news

Prologue

Full of cheese and bread and sauce — thank you, Belladessa's Pizzeria — I'm slightly bloated and ready for my first Batavia City Council meeting. It's about six minutes shy of 7:00pm, and folks are still shuffling in, chatting. The board room seems so new it almost sparkles, despite the orange and off-white chairs that look plucked from a middle school classroom circa 1970. It smells like a dentist's office in here. There are maybe a dozen people in the audience, including myself and a man with a video camera. Everyone seems friendly.

That's that for atmosphere.

Part One (The one they call the Business Meeting)

Meeting called to order. (A solemn Christian prayer precedes the Pledge of Allegiance).

Council President Charlie Mallow jokes that he found some "new things" while cleaning up the skatepark during the "green-up cleanup" over the weekend. Wonder what that means.

Of the few decisions by the council tonight, there was only one that may immediately affect folks. That is, the traffic light at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Ross Street will be removed and replaced with all-way stop signs. Watch for that.

Not much else worth mention. First meeting adjourned. Five minute break.

The man with the video camera left. Why did he only tape the business meeting? What is the point of a second type of meeting if it isn't worth recording? Who makes that call?

Part Two (The one they call the Conference Meeting)

Councilman Frank Ferrando told me earlier that the "conference" half of these meetings are spent determining the agenda for the next "business" meeting, giving the council a chance to hash things out before they come up for vote. That being said, there's not much to say here. At least, not tonight. Just a lot of procedural minutiae — deciding whether something is worth deciding. Maybe that's why the guy with the camera took off.

Really, elected officials ought to be lauded if for no other reason than their patience and willingness to go through such process, while we recline in a sofa with a bowl of popcorn and drool at the television in the comfort of our home. Seriously. What do they get paid? Maybe $5,000 per year. Maybe. It may not be entertaining to watch the gears turn, but we should at least rest assured that they're turning.

I must admit, I'm impressed by the general politesse at this meeting. Council members raise their hands to be acknowledged by the president before they speak or ask a question. They often thank each other and whatever guests take the mic. If they raise their voices, it's out of passion, not anger.

Meeting adjourned — 8:35pm. Goodnight.

From the Daily News (Monday):

• Batavia's volunteer city cleanup Saturday was a success. City Councilman Bill Cox told the Daily News, "I bet I picked up 500 butts" — that's cigarette butts. And he wasn't alone.

• Another group of Batavia volunteers are picking up (literally) where Councilman Cox and others left off following Saturday's clean-up. They call themselves Helping Hands: Bringing Pride Back to our Neighborhoods. The first of a series of three cleanups starts Saturday at 10:00am and runs to about 1:00pm at the corner of Evans and Watson streets. Call New Hope Church at (585) 344-2997 for more information.

• The VA Medical Center will host an Award Recognition Ceremony tonight at Bohn's Restaurant.

• Reporter Scott DeSmit wrote: "A teacher at Rainbow Preschool in Batavia remains on administrative leave as an in-school investigation into alleged sexual misconduct wraps up." An investigation by state police found that the allegations were unfounded, so the school decided to perform its own investigation "as a matter of policy."

• The City Council will meet tonight for a business meeting at 7:00pm followed by a conference. Both meetings will be held in the Council Board Room on the second floor of City Hall.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

Check out WBTA for these and other news stories:

• The City Council meets tonight at 7:00pm.

• Auditions for the Batavia Muckdogs/WBTA National Anthem Contest will be held at noon on Saturday, May 17 at Dwyer Stadium.

• Several hundred people turned out for the State of the City address.

Check out WBTA for these and other news stories:

• Batavia City Council President will give the State of the City address at an all-night event in conjunction with the Chamber's Business Showcase.

• Kiwanis Club of Batavia will hold its annual Law Day Dinner Thursday, May 1.

From the Daily News:

• Retired Major Gen. John Batiste will speak at the Batavia VA Medical Center Saturday, May 17 as part of a two-day veterans celebration organized by the Genesee County Veterans Support Network. "His speech will be focused not on the war or politics but on helping veterans," writes reporter Scott DeSmit. Call (585) 344-2611 for more information.

• Volunteers are being sought for a city clean-up Saturday. If you're interested, get to Williams Park on Pearl Street by 9:00am.

• Reporter Paul Mrozek writes that the town of Batavia "will maintain a water main that is owned by the village of Oakfield but runs through Batavia." Meanwhile, Batavia has a contract to buy the water plant where the main originates. Mrozek explains that the "mothballed" plant "has been stripped of its equipment so the building is available for storage." Once acquired, the land will be turned into a park with hiking and nature trails. Holes in the story: the Town Supervisor says the plant "will, at some point, become the property of Batavia." Some point this year? Some point in the next decade? Fifty years from now? Also, if the main originates at this defunct plant, what purpose does it serve? And if it is owned by Oakfield, why will Batavia maintain it?

• From a Letter to the Editor: "Revise, review and proofread; reconsider and repeat. Understand that modern times reward those with a fluency in the spoken word and a facility with the written word." So goes the advice from Donald Weyer to the Daily News and its readers.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

From the Daily News:

• Warm weather means flowers... and hardhats. Construction is underway on the Batavia Towne Center at Park Road and Veterans Memorial Drive. Target is already hiring at an office on Main Street, nearby the WBTA studios. The store should be finished by July, and Lowe's should follow soon after. Other tenants will include: Bed Bath & Beyond, Petco and Michael's, an arts and crafts retail chain.

• A newborn baby abandoned at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia last month is safe and healthy. And, while the mother has been identified, she cannot be charged. The law apparently allows a child under 5 days old to be abandoned with impunity at a hospital, fire station or police station.

• City HomeCare & Hospice will be working under the radar for a while, before kicking off a public fundraising campaign later this year. The hospice may eventually build a facility on River Street that would include some beds and administrative offices. Reporter Joanne Beck says: "Provisions can include medicine, equipment and physician, nursing, social work, bereavement and spiritual care." Not quite sure what that means. Holes in the story: Is the hospice building new or relocating from somewhere else? If everything is "tentative," nothing is known, and the hospice is not actually doing anything right now — as Beck writes — what is the story? Also, if this is the "next step," what was the first step?

• Kmart in Batavia kicked out the Genesee County Farmers Market after its 10-year residence at the store's parking lot. The now homeless market starts its summer season on June 10 and runs until October 31.

• Reservations must be made by Friday for an annual awards dinner for the Landmark Society of Genesee County. The dinner will be held May 3 at the First Presbyterian Church, 300 East Main St., Batavia, at 6:00pm. Tickets are $10. Call Catherine Roth at (585) 343-3833 or Lucine Kauffman at 757-2455 for more information.

• The Gensee Community College Foundation wants you to think of higher education this Mother's Day and make a donation to its scholarship fund. A minimum donation of $25 is required. Send your check to GCC and the college will send your mother a nice card. Call the college at (585) 345-6809 for more information.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Batavian is on the air.

We're launching in beta mode -- lots of bugs to work out, and we still need to establish our business in beautiful downtown Batavia, New York.

Today has been mainly about administrative tasks -- ordering busienss cards, advertising, signage and buying some electronics.

At the moment, we're hanging out in Main Street Coffee.

We'll share more later about who we are and what we're doing, but if you happen across this site and this post, please register and leave a comment.  Tell us what you think The Batavian can and should do to best serve the residents and businesses of Batavia.

Official launch date slated for May 1.