mall

City Council will vote Monday to allow Batavia's Youth Football program to remain one more season at Dwyer Stadium before relocating somewhere else in the city — that "somewhere else" will remain to be determined.

You can read our earlier posts to learn more about this issue that has ignited a bit of a controversy among council members and city residents. Many say that it would not cost the city much money at all if the program stayed at Dwyer one more year. Others say exactly the opposite, that, in fact, it would cost the city no less than $10,000 to let youth football play another season.

Public comments will be welcome at the meeting prior to the vote.

Also on the agenda for council's business meeting Monday:

• Recognition of a $6,000 grant for portable radios for the police department.
• Contract agreements to hire firms for tree trimming and removal and for grant writing.
• An agreement with the town of Batavia to pursue consolidation studies.

Click here to download the complete business meeting Agenda.

During council's conference meeting Monday, council members will continue the discussion of tree trimming and removal policies throughout the city, sparked in part by the concerns of Councilwoman Marianne Clattenburg that inconsistencies left some neighborhoods looking barren while others were flush with greenery.

Also on that agenda is a discussion on a new sign proposed for the Batavia City Centre mall drawn up (quite literally) by City Manager Jason Molino and presented to the Mall Merchants Association. (You can see the sketch for it to the left here.) This sign would be placed at bothe entrances to the mall and cost approximately $17,000.

Unfortunately, Molino says in a memo to Council, the mall merchants "did not like the design because they stated they could not advertise for events, and that they have lost revenue due to the lack of the sign."

Molino goes on: "When I inquired as to the benefits of even advertising and how much income they received due to the prior sign, there was no response."

The merchants instead requested a free-standing sign that was drawn up by Assistant City Managaer Sally Kuzon (see below). Molino commented in the memo:

"I stated that sign will be placed in-between City Hall and Hawley Insyrance and that a free standing sign downtown would not look very good aesthetically and that it would interrupt the continuity of the pedestrian sidewalks."

No matter. The merchants liked the design of the free-standing sign, which would cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

Any questions?

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little doubtful that the first sign would cost $17,000 — it doesn't seem like much more than plastic letters mounted on the entrance.