Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park

The Town of Batavia is set to award a $300,000 grant to Genesee Economic Development Center for further infrastructure development at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The town board approved a resolution in a special meeting Wednesday night setting a public hearing for 7 p.m., Dec. 21, which is a precursor to formerly approving the grant.

The funds will be used to construct a water line for the park. 

Part of the funds, $100,000, were granted to GCEDC in January 2010 for construction of electric transmission lines, but those funds have not be spent, so GCEDC requested that the $100,000 be combined with another $200,000 for the water line project.

"Without infrastructure, we cannot continue to attract business to that park," Supervisor Greg Post said. "It gets us and our partners in a much better position for that construction. I don't think anybody anticipated how quickly this project (Project Wave, or the possible PepsiCo yogurt plant) has moved forward. I am happy to be in this position to utilize money like this."

With the planned yogurt plants for Alpina and PepsiCo in Batavia, there's nothing but opportunity ahead for regional dairy farmers, according to Kim Pickard-Dudley, general manager of the membership division of Upstate Niagara Cooperative.

More yogurt means more milk and farmers are ready to meet the demand, Pickard-Dudley said.

"We're obviously excited for this opportunity for farmers," Pickard-Dudley said.

Upstate built its own yogurt plant in West Seneca in 2006 and a year ago purchased a 100-year-old plant in Watertown.

Alpina and PepsiCo have both broken ground on sites in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, though PepsiCo has yet to reach a purchase agreement with the GCEDC (negotiations are, we hear, currently going on at the Albany level) for the 81-acre parcel. 

Regional farmers will be able to adjust capacity to meet all the demand for milk to make yogurt, Pickard-Dudley said.

Whether that milk comes through Upstate or yogurt manufacturers go directly to farmers is unknown at this time, Pickard-Dudley.

"Farmers are always up for a challenge for meeting new demands on supply," Pickard-Dudley said.

Pickard-Dudley was in Batavia at the O-AT-KA offices on Monday to meet with Rep. Kathy Hochul, who discussed with Upstate representatives her bill to create a guest worker program to assist New York's agricultural industry.

Project Wave -- which we now know is being pursued by PepsiCo -- will be the largest yogurt plant in North America, according to an industry expert with more than 15 years in the field.

Jeff Stephen, a consultant with Productive Partners, said in an interview today that what Pepsi is planning is impressive and will be a huge benefit to the community and the local dairy industry.

"Pepsi isn't the kind of company that is going to go anywhere," Stephen said. "They're not going to cut back because of any shortage of money. This is everything you could ask for in a local community. They are going to be successful. Not everything will go to plan, but they will succeed. This is a major global commitment."

Based on industry reports, Pepsi wants to get into the yogurt business. The multinational firm is planning a merger of sorts with Theo Muller Group, a German company that makes seven different yogurt products.

Stephen said companies for years have been trying to crack the U.S. yogurt market in the belief that American consumers don't buy as much yogurt as they should. Europeans consume five or six times as much yogurt as Americans, Stephen said.

The key to the U.S. yogurt market, Stephen said, is to make yogurt with more body and texture, a yogurt that can be consumed as a meal or a key ingredient in a meal. Growth in the U.S. yogurt market has been thwarted, Stephen said, because too much of the product available in the U.S. is what Stephen called "crappy dessert yogurt."

The key to the U.S. market is Greek yogurt, which has more flavor, is more filling and has greater nutritional value.

That's the kind of yogurt that will be the basis of Alpina's product line. Alpina was the first big signing for Genesee County Economic Development Center in the new ag park. Alpina is building an initially 10,000-square-foot facility that will employ 50 people.

Pepsi's plans begin with a 300,000-square-foot facility that will employ 180 people, with a build out by 2033 of 16 production lines and 600 employees.

There is no yogurt plant in North America that's close to that size, Stephen said.

When Stephen saw what was being planned for Project Wave, as first reported on The Batavian, he figured Pepsi, whose plans with Theo Muller had already been reported by the Wall Street Journal, was a likely prospect for the property. A project of that size would almost certainly be a plant for a large corporation moving into a new product line. 

The deal bringing Pepsi to Batavia hasn't been signed yet, but construction has begun on the facility and Pepsi is clearly eager to get its new product to market by 2013.

Stephen just hopes Pepsi is planning a yogurt line based on Greek yogurt and not "crappy dessert yogurt," which he doesn't think will help Pepsi or other yogurt makers expand the U.S. market.

Whatever Pepsi does, he doesn't see the Pepsi products competing directly with Alpina, which will be producing a slightly higher end yogurt and going after niche markets.

Pepsi's main competitors will be Dannon and Yoplait.

Dannon, based in White Planes, is a pure dairy company and between its two main brands, controls about 38 percent of the yogurt market. Yoplait, owned by General Mills, has another 6 percent. The rest of the market is shared by regional players and store brands, some of which, Stephen said, are very good.

Another potential local player in the yogurt market is O-AT-KA Milk Products, which is owned by Upstate Niagara Cooperative. 

The rumor is that a current expansion at O-AT-KA is for the local plant to start making yogurt ingredients.

It's unknown who the ingredients will be sold to, but Upstate purchased a 100-year-old, one-line yogurt plant in Watertown about a year ago.

Charitably, Stephen said, the Watertown plant is "historic," but it shows Upstate's intention to move into the yogurt business.

Whatever product Pepsi brings to market, Stephen said, will be thoroughly researched and well marketed.

"I have very high respect for Pepsi," Stephen said. "They are efficient in manufacturing and production and very good marketers. They are not the kind of company that gives up."

It's unknown whether Pepsi will purchase its dairy products through O-AT-KA or directly from farmers (those are discussions that probably haven't even taken place yet, Stephen said), but as for farmers, Stephen said they will be happy working with Pepsi.

Pepsi, he said, takes an approach that being easy to work with helps lower costs.

"I think the farmers will want to do business with them," he said.

As for milk supply, the market will probably be shaken up for awhile initially, but the big farmers have little trouble adding capacity (more cows) and there should be an ample milk supply in Western New York to meet the needs of Pepsi, Alpina and O-AT-KA, and any other players that enter the market at the ag park.

Perhaps the worst news for other dairy businesses, Stephen said, is that if Pepsi wants to hire an employee, they will hire that employee. They will spend what it takes, he said, to get the best employees, especially in key positions.

But it's a great pool of employees that is attracting Pepsi to Batavia, Stephen said.

For years, he's been telling dairy companies to stop manufacturing in places like Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia because the standard of living is so much better in smaller communities.

Employees can actually afford to buy a house in a place like Batavia. That isn't true in larger population centers. And, Stephen said, the schools are good, and that's attractive to a major employer.

"You have a pretty high quality of life," Stephen said. "It's a pretty attractive place to put people who are going to work for you for a long time."

I went out to the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park this morning to meet WHAM13's Sean Carroll and the amount of progress that has been made by construction crews since Tuesday was noticeable.

It was impressive seeing more than a half-dozen pieces of heavy machinery moving around the 81-acre parcel at breakneck speed. There is a clear sense of urgency to complete phase one of construction before the worst of winter sets in.

And seeing the sewer lines being installed felt like another piece of the puzzle falling into place. The Cedar Street sewer line connecting Main Street and the ag park was only finished last week.

PepsiCo started construction as soon as the sewer line project was complete, even though not too many major construction projects in WNY begin in the middle of November. Somebody is pretty serious about being ready to begin physical plant construction in the spring.

Carroll's report tonight on Rochester's Channel 13 will be not just about Project Wave, but the scope of the uptick in activity at the ag park and what it means for Genesee County.

A pair of top executives from the company behind a development in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in Batavia were on hand this morning to see the first of several tons of dirt get moved from one spot to another.

Even without a purchase agreement to buy the 81-acre parcel from GCEDC, the company is apparently eager to get this project under way immediately to meet a deadline for product production of early 2013.

The company wants site grading completed before the worst of winter hits.

While the executives did not want to be identified in publication, sources in the dairy industry have fingered PepsiCo as the company likely behind "Project Wave."

It makes sense.

According to a story in the Oct. 14 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Pepsi is embarking on a partnership with a yogurt company based in Germany in an effort to enter the fast-growing yogurt market in the United States.

This would be Pepsi's first foray into the U.S. dairy business, but fits an overall strategy laid out in the business press for Pepsi to grow market share in nutritional foods as the market for soft drinks declines.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm that has led Project Wave through the regulatory process and start of construction is Haskell Architects and Engineers. On its website, Haskell lists PepsiCo as among its clients.

While the executives at the construction site this morning asked that their names not be published, an internet search of one of the executive's names confirmed he is an employee of PepsiCo.

The executive made it clear, however, that Batavia is only one site among four under consideration and his employer hasn't made a final decision on which site it will construct its plant.

It is, however, the site that is being bulldozed. And the company seems eager, and has big plans, to enter the U.S. yogurt market by 2013.

According to Project Wave specs, the plant will eventually employ 600 people working three different shifts on 16 production lines.

Assuming it opens on schedule in 2013, the plant will initially employ 180 people working on three production lines.

Both executives praised GCEDC and the Town of Batavia for having this shovel ready site available.

"There are only three of our four sites in the northeast that would be ready this quickly for production," one executive said. "These shovel-ready projects are key to attracting big companies."

Mike Wheeler, the project's architect, was also on site this morning and reiterated the importance of having all of the regulatory approvals in place, along with the infrastructure necessary for the project to get started right away.

"My hats off to these guys," Wheeler said. "They put the community in the best possible position for this project."

When an as-yet-unnamed company breaks ground on a development project Wednesday morning, it could mean as many as 600 new jobs in Batavia some day, and it will mark the end of a 15-day sprint to get the project pushed through the local and state regulatory process.

At the end of Tuesday's Town of Batavia Planning Board meeting, where a site plan and a change in the parcel map were approved, Chris Souzzi, VP of business development for GCEDC, said the swiftness of the approval process proves why shovel-ready business parks are so important.

"We can see now why we need these parks," Souzzi said. "Here we have a company that wants to build this fast, and in 15 days, you (the planning board) just approved a site plan. That's huge and that's why they're here."

Michael Wheeler, representing "Project Wave," as the secretive food-processing development is known, said the fact that the nine-month-long environmental review process had already been completed for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, plus the review was a spot-on match for the kind of site contemplated in Project Wave, were huge factors in the client picking Batavia.

That said, not much is in writing yet.

The company has yet to close escrow on the 81-acre parcel and land in Avon and two already graded parcels in Pennsylvania are still, at least marginally, in the running for the big plant.

And the plant is big. In phase one, it will exceed 300,000 square feet, and if built out fully will have a 120-foot high cold storage tower (modeled after a similar automated storage tower owned by Wegmans near the airport in Rochester).

On day one, if it opens on schedule in January or February of 2013, the facility will employ 180 people and operate three production lines. At full build-out, the plant will employ 600 people on 16 production lines, all working in three daily shifts.

Grading and foundation preparation work begins at Wednesday morning and the unnamed company wants to see work completed by the end of December, according to Wheeler.

"At that point, it just gets so miserably cold up here that us Southerners can’t work any more," said Wheeler, who lives in Florida.

The company isn't scheduled to take possession of the property until the fall of 2012, when it will start moving in its production equipment.

UPDATED to add a picture I forgot to post last night of Mike Wheeler, left, and Paul Marchese.

Construction on a food and beverage processing plant at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, which could some day employ as many at 600 people, might begin in 10 days.

The company planning the facility is pushing hard to get all of the permitting done to enable groundbreaking by Nov. 17.

The project -- known as Project Wave -- would initially employ 180 people.

Confidentiality agreements prevent representatives of the Genesee County Economic Development Center from revealing the name of the company purchasing the 81-acre parcel in the park or what product will be produced there.

On Monday, the Town of Batavia Planning Board, conducted a public meeting to review the potential environmental impact of the facility. Because a full environment review was completed for the ag park already, the board needed only to look at the three issues that are out of variance with what previously passed review.

On Thursday, the project will go before the Genesee County Planning Board for review. It must also yet be approved by the town's Zoning Appeals Board.

Asked if a groundbreaking on Nov. 17 was realistic, given all of the regulatory hurdles yet to be cleared, Town Engineer Steve Mountain said he didn't anticipate a problem.

"With the work they've done, with the plans they've presented, yes," Mountain said. "These guys are good."

The firm handling the planning for the unnamed company is Haskell Architects and Engineers out of Jacksonville, Fla.

The big issue for review on Monday is the height of the facility.

A refrigerated warehouse will initially be 45-feet high, but by the time the plant is at capacity (by 2033), the height will be 120 feet.

Batavia's code limits building height to 40 feet.

The facility also will include, at capacity: two tanks 77 feet high; two that are 65 feet high; and 16 that are 50 feet high.

The board found that even at these heights, the facility will have no significant visual impact on the surrounding area. The facility will still be barely visible from Route 5 or Route 63, and even the nearest residents (the Roland Circle and Haven Lane developments) won't have much of an obstructed view.

Parking is another issue that the board needed to review.

The facility will be operational at all times and employees will work in three shifts. There will be enough parking to accomodate rotation of each shift.

The town's code calls for parking spaces that are 10 x 20, but the code was intended primarily to ensure adequate parking in a retail environment.

Mountain said the requested spaces of 9 x 18 is adequate for this facility.

"By providing the smaller spaces on this project, it helps preserve some of the green space and it lowers the cost to the developer," Mountain said.

The other issue is the amount of water the facility plans to use, but Mountain said it wouldn't be a significant impact because the park was planned with more than enough capacity to meet the facility's needs.

After the meeting, Mountain cautioned that the project could still fall through.

"I've seen it happen before," Mountain said, noting that Haskell has completed all of the engineering on the site and, pending approvals, there's no reason construction can't begin on the anticipated Nov. 17 date.

Mark Masse, from GCEDC, said after the meeting that there's still no indication of when the project will be announced officially.  

Haskell's project plans show ground work being completed by Dec. 31, with final site plan review and building permits issued during the winter. Final site work and building construction would take place in the spring. Equipment installation would be completed by the fall and the plant would go into production next winter.

It would open with three production lines and grow to five production lines in the near future. The mid-term plan is 10 production lines, and the ultimate plan is 16 production lines.

Previously:

• Ag park about to land another big food processing plant
• Planning under way for food processing plant on 81 acres at agri-business park
• Lt. Gov. comments on possible 200+ job food processing plant in Batavia

A Canadian company is finally able to proceed with plans to build a mushroom farm at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The company, known for the project as Genesee Valley Mushrooms, Inc., (GVM) was originally considered the first business to commit to the ag park back in 2008, but the deal stalled.

GVM will purchase 10 acres in the park and employ 100 people.

In the ag park, GVM will build a 70,000-square-foot growing facility. It's also planning a 37,000-square-foot facility for substrate, the material for growing mushrooms, off Wortendyke Road in Batavia. That substrate facility could use, among other material, the byproduct (manure) of Batavia Downs.

The company is expected to spend more $20 million on construction of the facilities.

Genesee County's Ways and Means Committee approved a grant application resolution to receive funding for the project from the state. The exact amount of the grant has not been determined.

The grant application needs to come from the county government.

Mark Masse, a VP with GCEDC, said the facility will be the first mushroom growing facility in the state. Grocery stores throughout New York will be able to market the mushrooms as locally grown.

With an unnamed business near closing on an 81-acre parcel, plus Marktec, the GVM project, and Alpina combined with Alpina's first-right-of-refusal on another 10 acres in the park, the 200-acre ag park is nearly half sold.

The park could fill up quickly, Masse said.

"We have more companies in the pipeline than available acreage at the park," Masse said.

WHAM-13's Sean Carroll is working on a follow-up to our stories on a possible giant food processing plant targeted for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and had an opportunity to ask Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy about the plans today.

Here's the exchange:

Sean Carroll: "Genesee County Ag Park is one of a couple locations in this region being eyed-up by possibly a food processing company, 200 to 300 jobs, what do you know about it and what can you tell us about it?”

Duffy: “Well, I know one thing, on one of the worst weather days of the year I was out at a meeting in Genesee County on that location. I know the state is working very hard with Genesee County right now. I don't want to negotiate or talk about the details of that discussion right now but we're working very, very hard on that and hopefully it will come to fruition."

Carroll has spoken with state-level officials who confirmed the details of what we've been able to report so far.

Town of Batavia officials are going to work as quickly as possible to get development plans reviewed and approved for a food processing facility on an 81-acre parcel at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

Sources tell The Batavian that a company is planning a large facility that could employee from 200 to 300 people. But when asked for confirmation on details Tuesday night, GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde said confidentiality agreements prevent him from discussing both the name of the company and the nature of the processing plant.

While Hyde cautioned that the deal is "not 100 percent," it's clear from the discussion of planning board and zoning board members Tuesday night that the company is serious about building its new plant in Batavia.

"This project is going to move very fast," said Gary Diegelman, chairman of the zoning board.

It must, Hyde said.

"They want to move very fast," Hyde said. "There is some extended time frame for negotiations, but they want to get moving in advance to take advantage of the good weather before it gets nasty."

The zoning board will meet Nov. 7 to discuss three requested variances to the zoning code.

The company is requesting permission to build a warehouse higher than the 40 feet allowed by the zoning code, Diegelman said. The initial request is to build a 45-foot-high warehouse, but the company anticipates eventually expanding to 120 feet high.

Diegelman suggested the board just consider approving the 120-foot high variance now to save the company the trouble of coming back later for a new variance.

Because of the Monroe County water towers on the other side of Route 5, and variance already granted for the O-AT-KA Milk Products plant, the variance shouldn't be a problem, Diegelman indicated.

The company also wants to provide parking based on three shifts of workers, rather than a number of parking spaces dictated by the total square feet of the facility.

And they want parking spaces that are 9' x 18' rather than the code of 10' x 20', but the variance request is not unusual in the town.

As for the planning board, it will hold a meeting to discuss any changes in the SEQR process. The ag park already has been through environmental review, but the 81-acre project could have additional or different environmental impacts that need to be considered.

On Nov. 14, the board will discuss a proposal to change parcel boundaries in the park to create the 81-acre project.

Hyde indicated that while the project isn't completely locked down, Genesee County is the frontrunner, well ahead of sites considered in Pennsylvania and even Livingston County.

"I think there’s a lot of excitement (about the project), not just in Genesee County, but across the region and the state. People recognize that the Finger Lakes and Western New York are primed for growth in food processing, a recession-proof industry, because people have to eat and our country continues to grow."

Photo: GCEDC's Mark Masse, VP of business development, shows site map plans for parcel changes to the agri-business park to members of the planning and zoning boards.

It's been the talk of the town for a couple of months -- a big food processing plant is being planned for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The plant has been described as "O-AT-KA-sized" and could employ from 200 to 300 people.

Sources tell The Batavian it's now pretty much a done deal and more information should be coming out soon.

This is the second big-win for the GCEDC's agri-business park off of Route 5 in the Town of Batavia.

Last month, Colombia-based Alpina Products broke ground on a yogurt processing plant that will start out employing 50 people.

There's an item on the Town of Batavia's Planning Board agenda tonight that deals with further subdivision of the agri-park. We may find out more at this meeting.

By this time next year, there will be a factory in Batavia turning out 4,000 tons of yogurt on an annual basis, employing 55 people and buying milk from local dairy farmers.

The first step toward that goal was taken today with a ceremonial groundbreaking by South America-based Alpina Products at the site of its planned 40,000-square-foot facility.

“Alpina’s decision to locate in Batavia is a success for the entire region,” said Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post.

Alpina started marketing yogurt products aimed at U.S. consumers in the Northeast several years ago. The Batavia plant will be its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility.

Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce said Alpina was built on European tradition and now embraces American pride in expansion in New York.

Batavia, he said, was part of a list of 50 potential sites for the plant when Alpina first started planning for growth, but quickly moved to the head of the class.

Besides a strong dairy tradition and an abundant supply of milk, as well as trained workers and easy access to a market area of 125 million potential consumers, local leaders demonstrated, he said, that they would be as committed to Alpina's success as the company's executives.

"We understood that you got the message that if we were successful, you would be successful," Ramirez said. "That was very important for us. We have no doubt we're going to have success here. This is the right location, the right place."

After the groundbreaking, attendees were invited to sample Alpina's yogurt products and there was a strong sense of excitement about this initial factory opening in the long-anticipated agri-business park.

“Today’s groundbreaking of Alpina Foods’ first manufacturing facility in the United States is proof that Batavia is a great place to do business,” said Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer. “Alpina’s $15 million investment and its decision to create 50 jobs sends a clear message that other private-sector companies should consider Genesee County for their next investment.”

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde has said previously that there are other prospects for the business park in the pipeline, but until deals are signed, he is unable to provide public details.

VIDEO: Promotional video from Alpina.

Alpina CEO Julian Jaramillo

Alpina Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce

Roger Parkhurst, who will be director of operations at the new plant

Sen. Mike Ranzenhoffer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde

Workers are busy on Cedar Street installing a new sewer line that will be one of two connections between the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and the city's sewer system.

The Cedar Street line will run from the west side of the park, through the county's highway department property and then north on Cedar to the city's main line under Main Street.

Alpina Products, the first tenant for the new business park, breaks ground on construction of its facility at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.

The plans for growth are aggressive, even lofty, according to Batavia City Manager Jason Molino, but if GCEDC is successful in building the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park to capacity, it could be a boon for Batavia's sewer system and the ratepayers who support it.

The increase in revenue could potentially allow the city to both lower rates -- already among the lowest sewer rates in Western New York -- and fund replacement of aging sewer lines.

Even though the agri-park is in the Town of Batavia, the sewer effluent flows at some point through the city to the city-operated wastewater plant. The town pays the city a fee to ship effluent from the town to the plant. Every thousand of gallons of effluent that flows to the plant will generate $2.81 for the city. (NOTE: Paragraph re-written to clarify the agreement between the town and the city.)

It would take only one O-AT-KA Milk Products-sized plant to make a huge difference, Molino said.

"If you were to see something like another O-AT-KA come in overnight, you could see a huge benefit," Molino said.

The city manager's remarks followed a special meeting of Batavia City Council where the council unanimously approved a plan to provide sewer service to the agri-business park (Councilman Bill Cox recused himself because of a potential conflict of interest).

The development of the park received a significant boost this spring when Alpina Products agreed to build a new yogurt factory on the site. Escrow on the sale of that parcel is expected to close Monday.

The sewer agreement between the city, Town of Batavia and the Genesee County Economic Development Center is key to closing the Alpina deal. 

It calls for the GCEDC, with a contribution from O-AT-KA, to use state grants to build a sewer system for the agri-business park and the O-AT-KA facility. The system would include two new pump stations -- one within the jurisdiction of the town and the other within city limits on O-AT-KA's property. The city and town would take possession of the completed pumps and sewer lines.

Just expanding capacity for O-AT-KA is a huge benefit to the city, Molino said.

"O-AT-KA is our biggest sewer user, our biggest water user," Molino said. "It is one of the largest employers in the county. It gets a larger sewer line to discharge into, so they’re not constrained anymore and they have the opportunity to grow. That infrastructure is coming to us free, no cost to the city users. The other thing is that Ellicott Street (sewer line) is going to be open now for greater growth. So we’ve got two opportunities there."

Some of the sewer lines in Batavia are up to 50 years old. 100 years old, many more are at least 50 years old. It's infrastructure that needs to be replaced pretty soon. And while the city has one of the most aggressive capital improvement projects for its sewer and water systems in the state, there is still a huge need to move quickly to replace old lines.

"To me, that’s really exciting (if the agri-park is successful), to be able to do sewer line after sewer line project, to replace aging infrastructure," Molino said. "That's really exciting."

During the council meeting, Steve Hyde, CEO of GCEDC (inset photo), told the council that the current gravity system on the Ellicott Street line, the one currently used by O-AT-KA, can only handle 500,000 gallons per year and O-AT-KA needs significantly more capacity to grow. The expansion will give O-AT-KA up to 2.5 million gallons per year of potential flow.

He said the agreement with Alpina is a huge step forward for the project and Genesee County.

"When is the last time we saw a major manufacturer come into the greater Batavia area?" Hyde said. "Maybe 40 or 50 years? We’ve seen a lot of them move out, but not too many move in. Maybe this is the start of something good for our community."

It could also be the basis for pushing forward consolidation between the town and city, one council member observed.

The joint agreement has the Town of Batavia buying sewer capacity from the city and reselling it to agri-park tenants.

The town and the city already have a joint agreement in place for processing effluent in the city's wastewater plant, but the agri-business park highlights the difference in sewer rates between the town and the city.

The town's rate is $5.35 per thousand gallons. If the city and town consolidated, town landowners, including agri-park tenants could potentially pay the city's current retail rate of $3.14 per thousand gallons.

An agri-business park plant producing 15,000 gallons per day would save nearly $12,000 annually paying the city's rate.

Regardless of the rate paid by agri-park tenants, the effluent is all flowing to the same treatment plant, and the quality and efficiency of that plant is the main reason city rates are so low, Molino said.

"That plant is a resource that I don’t think people understand," Molino said. "It’s a special plant. It’s 350 acres. It’s one of the largest lagoon plants east of the Mississippi. It doesn’t use chemical treatment. It’s natural treatment, so there’s no chemical cost. Only four people run it, seven days a week. You find me a sewer plant that has low labor costs like that, low treatment costs -- that's why our sewer rates are some of the lowest in Western New York."

The city and the Town of Batavia along with the GCEDC have come to terms on an agreement to provide sewer service to the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The agreement calls for GCEDC to construct the new sewer system and for the city and town to own and maintain one pump station each.

The city won't be asked to pay for a dime of the construction, according to GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde, but will be responsible for the maintenance of its pump station.

"In the long term, the revenue from the sewer system will be very, very significant," Hyde said. "The revenue will be into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually as we build out the ag park. The revenue will far outweigh the cost of maintaining the infrastructure."

The plan calls for two new pump stations, one within city limits serving the park and O-AT-KA Milk, and the other within the town boundaries and serving the ag park.

The Batavia City Council will be asked to approve the agreement, which must be in place before the groundbreaking for the new Alpina Products plant, at a special meeting Thursday.

The majority of the funding for construction of the pump stations and sewer lines will come from grants received by GCEDC for the ag park project. O-AT-KA Milk will also pay a portion of the construction costs. The exact costs and expense split has not yet been released.

The citys' pump station will be built near Cedar and Ellicott streets with a sewer line running north to Main Street.

The town's station will be built near Main Street Road within the ag park and connect with the main sewer line under Main Street.

O-AT-KA Milk is planning a significant expansion and needs the additional sewer capacity. Even now, according to a city memo, O-AT-KA's sewer outflow occasionally exceeds the capacity of the Ellicott Street gravity sewer line.

WBTA contributed to this report.

The management of Blue Heron Construction, out of Jordan, is a little baffled about why they didn't get the contract for the sewer project at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

Genesee County Economic Development Center awarded the contract to Sergi Construction out of East Aurora even though Blue Heron's bid was $200,000 lower than Sergi's.

"It just seemed quite strange to award the contract to the second bidder," said C.W. Gregory, chief of operations for Blue Heron.

Blue Heron bid $2,024,101.50. Sergi bid $2,227,810.

Mark Masse, VP of operations for GCEDC, listed three main reasons the agency went with Sergi over Blue Heron.

First, according to Masse, Blue Heron officials admitted that they didn't have time to fully review the specs for the job. Clark Patterson Lee, the architect of the project, raised a concern that Blue Heron's bid didn't fully account for all the possible variables in the project.

Second, Clark Patterson's staff expressed concern that Blue Heron underestimated the amount of epoxy that would be needed to complete the project. The difference could mean from $20,000 to $60,000 in additional cost, while, according to Masse, Sergi overestimated the amount of epoxy needed by $60,000.

Third, Blue Heron, Masse said, has more projects in the pipeline than Sergi.

"Blue Heron has a sizable backlog of work," Masse said. "We were concerned that they would not be able to meet the aggressive time line that we needed them to meet in order to complete the project on time."

The first project in the agri-business park, Alpina products, is scheduled to break ground before the end of summer and GCEDC is contractually obligated to deliver a sewer system up to spec and on time.

Matt Rodenhizer, V.P. of Blue Heron, said he doesn't think GCEDC can legally bypass the low bidder based on the amount of work the low bidder has under contract. He also said that even if more epoxy was need, the Blue Heron bid would still be more than $70,000 lower than Sergi's.

The company is considering legal action and is also waiting on a letter of explanation from Clark Patterson that Rodenhizer said he isn't sure they will get, even though they've requested one.

Gregory said when it came to specifications for epoxy, the bid document and the spec document weren't necessarily aligned and even Clark Patterson's reps seemed confused on the point when Blue Heron interviewed for the job.

Gregory and Rodenhizer disputed Masse's claim that Blue Heron hadn't thoroughly reviewed the documents.

They also said the company has more than enough manpower to complete the project on time.

"They don't know how big of a company we are," Gregory said. "We could have put two or three crews on the project to get it done on time."

Currently, Blue Heron has four contracts totaling more than $5 million on other projects through Clark Patterson that are closing out or well under way, said Rodenhizer.

"We've never had a problem with Clark Patterson before," Gregory said. "We've worked well with them and it was a shock after the fact not to get the contract."

In business, it often comes down to location, and Bill Cox thinks he's found the perfect location to move his business -- to the new Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

"I have the opportunity, if all the stars align, to do a significant amount of business (in the new park)," Cox said following a Town of Batavia Planning Board meeting Tuesday evening.

The board approved a site plan for Cox to build a 5,002 sq. ft. facility on two acres of land just inside the new park.

There had been some question as to whether Cox's business, Marktec, was sufficiently agriculture related to be allowed in the park, but Cox said almost all of his customers are food processing companies.

Marktec makes the machines that encode information -- the little laser-printed use-by dates -- on food and beverage packaging.  

The Batavia city councilman currently has an office on Ellicott Street across from the Chapin plant and Oatka Milk headquarters. Moving into the town, Cox said, is going to help him convert new tenants of the agri-park into customers.

Being right in the park will give Marktec greater visibility with the food processing companies anticipated to move in. (So far, only Alpina Products has committed to building in the agri-park.)  That should translate into more sales of his high-speed label machines. It will also give food processing companies a convenient local vendor for supplies and service of existing equipment.

Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for Genesee County Economic Development Center, said Marktec fits well with the proscribed types of businesses being allowed into the ag park. The parcel Marktec will build on is also not prime real estate. While it's near Route 5, it's not right at the entrance and the location is not well suited for construction of a manufacturing facility.

Cox said he is founder, sole owner, president and chief sales person for Marktec, which has been in business for 28 years.

The company currently has four full-time and one part-time employees. With the move, Cox said he anticipates hiring another salesperson and a second full-time tech within the next three years.

It's back to the drawing board for the parcel subdivision of the proposed Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

Because the first confirmed tenant for the park -- Bogata, Colombia-based Alpina Products -- has set its sights on a different plot of land than originally thought, the subdivision boundaries need to be reset.

Tuesday night, the Town of Batavia Planning Board set 7:30 p.m., June 21, as the time and date for a public hearing on the revised boundaries.

Members of the Genesee County Economic Development Center will also make a presentation about the project to the board that night.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Bruce Gerould also told the board that the revised parcel plan will include a two-acre plot right on Route 5 for an office complex for an advertising agency.

Because the agency specializes in marketing for agricultural businesses, it apparently fits the requirements of the agri-business park, Gerould said.

A South American-based dairy processing company will get $767,096 in tax incentives to help the company establish a new yogurt factory in Batavia, the Genesee County Economic Development Center announced.

The incentive package for Alpina Products includes a property tax abatement, a sales tax exemption and a reduction of mortgage taxes.

GCEDC announced in April that Alpina agreed to become the first tenant for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park off Route 5 in Batavia.

The plant, when completed, is expected to add 50 jobs to the local economy and if successful, Alpina officials said they would expect to expand their operations in Batavia.

More than half of the tax incentive package comes in the form of a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) arrangement that will reduce the amount of anticipated property taxes paid by Alpina by more than $458,000 over 10 years.

Alpina will pay property taxes on the current assessed value of its 10-acre facility, but because building the plant will increase the land's value, Alpina will get a break on that increased assessment for 10 years. During the first five years, Alpina will pay no taxes on the difference between the current assessed value and the new assessed value. Starting in year six through year 10, Alpina will pay 50 percent of the increase in additional taxes, and pay 100 percent from that point forward.

The sales tax exemption of $260,000 will be on construction materials and office equipment, but not manufacturing equipment.

The mortgage tax exemption is $48,750.

The anticipated economic benefit to Genesee County is expected to exceed $30 million over 10 years.

Alpina will invest $15 million to purchase the 10-acre parcel and construct the plant.

In other GCEDC news, Wellsville Carpet Town at 3990 Call Parkway, Batavia, will receive a $14,375 mortgage tax exemption to help the company refinance its current $1.5 million real estate loan. GCEDC says the abatement will help retain 45 jobs in the county.

There are four to five more companies that are in either early stage or mid-stage study of the Gensee Valley Agri-Business Park, and Columbia-based Alpina Products decision to set up shop in Batavia is going to help the cause, said Steve Hyde, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

"Any time you get your frist tenant in one of these shovel ready sites, it really helps create momentum, much like the rising tide lifts all sail boats," said Hyde. "So, this is something we're most excited about."

The financial details are not available for public release yet because Alpina is still completing paperwork and then the application for tax abatements and grants most be approved the by GCEDC board.  The package is expected to be presented at the board's May meeting.

The deal is contingent on approval of a set of incentives as well as some 900-feet of new roadway being completed to the 10-acre lot Alpina intends to buy.

The purchase price is $50,000 per acre, Hyde said.

"That's the sweet spot," said Hyde. "You spend that much between buying the land and putting in the infrastructure. It really is a cost recovery model."

In a meeting with the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, Hyde mentioned that a mid-level Department of Transportation staff member was holding up a grant for a rail line into the agri-business park, and Hyde said he is hopeful this announcement will help unfreeze those funds.

Some of the businesses might want to locate in the park need rail and won't consider the park "shovel ready" without a rail line in place.

Even though Alpina won't need rail in its early years in the park, Hyde is hopeful Aplina's signing will shift the conversation about the grant.

"Hopefully, it will enable a different conversation," Hyde said. "I'm hopeful it will show this site is real."

Hyde said the GCEDC had four meetings with either staff of Alpina or the company's site selection consultant and the final meeting occurred with the company's entire board of directors, who all flew from Columbia to Batavia to visit the area and hear why this was the right site for them.

The full court press included a meeting attended not just by GCEDC staff, but staff from Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Cornell, RIT and Town of Batavia. Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy was on a speaker phone for key parts of the presentation and really tried to sell the executives on what a great area Western New York is, Hyde said.

GCEDC officials then gave the executives a tour of the county, showing off its amenities and areas of growth and revitalization, and then showed off some of the amenities of the region.  The tour concluded with a dinner at the Wine and Culinary Institute in Canandaigua.

Chefs there made a cheese cake in front of the dignitaries using an Alpina product for the topping.

But in the end, Hyde said, it's all really about the jobs.

"We're delighted that this came through because more than anything, it's going to create 50 jobs for 50 families," Hyde said. "And you know what, in this time, in this economy, every job our business community creates helps."