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Batavia Concert Band gives nod of appreciation, tribute, plenty of music during opening night

By Joanne Beck
Batavia Concert Band opens it's 99th season July 28th in Centennial Park.  Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band opens its 99th season Wednesday in Centennial Park. The free seven-week series is at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through the summer.
Photo by Steve Ognibene

Centennial Park came alive again Wednesday with the sounds of Batavia Concert Band's music in its 99th season, and the evening included a recognition of GO ART!'s support, and a tribute to former music teachers Neil and Nancy Hartwick, who left indelible notes on the hearts of many former music students from the city school district.

Batavia Concert Band presented GO ART! with the Friend of the Band Award for giving a grant of $5,000 that will be used for equipment, licensing music, chairs, sound, and percussion instruments, band leader Jason Smith said. 

Neil Hartwick was a prominent presence at the Batavia City School District, and Nancy taught mostly at Attica and at times in Batavia, while both were adored and respected for their talent roles as musical leaders in the community, band member and tuba player Peter Mark said.

“They were both wonderful people. She was a flutist, and Neil was clarinet and saxophone. Back in high school, I had him during my years in 1970 and ’71. I was out by then, but he had an excellent jazz band and he and the Sertoma Club, along about the early 70s, somewhere in there, were the ones that formed the Batavia Pageant of Bands.

"So if you're familiar with that era, you may remember the Memorial Day weekend with all of these bands from all over the area coming down and marching through the streets and having a great time,” Mark said. “Neil and Nancy were both really close to their students. And most of us that came through a program with Neil or Nancy just remember they were wonderful friends. They were more than just teachers, more than just the average teacher. They were friends with all of their students. We had a great time with them.”

When Neil died in 2017, Nancy asked that a Memorial Fund be established to benefit Batavia Concert Band, and memorials have gone to the fund ever since. Earlier this year, Nancy died in January, and the fund was renamed the Neil and Nancy Hartwick Memorial Fund, and their wish was to support the concert band via memorial contributions, Mark said.

“We've named the fund the Neil and Nancy Hartwick fund in honor of both of them," Mark said. "And former students contribute to that fund that we pay, we have other people as well, of course, and to keeping their legacy going.”

The concert band will play a  seven-week free series at Centennial Park at 7 p.m. every Wednesday through the summer.  

To donate, please make your check payable to: The Batavia Concert Band, and Mail to: Batavia Concert Band, PO Box 1705, Batavia, NY, 14021-1705. On the bottom of your check, please indicate the name Nancy Hartwick. Or those with a Venmo account, send to @bataviaconcertband.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Batavia Concert Band flutes. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band flutes. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band tubists. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band tubists. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band trumpets. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band trombones. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band brass horns. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band brass horns. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band has over 100 turnout for opening night. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band performs for more than 100 people during opening night on Wednesday in Centennial Park in Batavia. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band conductor John Bailey led the concert. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band conductor John Bailey leads the concert. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band music followers enjoy a wednesday evening in centennial park.  Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia Concert Band music patrons enjoy a Wednesday evening in Centennial Park. 
Photo by Steve Ognibene

Craft brews, ciders and meads to warm up winter during Febrewary

By Joanne Beck

As the Western New York weather rollercoaster continues its ride — with predictions of another blizzard looming for next weekend — it would be nice to have something to look forward to.

And downtown Batavia’s Business Improvement District has the answer, Executive Director Shannon Maute says.

Febrewary.

“It’s a chill event,” Maute said Tuesday, no pun intended. “People are out and enjoying themselves … there’s something for everybody.”

The event, set for 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 25, was just picking up steam for a few years when COVID hit and it was derailed in 2021, resuming the crafty beer fun walk last year.

A close replica to the BID’s popular fall wine walk, Febrewary features tastings — 21 stops are planned this year — at various downtown merchants, many of which will have specials, drawings, and giveaways, Maute said.

She is still lining up the lead performers, but 810 Meadworks of Medina, Windy Brew from Sheldon and OSB Ciderworks from Buffalo have been confirmed. Not familiar with a mead? This libation is made with honey, and dates back to Biblical times as “probably the first fermented beverage,” the company’s website states.

“More versatile than liquor, wine, or beer, mead can taste like a refreshing summer shandy, a hoppy IPA, a full-bodied Cabernet, or a fine dessert wine,” it states.

Windy Brew is a Wyoming County-based brewery of craft beers, and OSB’s lineup of ciders will be featuring anything from the crispy bite of homegrown concord grapes from along the Finger Lakes, and Intergalactic Raspberry combined with hibiscus flower, to the Scotch Bonnet Bomber, described as “apple forward with a throat chop of spicy.”

Of course, brewmasters such as Eli Fish of Batavia are also expected to participate, as Maute is seeking out a sour, Belgian witbier, stout, lager and other varieties of craft brew.

Maute was interim director of BID when this February event came up as her first official one, and it has been a favorite ever since, she said.

“It’s an event I like, people are just having fun,” Maute said.

General admission tickets are $30 and include a collectible snifter glass, snacks along the way, raffles and giveaways and tastings. VIP tickets are $40 and include all of the regular features plus an extra hour, from 4 to 8 p.m., an exclusive tasting and a food station.

Designated drivers will be able to partake of the specials, raffles, snacks and non-alcoholic tastings for $10.

“A lot of people were happy with the way it was at the wine walk (for DD’s),” Maute said. “They will be able to do everything, except for the tastings.”

There will be a total of 600 tickets, and 25 for designated drivers. They may be purchased at Event Brite, and there will be a limited number of paper tickets available at Adam Miller Toy & Bicycle shop on Center Street and Yngodess on Main Street, Batavia. For more information, go to BID Febrewary

Top two photos of 2022's event by Howard Owens. Photo above submitted by Shannon Maute.

Holland Land Office Museum February Events

By Press Release

Press Release: 

The Holland Land Office Museum will be hosting its next edition of Trivia Night @ the Museum on Thursday, February 10 at 7 pm. This month's topic is Thomas Edison as we celebrate the famous inventor's birthday. Admission is $3 per person or $2 for museum members. All in attendance are required to wear face coverings. Please contact the museum if you would like to attend at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com. You can also join us via Zoom, links are available at the museum’s website, www.hollandlandoffice.com, or Facebook page.

The Holland Land Office Museum will be hosting the next edition of its Java with Joe E. morning presentation event on Thursday, February 24th at 9 am. Genesee County Historian Michael Eula will be sharing his presentation, "Too Often Forgotten: Female Slaves and Poor Women in Genesee County" It details the lives and hardships of freed slaves and poor women during the history of Genesee County. The event is free to the public. Masks are required. You can also join via Zoom, links are available at the museum’s website, www.hollandlandoffice.com, or Facebook page.

January Trivia Night at the Holland Land Office Museum

By Press Release

Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum on Thursday, January 13th at 7 pm for the next edition of Trivia Night at the Museum. This month's topic is Alexander Hamilton as we celebrate the first Secretary of the Treasury's birthday. Admission is $3 per person or $2 for museum members. All in attendance are required to wear face coverings. Please contact the museum if you would like to attend at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Event Date and Time
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Pancake Breakfast

By Press Release

Come and join us for our January 16th Pancake Breakfast at the WNY Gas & Steam Show Grounds Club House. 10294 Gillate Rd., Alexander. Serving 7:30am-12pm. We will have all of your favorites; pancakes, sausage, eggs, french toast, home fries, coffee and juice.

$10 for Adults 

$5 for children 5-12

Toddlers 4 and under are FREE.

Event Date and Time
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Return of the 'roar and excitment' of the AFD's Tractor Pull

By Billie Owens

This weekend the Alexander Fire Department E.S.P. Tractor Pull returns!

It will be held Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10, at 7 p.m. at the Recreation Hall grounds, 10708 Alexander Road, Alexander.

Cost: Adults: $16; children 6-12: $8; 5 years and under free.

Classes include: Super Farm, Light Super Farm, Limited Pro Stock Diesel Truck, Heavy Super Stock and Modified Tractors.

Friday at 5 p.m. will include a take-out only Chicken BBQ by the Ladies Auxiliary.

Event Date and Time

Genesee governmental leaders ready to address call for a countywide unified water rate

By Mike Pettinella

Not satisfied with the latest water rate study conducted by a New York City consulting firm, Genesee County government leaders will be putting their heads together in the coming weeks to find a path to a unified water rate for customers in the county’s two retail areas and lone wholesale area.

Tim Hens, county water system coordinator (as well as highway superintendent and engineer), updated the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee last week about the topic, which was prompted by a request by several towns in the Western Genesee MCWA Retail Area to look into the possibility of one rate for all.

The MCWA, or Monroe County Water Authority, provides water to most of the county, and determines the rates that users pay. Genesee County is divided into three zones: the East and West Retail Areas and the Central Wholesale Area. Currently, the rates are different in the three areas, with the West paying more than the other two, Hens said.

The West is comprised of the Town of Pembroke, Town of Darien and Village of Corfu.

The East side is comprised of Byron, Bergen, Le Roy, Stafford and Pavilion and the associated villages in those areas.

And the Central (or northwest) is comprised of the towns of Alabama, Oakfield, Elba, Batavia, Alexander, the villages in those towns, and the City of Batavia.

“Both East and West are retail because the Monroe County Water Authority operates the system,” Hens said. “They do the maintenance and they do the billing. MCWA leases the lines from the towns, operate it on their behalf, and establish the rates.”

MCWA IS THE ‘ULTIMATE AUTHORITY’

Hens said the MCWA, as a public authority, is required to have a third-party consultant come in and look at the total operation costs – pump stations, water treatment plants, water towers, annual maintenance, billing and all the overhead that goes into operating the system – prior to releasing a report.

“But the ultimate authority establishing the rate resides with the MCWA board,” he emphasized.

Concerning the Central Wholesale Area, Hens said those towns and villages are “technically buying water from Genesee County.”

“We purchase water on a wholesale basis from Monroe County at the Seven Springs connections in the Town of Stafford and that water is blended with water produced in the City of Batavia water plant, and then sent out to those areas,” he explained. “Most of the wholesale areas are operated by the Town of Batavia as it has intermunicipal agreements with each of those towns, except for the Village and Town of Oakfield and the City of Batavia, which operate their own systems.”

Hens said that each town still has jurisdiction over its market locally, but buys water from the county at wholesale versus buying it directly from the MCWA.

“The individual rate that each town charges is based on a rate that Genesee County charges them for water, which we use basically a 50-50 blend between the Monroe County wholesale and the City of Batavia rate from the water plant,” he advised. “Those two rates right now are about 10 to 15 cents apart so averaging them together, there isn’t that big of a difference.”

BUYING WATER AT WHOLESALE RATE

He said the county charges the wholesale rate (around $2.43 per 1,000 gallons) to the Central municipalities and, in turn, they mark that up to cover their overhead, capital reserve and/or debt service, and charge the customers just as the MCWA does. Those fees increase the total rate to around $6 per 1,000 gallons, which is within 30 cents per 1,000 gallons of the MCWA retail rate after factoring in all charges.

“At the end of the day, the total rate charged to customers in the Center part of the county, with the exception of the Village of Oakfield, is very comparable to what East residents are paying and not too much different from what the West residents are paying,” Hens said. “Oakfield is a bit higher due to their debt service.”

Customers residing in the Western Genesee Retail Area pay more due to several factors, Hens said.

“What makes the West side unique is that it is a small geographic area with less customers and they also have the operation of the Corfu water plant to factor in. Monroe County uses that plant to essentially treat and disinfect byproducts coming from Erie County because we’re kind of at the end of the system,” he said. “Another factor is the cost of operating the pump station in Pembroke. That area is 60 to 80 miles from the home base in Monroe County.”

Furthermore, much more water is coming in to the East side – a larger area with more customers and just one operational expense: the North Road pump station.

“That results in the difference in retail rates with the West side, obviously, being more expensive,” Hens said/ “The West side water is also expensive due to the higher cost of water in Erie County which MCWA must buy and then markup to cover their costs.”

DISCREPANCY IS PART OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE

Hens said the price difference between the East and West came to light a few years ago during negotiations over sales tax agreements and water rates with the towns and villages.

“At the time it was about a 90-cent difference between the East and West, with the West being more expensive – and we received a lot of feedback from municipalities on the West side of the county (stating) that there was a perception of unfairness in the rate,” he said.

As a result, the county was asked to investigate – in consultation with the MCWA -- and try to come up with a uniform rate throughout the county.

“We did that about a year ago as the legislature passed a resolution asking the Water Authority to study the feasibility of a unified county rate so that East and West would basically pay the same,” Hens said. “The thought was that because of the water usage difference between the East and the West, a unified rate would be halfway between or skewed toward the East because it is using about twice the amount of water that the West does.”

Hens said county officials were eager to see the rate study, hoping that it would lead to opportunities to move Erie County water through the West side of the system -- potentially to Alabama, Oakfield or Elba if those towns were to migrate to a retail situation with Monroe County.

BILLED VS. MASTER METERED WATER

“So, we got the study back, and the rates are a little bit higher than what I anticipated,” he said. “The biggest factor in the difference from what I projected and what the consultant (Amawalk Consulting Group of New York City) came up with was they used billed water and I used master metered water. The master metered water includes lost water and hydraulic bleeds to other systems where the billed water is only what is used by customers. This skews the ratio in water between East and West.”

The consultant’s findings for 2020 projected a combined, unified rate of $4.21 per 1,000 gallons, while Hens’ came up with $3.99 per 1,000 gallons. He said the $4.21 price is an increase of 47 cents per 1,000 gallons for East customers and a savings of about 80 cents per 1,000 gallons for West customers.

Since the average house uses about 60,000 gallons of water per year, a 47-cent increase on billed water to an East customer would equate to about $30 per year.

Hens said if you project that out over the next five years, the rate in the West expands “quite quickly,” with the gap increasing to almost $2 per 1,000 gallons versus the $1.30 gap that exists now.

“One of the things that the study didn’t consider – which I’m a little disappointed in – is that we’re seeing substantial growth in water usage on the East side, especially in the next two or three years,” he said.

PROPOSED DISTRICTS TO INCREASE USAGE

Amawalk apparently didn’t “read the tea leaves” on future usage, Hens said, noting that large water districts proposed for Byron, Bergen and the Town of Bethany will use about a combined 500,000 gallons of water per day on average.

“If that usage was factored in, then the unified rate would skew more heavily toward the East rate -- and the savings in the West would be more and the impact upon the users on the East would be even less,” he said.

Hens said the study also did not consider the Center (wholesale) portion of the county, which has seen a predominant increase in water usage.

“There are several moving pieces on the Countywide Water System that either impact the rate study dramatically or the rate conversely impacts on the Phase 2 and Phase 3 projects,” he said.

Hens’ presentation drew reaction from county legislators and town officials.

Legislature Gordon Dibble, who represents Darien and Pembroke, bemoaned the fact that customers pay more in those areas, and said he hoped the study could be amended.

Water to Darien, Pembroke and Corfu comes from Erie County and already is more expensive. Hens said that the Erie County base rate for water is the “real culprit” for the difference in price.

40-YEAR AGREEMENT IN FORCE, BUT …

Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein concurred, noting that the West is facing an 11-percent increase for 2021 compared to a 4.4-percent increase in the East. Again, Hens said, factors include the Erie County base rate, operational costs at the Corfu water plant and the number of gallons of water used.

Stein also pointed out that the towns agreed to the terms when they signed a 40-year water agreement as part of Phase 1.

Darien Town Supervisor Steve Ferry Jr. responded by saying he understood but brought up that the county indicated that a transmission line between Alexander and Darien was supposed to be put in but it never happened.

He, too, urged legislators to look at the entire system “and come up with a way to make it fairer for everyone.”

Going forward, Hens said a detailed discussion is on the agenda for the April 13th meeting of the Genesee County Water Resources Agency. The GCWRA was created in 1998 from the legislature’s Water Supply Task Force to assist in the implementation of water improvements for the county.

Earl LaGrou, of Alabama, GCWRA chair, said the report is essential to the future and longevity of the county water system.

FINANCIAL STABILITY IS THE KEY

“That’s what they’re trying to secure – the type of funding that is needed … to continue on with our latest phase, to help pay for that, but also water systems are not a five- or 10-year entity, they’re 30, 40, 50 years and they want to make sure there is enough cash flow to have upgrades,” he offered.

“We’re in Western New York. If there’s an emergency ice or weather-related incident where a pipe freezes, they have to have money to repair that so people aren’t without water. That’s what they’re trying to do – just get an across-the-board, easier rate that helps solidify the financial stability of the water system.”

LaGrou said GCWRA board members just received the report from Hens and will review it before making a recommendation to the Genesee County Legislature.

“Our board kind of does all the homework and we make recommendations – we don’t set forth policy,” he said. “Between now and April 13th, I’m sure that Tim will bring to us the pros and cons of the recommendation for the water rates ... so we can make an educated decision before the April 13th meeting. There may be some calls back and forth.”

That 10-member committee also includes Stein and legislators Gary Maha and Christian Yunker.

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