parking on Washington Avenue, climbing over snowbanks to icy sidewalks, those are accidents waiting to happen, and that’s what we want to avoid.”

When the business owners first learned about a new police station being built in that lot location, “we thought it was great; we would be safer,” she said. But they were never brought to the construction site to actually see the setup. 

Once fencing went up, their patients were shut out from parking close to the offices and relegated to street parking, which many have objected to as insufficient for elderly patients, those with disabilities, and those with walking devices. Business owners have since said they have lost customers due to the inconvenience and hassle and are concerned about their patient's safety.

“The business model shows businesses thriving, we’re not thriving. For us not to be considered is horrible,” Kubiniec said. “They’re trying to make the police department happy, that’s wonderful, but it can’t just serve one sector of the population. 

“I’m not trying to put the blame anywhere,” she said. “Let’s move the fence back 40 feet so we can use that one row of parking. We are trying to amicably solve the problem. We want to be reasonable, we want a win-win for everybody. When Eugene Jankowski says you need to give a little, well they need to give a little as well.” 

City Manager Rachael Tabelski emailed Kubiniec an update Saturday that using a shuttle bus for patients was not going to work because no city employee was available to drive the vehicle, but she was checking on pricing from RTS as another option.

Other updates would be forthcoming as to “the city’s accommodation plans,” Tabelski said, and “we are working on different options to help the business owners on Washington and State and pushing our architects to relook at site/staging layout.”

Although there wasn’t ample detail, it was a response, which Kubiniec appreciated, she said.

“The unknowing is what’s so scary for businesses,” she said. “We need more communication.”

On Thursday, she attempted to talk to City Councilman-at-Large Bob Bialkowski, who informed her that council members were not to discuss the police station issues with business owners. Council President Eugene Jankowski said that all such matters were to be referred to Tabelski as the project lead. 

Kubiniec questions that line of authorization since a letter dated March 8, 2023, related to the state environmental review, states that “City Council of Batavia announced its intent to serve as lead agency on Feb. 13, 2023 …” If the council was the lead agency for the SEQR at that time, she believes council members should have the authority to speak to business owners now.   

Dr. Joseph Canzoneri, who owns his own podiatry practice on State Street, posted his thoughts on social media Saturday morning. He opened with “People of Batavia, you are getting forced a new police station guaranteed to have cost over runs with a budget set at almost $15.5 million today and it hasn’t even started yet?”

“They need one, and I certainly would agree to that. But at what expense to the community and to the taxpayers as well as businesses directly involved in the proximity in Alva Place?” he continued. 

The planning board approved final plans without inviting any of the affected businesses, he said, and no impact studies were done as to the “sheer volume and parking spots needed to continue to do business.”

“Their remedy was to create parallel parking for disabled people and exhausting distances for people to walk just to support the businesses they support for years. They knew what they were doing and when questioned about the disability act they said because they own the parking lot they could basically do what they want,” he said. “Jankowski city council president is hell bent to fulfill his selfish legacy of a new police station. No matter what detrimental affects (sic) it has on the community. He is shameful to call people antipolice as he scapegoats the attention created by the injustice for those that oppose the planning and staging area which destroys valid parking for businesses to survive and safety considerations for patients.” 

He also urged people to remember this during the next election.

Jankowski said that even though Canzoneri “said hurtful things about me I’m confident we can still work something out for all the businesses and their patrons.”

“It’s the right thing to do, and I’m not giving up,” Jankowski said. “The city manager has been working tirelessly on solutions to resolve the business owners’ complaints.  All options are being explored but it does take a few days to make them work.” 

As for the petition, here it is in its entirety:

In the heart of Batavia, NY, a personal struggle is unfolding. Patients being treated by these local businesses are attempting to attend their appointments but find themselves having to park far away from their destinations. Most of these people are elderly and qualify for handicap parking, which has been removed.  This situation is causing undue hardship, with some finding it impossible to keep their appointments. Some are even resorting to double parking on Washington Ave and unsafely exiting their cars.  Other customers have found that they now must carry their heavy computer from the Mall parking lot to Millennium Computers for service.

This issue stems from the City Council's decision not to restore parking in the downtown lot at Alva and Bank Street where the new Police Station is being built. Businesses were promised one row of parking along the north end of this lot, adjacent to their establishments - a promise that remains unfulfilled.

The lack of adequate handicap parking for businesses on State Street and Washington Ave is causing suffering not only for patients but also for clients, employees, and businesses themselves. The current situation threatens both public safety and local commerce.

We urge the City Council of Batavia to take immediate action by restoring promised parking spaces during construction of our much needed Police Station. By doing so, they can improve accessibility for those who need it most while supporting local businesses that contribute significantly to our city's economy.

Please sign this petition if you believe in creating an accessible city that supports its residents' health needs as well as its local economy.

See HERE for prior coverage about this issue.

A private meeting that began at the city police station Monday for a dozen downtown business owners to discuss parking concerns with city management and the architect of a new police station spilled out before City Council later during an open conference session at City Hall.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour, and when walking out of police headquarters at 10 W. West Main St., Patrick Privatera, owner of Village Physical Therapy, seemed none too optimistic about the future of the business that he established in the corner of Alva Place and State Street, adjacent to a parking lot that is being completely devoured by construction staging for the new police facility. 

“So we deal with patients who have mobility issues that have cardio, cardiac, you know, less than lower cardiovascular stamina, they can't walk from across the street. I mean, it's easy to say go park by a JCPenney, but if you're someone with COPD or can't walk 50 feet, that's going to make the difference between coming to our office and not coming to our office. They're not going to come to our office.”

That’s not how he understood it would be when city management spoke to business owners in January 2022. Manager Rachael Tabelski had introduced the idea that “we’re going to be neighbors and build a police station” without any discussion, he said. 

“There wasn’t really any asking what does your business need? It was just saying this is happening,” he said. “And, in fact, I’m surprised it took this long, because, I mean, I put together a pretty lengthy document of some concerned questions and concerns, I asked for a meeting, we were supposed to have met. And she was funny. It was an email exchange; she basically called me instead in lieu of a meeting and accused me of being anti-police, and nothing’s further from the truth. I just invested a quarter of a million dollars in this building and relocated my practice there. I just want some place for my patients and my staff to park, that’s it.”

He said that parking for this week has been ok, but he’s been told the entire parking lot will be closed for construction. He’d like the city to give business owners more time to figure out how to deal with this, but “they’ve got weather, they’ve committed a lot of resources to this, whether it happens or not, they need to do something,” he said. 

“I hope they give us time. I have room potentially on my property there to construct our own parking,” he said. “If I had more time, I might be able to, but not in four days.”

As others headed to City Hall for the council meeting, Privatera opted not to go. He said emotions were heated, and he didn’t think the situation would get resolved in that meeting. 

Dr. Tom Mazurkiewicz came out of police headquarters more frustrated than satisfied.

His take: The city isn’t willing to negotiate a reduction in the construction area's footprint and a move of the staging area to the other side of Alva Place.

Mazurkiewicz, who has a chiropractic practice on Washington Avenue, said the only response officials gave business owners to the reason for not putting the staging area next to JCPenney was, “It’s not in our budget.”

See also: Police station project manager explains need for space around construction site

He and fellow business owner Joseph Canzoneri said that their businesses will survive the 18 months of disrupted parking even though revenue will drop significantly, but that isn’t really their number one concern, said Mazurkiewicz.

“It’s a safety issue,” he said. “That’s all I care about.” 

Doctors Joseph Canzoneri, Adam Gregor and property owner Sharon Kubinec picked up the ball and ran with it during the conference meeting. Canzoneri, a longtime podiatrist also on the west side of the parking lot along State Street, spoke about the plight of his patients and the hurdles they have to overcome as it is without having to deal with parking issues.

“Many of these people suffer from COPD and carry oxygen, have cardiac issues, neuromuscular and severe back problems from trauma broke, degenerative changes, affecting balance and ability to walk any distance or on uneven surfaces, ” he said. “They have diabetic foot issues, such as ulcerations or amputations, have a leg prosthesis, individuals post-surgical both from podiatry and orthopedics (Le Roy physical therapy is affected). Patrons with poor vision are forced to walk long distances or on uneven terrain, not to mention young parents carrying children in car seats and using strollers. Many patients use assisted devices like wheelchairs, motorized scooters, crutches, canes, open cast boots and braces, making it even more difficult in the winter to traverse these distances and different terrains, curbs, grass, stone, and the list goes on.”

The issue for him and the other business owners is that their patients, although being offered parking on side streets, are parallel parking and not very close to the medical office. Parallel parking is not the same as handicapped parking, Canzoneri said, because there are still obstacles to getting out of one’s vehicle and navigating uneven terrain from the vehicle to the office. 

Why are people so up in arms now, after the city has had planning sessions and press releases about construction and timelines for this new facility?

“We understand the city had public meetings regarding the approval of the police department. We understand the proposed building will be on designated city property, and the site and rendering of the building were made public,” Canzoneri said. “What we did not know is the staging footprint until nine days ago. There should be an opportunity for public input in a public hearing, especially when the proposal adversely affects the business detrimentally. We are all within 500 feet distance to the project. At a minimum, notices should have been sent out for public input prior to this project going out for bid. When was the planning board meeting set regarding the staging area? If the city bypassed this due diligence required for all projects believing that the city doesn’t need input because it is the approving and permitting authority, then that is poor communication, poor community outreach and poor planning.”

Gregor, who took over the dental practice formerly occupied by Dr. Kubinec at 180 Washington Ave. about two years ago, said that he was “deeply troubled by the negative impact this closure will have on my patients in my practice.” As in Canzoneri’s case, Gregor’s patients also have mobility issues or young children in tow, he said, and the parking lot closure will “undoubtedly create an inconvenience” at best. 

“I have not once been approached regarding how this project could impact the care of my patients and on my business. My displeasure with this project arises from the fact that it is already different from the proposed plan, which Dr. Joe had just mentioned was only presented to us last week. We collectively as business owners had concerns about the construction zone footprint as it was originally presented to us. We were assured that measures would be taken to minimize disruption to the businesses operating within the complex,” he said. “However, the sudden and expanded closure of the parking lot has blindsided us and proposed this year poses a serious threat to my patients and to the well-being of my practice. The closure of the parking lot threatens to undermine all the hard work and investment I've put into building my practice in this location. The closure of the parking lot will undoubtedly create inconvenience and frustration for my patients, potentially leading them to seek dental services elsewhere. 

“Furthermore, the lack of parking will likely turn new patients from choosing my practice and may even cause some of my existing patients to leave. Dental Care is already a daunting task for many individuals and adding the stress of finding parking only serves to exasperate their anxiety,” he said. “I believe that there are ways to mitigate the disruption without jeopardizing the livelihoods of those who operate here. To not care about the situation is to not care about us as medical professionals, business owners and taxpayers just as important to not care about the situation as to not care about the citizens who seek care in our offices. I hope that moving forward, we can collaborate and cooperate with each other rather than contend with one another.”

Sharon Kubinec, who served as practice manager for her husband during his time as dentist at the site, spoke as a concerned property owner and someone who knows how busy those medical practices are each day, she said. She also cited Ricky Palermo as a patient who uses at least three of the services in that complex and who will have potential difficulties navigating the path to each office in his wheelchair. Palermo was invited to tour the parking lot and surrounding areas since there wasn’t wheelchair access to the second-floor meeting room at the police station, but could not make that meeting. 

“Ricky Palermo, who wanted to be here tonight, goes to Dr. Joe, Dr. Adam and Dr. Tom, and he can't go to his foot doctor, his chiropractor and his dentist for 18 months the way it is situated now over there,” she said. 

She suggested that the city could do something similar to what United Memorial Medical Center had done some years ago with a bus that shuttled employees between the North Street site and Jerome Center on Bank Street when parking was tight. Only this time, the bus would pick up patients at the former JC Penney building and take them to the medical offices, she said.

Canzoneri proposed a larger parking area for patients and clients, and city and contractor staff would park in the lot across Alva Place closer to the JC Penney site, which he said would also be used as more of a staging area. 

“This will still provide a convenient staging area, plenty of room to stage safely, also cost-effective, and most importantly, safety for our clients and pertness, not to mention relief to the detrimental financial risks to the businesses that are being imposed by these egregious parking restrictions and proposals,” he said.

There are more than medical practices at the complex, such as Amanda Lowe’s business. Lowe, the owner of Jagged Edges, said outside police headquarters after the earlier meeting that she hated to say anything publicly because she understands her business is sustaining far less impact than some other businesses. However, if she knew this parking restriction was coming, she might have selected a different location when it was time to relocate from her original site on Veterans Memorial Drive.

“I definitely bought the location based on knowing that I had the parking,” Lowe said. “ I wasn't aware of how big the project is. And you know, the impact it was going to have on our customers coming in. It probably would have made a difference on the location because there were two different locations I was looking at. Parking was one of the biggest reasons (she selected her current location). I knew that this was in the works before, but coming from being in the town to come into the city, I wasn't really fully aware of how long the construction would be and the impact and all the businesses.”

Marc Johnson, owner of Millennium Computers, may not experience the same impact as the medical offices, but it isn’t negligible either.

 “I’ve got people coming in with heavy computers in their hands. They're not going to walk from JC Penney's over to my place,” Johnson said.

He is considering converting some of the green space he owns next to his office into parking for his business.

“I haven’t done anything with it for 20 years except mow it,” he said. “If push comes to shove, I'll just put my own parking in. Ideally, it'd be nice to share the burden with the city or whoever else and make it bigger than just a handful of parking spots for Millennium. And then, you know, my neighbors that are in the medical world can have some handicapped parking there.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski said that she believed the information she initially provided was correct regarding construction coexisting with parking near business offices. 

“Once we learned that the contractors controlled the entire site, we had to decide whether to delay the project, spend more money on it, or just take the entire parking lot and find more accommodations for the business owner.”

 She said those accommodations under immediate consideration are adding wheelchair ramps for easier access to curbside parking. There are a potential 68 parking spaces on the streets around the complex. The city is also considering hiring a shuttle to assist patients from parking to offices.

 “If people parked at City Centre, they could get a ride in, Tabelski said. “Hopefully, that would take care of issues with folks with mobility.”

 While there were public hearings about the project where anybody could have raised parking issues, it was never mentioned.

 “We went through the process, and in everyone's mind, you saw a rendering that still had the big L going through it where parking is,” Tabelski said. “We all should have jumped to the conclusion, ‘Oh, that's great at the end, but what happens during construction,’ right? I definitely lean on the architects we work with and the contractors to guide me through this because I'm neither. I'm a city manager. But I do want to make sure that our businesses have what they need to get their patients in, and I go to a lot of the businesses, so it's definitely not personal; we want to help. We don't want to hurt their business in any way.”

She said the city is “all over” a proposal by Marc Johnson, owner of Millennium Computer on Washington Avenue, to convert a green space he owns next to his building into a parking lot.

“It'll be a temporary construction, an accommodation,” Tabelski said. “We will be (working on it) as soon as we can get millings and build a foundation out there. He has offered -- as far as I know -- I'd hate to speak for Marc -- to allow some public parking there as long as he reserved spots for his business. So, we're interested. He came with this great solution and I think we can get eight to 10 spots there. There's also another grass parcel. I'm not sure who owns it, but I'm going to try to find out and see if they'd be interested in a similar thing.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said he understands that it's going to be an inconvenience for people. 

“But it's been an inconvenience for men and women in the police department to work in an antiquated building and not be able to serve the public. That building is not just a building; it's a tool because there's certain requirements for juveniles, for victims, for defendants. They have rights. They have laws that protect them and we are not able to comply with that as efficiently get in the building, not to mention that the gentleman we all know, wasn't even able to get into the building for a meeting,” Jankowski said, referring to Palermo. “It’s not easy to get a sense of where the new building will be. So when I hear we're supporting the police, and then I see that it doesn't appear that we're supporting the police. I know as a former police officer, how I would be feeling right now when I hear all this outreach and all this stuff going on. And I see the city making every attempt to try to make accommodations. But it's not making anybody happy. So we’ve got to reach a middle ground, we’ve gotta reach some kind of compromise, we have to get this building over the finish line. Because if we don't, it was explained just a few minutes ago, extreme cost overruns will put the project in jeopardy.”

After the meeting, he said that he was very disappointed in the city's response when “we’re trying to do something good for the community and our public safety, which is very valuable to this community.”

“I really take public safety very seriously. And yet, we're meeting all this resistance over a few parking spaces that we're trying to make accommodations for. But that doesn't seem to be good enough,” he said. “This is all temporary. This is only for a few months, and we're doing our best to try to work it out in the meantime. And there are many ideas, and I'm sure the city manager will find a solution that will do her best to accommodate as many ideas as we can any way we can.”

When asked what he thought about Jankowski’s public response to business owner comments and an appeal for consideration, Canzoneri said he felt “terrible.”

“They show no empathy for the patients,” he said. 

Howard Owens contributed to this story.

Press Release:

The Board of Assessment Review currently has one position to fill. The term is a five-year term and will expire on September 2028. The Batavia City Council is seeking a City resident who is interested in volunteering as a member of this committee and has knowledge of property values.

Residents interested in applying for this position can obtain a Committee/Board Volunteer Application from either the City Clerk’s Office or on the website at www.batavianewyork.com, Find It Fast. The deadline to submit applications to the City Clerk’s Office is April 22. 

For further information, please contact the City Bureau of Assessment at 345-6301. 

A city revenue workgroup brainstormed several potential strategies in the past few months for ways to infuse the city’s coffers, including boosting the tax base with new developments; encouraging legal retail cannabis shops; pursuing voluntary public service contributions from nonprofits; selling off city properties; and enact a stormwater user fee.

Out of the myriad suggestions and ideas, they’re all on the table, with not one seeming to be the magic solution just yet, City Manager Rachael Tabelski said during a review of the process so far. 

“So the workgroup wanted to find new revenue sources to continue to assist the city in keeping a low tax rate while providing critical services to the residents, as current major revenue sources are limited, and rely heavily on property and sales tax,” Tabelski said during City Council’s business meeting Monday at City Hall. “And just to note, the aid from the state has not increased nor decreased in the last five-plus years. But I want to point out that our group didn't find a single silver bullet. 

"There's no one answer to give us a sustainable revenue source that's going to allow us to pay our employees the wages they deserve to do the work that our residents require," she said. "So it's going to be an amalgamation of many different strategies, some that are one-time revenue sources, some that we might be able to count on an ongoing basis, like the cannabis tax.”

The goal of the group, first and foremost, was to understand the current sources and trends of revenue, and then to draft new ideas for how to bring in more of it, she said.

She noted that the property tax levied in the city “has grown slowly over time, as has sales tax revenue that has remained flat,” including the cable franchise fees, utilities and state aid. Fines, forfeited, and parking ticket revenues have decreased significantly, though new software has allowed for online parking ticket payments, tracking — and even an opportunity to dispute them, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said.

That new system will be a way to bring those numbers up to estimated revenues of $25,000 in 2024-25, he said.

Tax-exempt properties make up 32 percent of the tax base in the city, which is a lower number than some council members expected, they said. And it’s about half of the nonprofits in other municipalities such as Salamanca, Rensselaer, Albany, and Ithaca, according to group findings.

“I think it’s important that you put that stat in there, because it seems like more, you know what I mean? I mean, compared to the feedback I received from the public, it seems like we're being overrun with nonprofits. I kind of thought the same thing. That perception was off from the reality of this statistic. Because when you look at this statistic, we're not going to be as bad,” Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said. “So maybe we should be aware of it early. It's a good thing. So that we can keep an eye on that, so we don't get overwhelmed. Like 60 percent, that's a lot.”

The point was that other municipalities, many with larger portions of non-taxpaying property owners, have approached these owners and asked if they would be willing to pay something for their police, fire and any other public services received.

In one case, a university agreed to help out and paid a regular, and "lucrative" fee -- only after being asked for it.

Tabelski also reviewed a stormwater user fee that would be paid for by all property owners.

“So any building or parcel that is a sewer or water user today, pay sewer and water fees to the utility. While they may not pay property taxes, they still have to make those utility payments,” she said. “If we were to continue to explore sectioning out stormwater as a utility, which I do feel is a very good idea because we have multiple different unique characteristics of stormwater in our city, including the big ditch and the Grand Canal that we certainly could formulate capital plans for. We wouldn't be able to spread that user fee across anyone who has an impervious surface area. And we might be able to reduce that fee. Now, it would not be part of the general levy. For our property owners, it would be a utility user fee. So the more square feet or surface area you have, the more you would pay in a runoff stormwater type fee.”

This involves a complete analysis of the maintenance of the stormwater system to determine whether existing operation and maintenance gaps exist, Tabelski said. If gaps are identified, the analysis will provide an estimate of additional tasks necessary to rectify these gaps and how that would impact future revenue requirements for the Stormwater Fund and capital improvements. 

Stormwater currently functions as a department within Public Works and is supported by the taxpayer through property and sales tax and other revenue generation.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski said that he is against this suggestion for individual homeowners, especially in a time of inflation. Fellow member Al McGinnis, who first raised the issue of increasing revenue by tapping nonprofits to contribute something toward their public services, said it's a fair system for everyone.

“This was a revenue enhancement that overall helps us lower taxes … We've got 32 percent of the city that doesn't pay taxes. They don't pay for fire. Nothing for DPW, they don’t pay for police. This is a way of leveling the playing field, and having skin in the game,” he said. “There's nothing wrong with having tax-exempt pay their fair share. And this is part of that. It is morally wrong to have them get services and not pay for them.”

That wasn’t the point for Bialkowski and his constituents, he said.

“I’m sorry, I know what you’re trying to do. I agree with you. But there might be a need to look at other ways, other methods, “ he said.

He routinely gets phone calls from people who are leaving New York because of the cost of services, he said. 

One of the newest ways to raise revenue has been legalized cannabis sales, and resulting sales tax for the city, Assistant City Manager Erik Fix said. 

A pop-up retail cannabis shop at Empire Hemp on East Main St. this past fall was able to take advantage of the city’s opt-in with the state, and two dispensaries have completed documents with the intent to open retail locations for a projected $750,000 in sales in this next year, Fix said. That’s to bring in about $33,000 in sales tax revenue.

“So that is a little spot that we're hoping to see some help in the current year going forward,” he said. “So kudos to council for opting in on that as an opportunity to grow some revenue.”

The workgroup explored other options of selling defunct and brownfield city properties and a possibility having to do with Climate Smart Communities that “has just come to our attention,” Tabelski said.

"If you garner enough points, they are giving communities $10,000. So we need to look into that and see if we'll qualify and what activities Council might need to take if we need to become a climate-smart community,” she said. We also looked at public safety payments from corporations when they enter into PILOT agreements as an option, but again, these are one-time revenue payments, not something that would be operationally sustainable in the long run, like your sales tax or your levy. 

"So, I reminded you the document is still under review. The first strategy explored is continuing to grow the city's tax base through new investment and the continuation of market rate assessed value," she said. "Additional revenue is only created when the tax levy increases, not when assessment increases. However, additional growth is created when the overall assessment of commercial and residential property increases.”

Group member Matt Gray said that, given his background as a business owner and property developer, “I think increasing the property value across the city through economic development is our easiest way to go.”

“We have to be behind new projects and make development, I feel, as turnkey as possible or as easy as possible so that we not only benefit from an increased tax base, but the community itself, benefits from just having development here,” he said. “So a great example right now is Carrs Reborn. We are months away from that beginning. That's an increase in property value through development. I think those are the things that I think are the lowest hanging fruit for the city in order to increase our tax base.”

Fellow member RaeAnn Engler had similar sentiments about increasing overall investment in the city, and both also said it was fair to approach nonprofits for a contribution to help pay for public services and stormwater user fees. 

“And I think it's a very good point that they made that it's an ethical and moral, correct move for them to participate in the community, essentially,” Engler said. 

“I agree with Matt on strategy one, which was to increase the value of the community, whether that's through increased value in the market values or developing projects that bring new businesses and thus new taxpayers into the community, which helps to build revenue for the town to continue to grow,” she said. “I think all of these strategies were good approaches. I don't know how much money they're going to make. They're going to hopefully help distribute the tax burden among the residents more equitably.”

The group and council are to continue the research and discussion as to which strategies to choose and how to proceed.

During City Council's 2024 organizational meeting Monday evening, reelected members Tammy Schmidt, Sixth Ward, left, David Twichell, Second Ward, third from the right, Paul Viele, First Ward, Kathy Briggs, Fifth Ward, and peeking out from behind Briggs, Al McGinnis, Fourth Ward,  take their oaths, while newly elected member Derek Geib, center, who ran unopposed for the Third Ward seat, joins his new colleagues in the official swearing-in ceremony by City Clerk/Treasurer Heidi Parker at City Hall. 

Briggs nominated Eugene Jankowski Jr. to serve as president again based on his ability to maintain "well-organized" council meetings, and he was duly voted in by the council, which also included members Bob Bialkowski and Rich Richmond.

Viele was voted in for the position of president pro tempore.

Future council meetings have been approved for 7 p.m. on the following dates:

Jan. 22; Feb. 2 and 26; March 11 and 25; April 8 and 22; May 13 and 28; June 10 and 24; July 8; August 12; Sept. 9 and 23; Oct. 15 and 28; Nov. 12 and 25; and Dec. 9.

The group adjourned for two more meetings, several resolutions and a discussion about how to raise more revenue for the city. 

Two special meetings, a few pointed questions about contractor obligations, and nine votes solidified a move that City Council members, management and members of the police department celebrated Thursday at City Hall.

Council unanimously approved contracts worth $11,185,898 for the construction portion of the new police station to go up on the corner of Bank Street and Alva Place in downtown Batavia. 

“I’ve just gotta say this, going out after 12 years. This has now become probably one of the major accomplishments of my career in government,” Councilman John Canale said during the specially scheduled business meeting. “And I am just so very, very happy to finally see this happen.  Unless you go through that building, you have no idea what our police department has worked under, the types of conditions that they have worked under.”

Canale opted not to run for reelection to his Third Ward seat during this year's general election, and this was likely his last official piece of business for his term. He was one of nine yes votes for the following bids:

• Building Innovation Group was chosen as the lowest of seven bidders for the general contracting portion of the police facility with a bid of $5,468,698.
• Kaplan Schmidt Electric, Inc. was lowest of five bidders for electrical work with a bid of $1,365,500.
• HVAC mechanical contracting went to Crosby-Brownlie, Inc. out of four bidders, with a bid of $1,897,200.
• MKS Plumbing Corp. was the low bidder out of three proposals for plumbing and fire contracting, with a bid of $895,000.
• Seven bidders pitched for site contracting, and Ingalls Development was the low bidder with $1,559,500.

Council members Paul Viele and Bob Bialkowski asked questions about the contract, including if it was “written in stone,” and whether the city would be hearing months from now that a mistake was made and a vendor needed more money.

“We do have contingency in the overall project budget,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said. “But these are the contracts that we will be executing for the work that was in the bids.”

Viele also wanted to know about timeline: Is there one and is the contractor made to abide by it?

There is an 18-month time period for the project completion, Tabelski said. 

Bialkowski also wanted some assurances about the contractor — what happens in the event a main or sub contractor stops working or files for bankruptcy? 

“I don’t want to see a building half completed,” Bialkowski said. 

There are provisions in the standard contract for such situations, City Attorney George Van Nest said, though “we’re not sitting here expecting that to happen.”

“Not that it’s never happened, obviously,” he said. 

The public works and architectural team has checked references and feels comfortable with the lowest bidders chosen, Van Nest said, and there are bond claims in case a contractor becomes insolvent, he said. Should a contractor cease working on the job, it goes to another contractor, he said. 

“I understand Mr. Bialkowski’s concerns,” Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said, referencing the situation at Ellicott Station, where the contractor walked off the job after closing his company. 

The total police facility project is estimated to be $15.5 million, paid for with a $13 million loan at 3.75 percent interest from the USDA and a $2.5 million grant, Tabelski said. 

“We would love to deliver on budget or under budget,” she said, later adding that “we’re really excited to see these bids awarded today.”

After the vote, which also included members Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis, David Twichell, Rich Richmond and Tammy Schmidt, the audience with police department staff representation applauded. 

Jankowski, a retired lieutenant, once worked at the current station on Main Street also known as Brisbane Mansion. He said that “it’s been a long road” to get to this point.

“I want to thank you for sticking through this project, it’s been 10 years, probably more,” he said. “Thank you for doing the right thing.”

Bialkowski shared some history that there was a former police station on School Street, and recalled how “you walked up the stairs, and right at the top of the hallway was the desk sergeant."

If you were asked to name the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, it may surprise you that the answer is not second hand smoke, often portrayed as perhaps the most dangerous substance to lungs for those exposed to the fumes of others.

The top cause of lung cancer is actually radon for nonsmokers, and overall is the second leading cause of lung cancer for the general population, Public Health Educator Sherri Bensley of Genesee and Orleans Health Department says. 

Not often something discussed at the dinner table or thought about in the home, radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year, according to GO Health statistics. 

Although the topic up to now has been a quiet one, Bensley and Environmental Health Specialist Allysa Pascoe have been taking a presentation on the road — including to City Council this week — to review the basics of radon and remind folks about the importance of what to keep in mind with this radioactive gas.

"The GO Health Departments would like residents to know that radon is the leading environmental cause of any cancer and it is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking," Bensley said to The Batavian. "Radon can enter a home through cracks in the foundation, cracks in basement walls, holes, joints, dirt floors, sump pump holes, suspended floors and in the well-water supply. 

“Any home (new or old), that has contact to the ground has the potential for radon to enter the home," she said. "Testing your home is the only way to know if high levels are present and corrective action is needed.”

Tests were conducted in Genesee County, and Stafford was found to be the area with the highest levels of radon in the lowest living area of the home, which was the basement.

Levels were at greater than 10 pCi/L (that is picocuries per liter), with several areas reaching greater than 4 and less than 10, including Byron, Bergen, Batavia, Le Roy, Darien, Bethany, Pavilion and Pembroke. Towns and villages of Alabama, Oakfield, Elba and Alexander had the lowest levels of less than 4.

When testing was conducted on first floors in the county, Stafford remained at 10, and was joined by Darien; whereas the 4 to 10 levels were only in Batavia, Bethany and Le Roy and remaining municipalities had levels of 4 or lower.

The health department distributed radon test kits from Jan. 17 of this year to June 30, with 37 elevated readings out of 174 total kits, Bensley said. From July 1 to now, there were 73 more kits distributed, and 23 elevated readings. 

GO Health has been able to do this through a New York State Indoor Radon Grants Program meant to increase public awareness about th risks and health hazards of radon exposure.  It’s a sneaky inert gas that’s colorless, odorless and tasteless that cannot be detected by one’s senses.

Exposure to radon can damage tissue and may cause lung cancer since it is a carcinogen. It also can be found anywhere, since it’s produced by the decay of uranium in soil, rock and water. 

So now that you may be sufficiently scared, or at least concerned, what to do about it? 

“With funding provided by the New York State Department of Health, the Genesee County Health Department has free radon test kits available to residents of Genesee County,” Bensley said. “If someone finds that their home has a high level of radon, we would recommend that they hire a certified mitigator to install a radon mitigation system to reduce radon levels in their home.”

The department has also proposed that all new homes be built with radon-reducing features, which would be more cost effective, eliminate potential exposure and is currently a requirement in 11 other states, she said.

The test is made of charcoal, and it is uncapped for at least 12 hours during the test period. It will be placed on the lowest level of the home that is frequently occupied. Once radon is detected, certification is not required in New York State, but is recommended, she said.

She also recommends that, when pursuing mitigation, obtain several estimates, check references, and obtain a guarantee that the mitigator will reduce the radon to below 4.0 pCi/L. Go here for more information about mitigators.

 For more information about radon or obtaining a test, email Allysa.Pascoe@co.genesee.ny.us or Sherri.Bensley@co.genesee.ny.us or call 585-344-2580, Ext. 5528.

Al McGinnis would like to see a little more equity amongst those receiving services in the City of Batavia. 

And the City Councilman has proposed establishing a group of a few fellow council members and citizens to make it happen.

“My idea, council president, city manager, is that we form a group of three council people, and two to three people from the outside skilled in finance, to get together, and I’d like you to be the spokesman as council president, and we’ll decide how we will approach revenue enhancement,” McGinnis said during council’s business meeting Monday. “My idea is to look at individuals and organizations that currently do not pay property tax at all, and are nonexempt status, not to pay property tax but to pay a fee to reside in the city to help cover police, fire, DPW, overall. I’m not asking for a fortune, just asking for a fair share, some sweat equity from those individuals who use those services and rely on them."

According to Tax Exempt World, there are 209 tax-exempt organizations listed for the City of Batavia, though not all of them have a physical address listed. 

Those nonprofits would have paid a user fee, for example, to help offset expenses of last year’s extra $296,220 in the three-year police contract, the $800,000 for a new E12 fire department pumper, or the total $3,038,830 for police personnel expenses, plus snowplowing, road maintenance and water treatment upkeep expenses.

Councilman John Canale agreed with McGinnis about the idea, adding that “it’s always been a concern of the public” about a lot of tax-exempt organizations, such as nonprofits and religious entities, not paying for costly city services.

“And can we look at possibly have them pay to compensate for the services that they do use,” Canale said. “I think it’s worth exploring, I think it’s a great idea.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. also agreed, and said that he would be available for what City Attorney George Van Nest carefully termed a “work group,” since it could not be an official committee of council members. 

Van Nest also said that once there’s more concrete information for what the group wants to implement, it would have to be reviewed, per New York State standards, because there may be certain restrictions involved. 

“We will come up with the ideas and review it with legal and make sure what we can do and can’t do,” Jankowski said.