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GCEDC officials see Plug Power's investment as a continuation of agency's 'track record of success'

By Mike Pettinella

A high-ranking official of the local industrial development agency that owns the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park says Plug Power’s investment in the Town of Alabama site will more than offset the loss in revenue caused by removing about 1,100 acres of mostly farmland from the tax rolls.

That official, Mark Masse, is senior vice president of operations for the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

“I know that people get upset with farmland coming out of production but when you have projects like Plug Power that can give you a 10 to 25 times rate of return, that is a significant help – not only to the agricultural community but also your residents,” Masse said.

“We do not give money away. We do not give out bags of cash. That is what everybody seems to have a misconception about. We give an abatement, so they don’t pay the tax.”

Masse and Jim Krencik, the agency’s director of marketing and communications, sat down with The Batavian earlier this week at their Upstate Med & Tech Park office on R. Stephen Hawley Drive to talk about STAMP and the GCEDC’s other ventures.

According to Masse, the agency has acquired 25 parcels equating to 1,144 acres of STAMP’s total of 1,250 acres. He said the assessed value of those properties is about $3 million.

He said that based on 2020 tax rates, that comes to about $104,00 a year for all three taxing jurisdictions – the Town of Alabama, Oakfield-Alabama Central School and Genesee County.

“So, if you were to say that we owned all of those properties for the 10 years – which we didn’t, because we acquired them over time – so you couldn’t apply 10 years to all of them,” he said. “But if you did, that would just be about a million dollars in tax revenue lost over 10 years.”

‘A SIGNIFICANTLY BIGGER PAYBACK’

Masse said that pales in comparison to what Plug Power, the Latham-based producer of green hydrogen fuel cells, will be paying to those three entities as a result of agreeing to build a $232.7 million manufacturing plant and $53 million, 345/115 kilovolt electric power substation at STAMP.

“The Plug Power project will generate a significantly bigger payback than all of those combined,” he said. “So, that’s the big windfall, so to speak, for these municipalities. These are 20-year agreements we’re entering into for Plug Power and those payments are about $1.4 million a year to the taxing jurisdictions, compared to previously collecting only $104,000.”

The contract with Plug Power includes a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), community benefit agreement and community education agreement. Masse said those are classified together as a property tax and it is "additional revenue for the taxing jurisdictions being driven by the project.”

Directors of the GCEDC have approved $118.8 million in property tax ($117.7 million) and sales tax ($1.1 million) abatements for Plug Power.

Krencik said the incentives are based on Plug Power’s performance outlook, including a pledge to create 68 full-time jobs, with salaries and benefits equaling about $70,000 per job.

“When considering the company’s capital investment, job creation, initial investment and projected revenues, the estimate economic impact is $4.40 for every $1 of requested public investment,” he said. “Comparing that against all of our corporate taxpayers in Genesee County, aside from utilities (National Grid, National Fuel), when you look at a single-source business, such as a theme park or a manufacturer, this would make this project the largest single company taxpayer of all those in Genesee County.”

“Unlike when the land – mostly farmland -- was vacant and you had $104,000 in annual taxes, this $1.4 million that Plug Power is going to pay is on 30 acres,” Masse added. “So, that’s a significant rate of return that you see on these types of projects.”

KRENCIK: FOLLOWING THE MODEL

Plug Power is the first tenant at STAMP, which has sat dormant for many years. In 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to Batavia to announce that 1366 Technologies, a solar wafer manufacturer based in Massachusetts, would be building a facility at STAMP but that deal eventually fell through.

Krencik said the GCEDC was following a model used by other municipalities – acquiring land and working to install necessary infrastructure to attract interest from mega-companies such as Plug Power.

He said he understands how inactivity at these large sites could lead to public dissatisfaction, while the lack of progress isn’t as evident at smaller manufacturing parks, such as the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park on East Main Street Road.

“That’s kind of been the model across all the towns – you typically see a shorter timeline on some of these things because they’re smaller projects, smaller sites, smaller infrastructure,” he explained. “In the case of an ag park, I don’t think you’d feel the same type of pressure where you may be thinking, ‘Is there a loss there?’

“There are acres in the ag parks that currently are not on the tax rolls, but, of course, you already see the benefit in Batavia where you have two very large operations that are significant contributors to the town, city schools and the county (HP Hood and Upstate Milk Cooperative).”

Masse agreed, adding that the GCEDC is running out of acreage, “but that’s a good problem to have.”

MASSE: FARMERS BEAR THE BURDEN

Getting back to STAMP, Masse said the GCEDC continues to pay the fire district fees on those properties as they are not tax exempt.

“So, the emergency fire support services are still being paid for all the properties that we own, with the tax based on the assessed values and fire district tax rate,” he said.

Masse also mentioned that many parcels zoned Agricultural receive property tax exemptions.

“Obviously, agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Genesee County and if you look at who bears the largest tax burden in the county it is farmers, because they own the majority of the land,” he said. “That’s why they try to give them some help with the ag exemption. They’ll scale them in over a time period.”

He brought up a municipal consumption study that was done in Amherst around a decade ago that showed that commercial enterprises consume about 80 cents in municipal services while residential consumes around $1.20 in municipal services.

“Everybody complains about these companies but, in the long run, they’re going to help subsidize the municipal services that the residents use more of,” he said. “That’s always our hope that we’re not only creating jobs but also creating additional tax base to alleviate the tax burden. Creating those jobs and having those people spend their money here … what they call the indirect and induced effect of that money being spent throughout your community.”

COMPANIES MUST MEET THEIR GOALS

Masse said companies’ economic impact projections are keys to determining if they qualify for tax incentives and the amount of those incentives.

“Firms are required in their applications to give us the number of full-time equivalent (jobs) that they believe will be created by their projects,” he said. “Back in October of 2015 or 2016, the law changed. Now, that job creation goal is put into our PILOT agreements and other agreements. If they do not achieve that, our board could consider cancelling their PILOT and making them claw back and basically, pay back the incentives that they took.”

He said the GCEDC tracks companies as long as they are receiving benefits and that the board of directors would likely would call in a company to find out why it didn’t reach its goals.

“So, for the 10 years of a PILOT, they are required to report to us their annual job numbers every year. We record them and input them into the New York State reporting system – PARIS (Public Authorities Reporting Information System),” he said. “It’s a public document that shows how many jobs were pledged and how many were created. Once the PILOT expires, the company is no longer required to report those jobs to us.”

Krencik credited Masse for staying in touch with the cities, towns and villages that usually initiate construction projects.

“Mark meets with the town, the school and the county folks more than I meet with members of my immediately family,” Krencik said. “He has kept that dialogue going. At the town board level, for example, that is a strong mode of communication.”  

STAMP DIVIDED INTO ‘DISTRICTS’

A look at the layout of STAMP reveals that it is divided into three “technology districts”:

  • Technology District 1 -- a 600-acre parcel in the northern portion dedicated to high-tech manufacturing, including semiconductor, renewable energy and other advanced industries;
  • Technology District 2 -- office, and research and development space;
  • Technology District 3- -- area geared toward retail support services.

Masse said the concept was to create blocks of three semiconductor chip “fabs” that would open six million square feet for production, accommodating 930 employees.

“We went through the required State Environmental Quality Review, with the full build-out (as such) that if it’s within those thresholds, we really don’t have to do more work,” he said. “When we proposed to rezone the property, that is an action under SEQR and any proposed changes have to comply with SEQR.”

He said that’s what the GCEDC did in 2010 and “that took the better part of two years to get through that process.”

POWER, GAS LINES ARE RIGHT THERE

Masse also said that the presence of the nearby dual 345kV power lines and a National Fuel Empire Pipeline, a 24-inch natural gas transmission line, was a major reason the Town of Alabama location was selected.

“The 345 kV power lines take power from the Niagara Falls power station and run it down to New York City. We did a system impact study that revealed we can pull down 450 megawatts off of those lines,” he said. “With that, we would construct a very large, about a 10-acre substation (on the site), that would be a 345 to 115 kV – it would step the voltage down.”

As previously stated, Plug Power is funding this substation at a cost of about $53 million. Both the Plug Power plant and the substation are expected to be operational by December 2022.

Plug Power, along with the 30 acres it purchased for the green hydrogen facility, has a right of first refusal for an adjoining 30 acres for the possibility of future expansion.

The GCEDC has no applications for other major manufacturers at this time, Masse said. A couple months ago, it was rumored that Samsung was interested in placing a semiconductor manufacturing plant at STAMP.

INCREASED INTEREST IN STAMP?

When asked if Plug Power’s pending move to STAMP has generated more interest in the site, Masse said he’s hopeful that other businesses will take note. He did, however, mention that the COVID-19 pandemic “has driven a lot of companies to take a hard look at where they’re sourcing their products from and where are they selling their products to.”

“COVID broke a lot of supply chain issues throughout the world,” he said. “I think we’ve seen that with shortages and price increases of a lot of things. A lot of companies are doing a reassessment, saying we don’t ever want to go through that again.”

As a result, Masse said that companies are looking to locate new facilities coming out of COVID-19.

“So, one of the nice things about the Plug Project is that timelines are crucial to these companies – time is money to them,” he offered. “That substation is a major piece of infrastructure. Having that in place will go a long way toward alleviating companies’ concerns about that being available. We have the force main of the sewer project under construction. The only real long lead time item left will be the water from Niagara County, and we are just completing our design and engineering on that as well.”

Masse said he sees a light at the end of the tunnel.

“A lot of people say, well, it’s been 10 years and all you have done is build a road. They don’t see the amount of soft work, so to speak, that is in my office in about 2,000 pages worth of documents of archaeological, environmental, phase one, phase two – all the design and engineering you have to do and all the regulatory agencies you have deal with. That takes time, and that’s what we have been working on very diligently,” he said.

The development of STAMP has been beneficial to Town of Alabama residents already, he said, in that they gained access to municipal water.

“If we had not done this, they could not afford to get municipal water,” he said. “They had failing wells. A lot of those people were spending $1,500, $2,000 a year on replacing equipment because the water was so bad. And because we were able to fund a significant portion of the water, the town was able to add on and they’re going to end up covering about 95 percent of town residents with public water.”

CORPORATE PARKS IN FULL SWING

The GCEDC has invested tens of millions of dollars in the STAMP project, likely more than anticipated, but Masse said he is confident that the agency’s track record of success in Genesee County will produce a similar outcome in the Town of Alabama.

“If you look at our corporate parks, they’re almost all full at this time,” he said. “It was 2007 when the Ag Park was started. You can see the success that we have had there.”

The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park is one of seven corporate parks owned by the GCEDC. Currently, HP Hood, Upstate Niagara and O-At-Ka Milk Products are running at high capacity and are expanding, Masse said.

The other corporate parks are as follows:

  • Le Roy Food & Tech Park in the Town of Le Roy: BioWorks has just signed to take 60 of the park’s 75 acres, and the Le Roy Town Board has set a public hearing for July 8 to consider rezoning neighboring parcels for expansion.

Word has it that Great Lakes Cheese, an Ohio-based manufacturer, has approached individual landowners with purchase offers. Masse said Great Lakes Cheese has yet to apply to the GCEDC for incentives.

“We do not have any applications from any companies for that location,” he said. “A lot of companies will go out and do due diligence on sites. We do not own the property. Whoever is talking with private landowners is between them.”

  • Apple Tree Acres, Bergen: Sixty-two percent of the acreage there is sold, with Liberty Pumps as the key tenant. Liberty Pumps is undergoing an expansion project as well.
  • Gateway I and Gateway II Corporate Park, on both sides of Route 98 near the Thruway exit: “All of those acres are spoken for,” Masse said.
  • Med Tech Center on R. Stephen Hawley Drive: The GCEDC has renovated 800 square feet of space in that building that is available for lease.
  • Buffalo East Tech Park in Pembroke: Artisan cheese maker Yancey’s Fancy has a new plant there and a couple smaller businesses are being proposed for that site.

Masse said he believes that the more the public knows about economic development projects, the perception that the GCEDC is just an administrator of corporate welfare will subside.

“We’ve tried to do public outreach sessions, but they were poorly attended,” he said. “However, all of our agency business is open to public viewing. From a transparency standpoint, we are as transparent an organization as you’re going to find. Everything is on our website. Our board meetings are recorded and they’re Zoomed. Everything we have is out there under public authorities law.”

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SENECA NATION FILES SUIT

In a separate development, Masse said it is agency policy to not comment on any pending litigation.

Earlier this month, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Genesee County, disputing the GCEDC’s determination that the Plug Power project would have no negative effect on the nation’s “Big Woods” land that is situated on the western end of STAMP.

According to the lawsuit’s preliminary statement, the Seneca Nation considers that area “as a property of religious and cultural significance” and that the Plug Power siting would infringe upon those grounds. The plaintiff also contends that the GCEDC did not provide notification prior to the completion of the environmental review process.

Photo at top: Mark Masse, right, and Jim Krencik at the Genesee County Economic Development Center on R. Stephen Hawley Drive; Photo at bottom: A look at the WNY STAMP site, with the Plug Power project area "X'd out" just south of the Technology District 1 area highlighted in purple. Photos by Mike Pettinella.

Spot is home safe after owner finds him hiding in a boat in his barn

By Billie Owens

Just over an hour or so ago, cat owner David Austin emailed us to let everyone know his cat "Spot" was found and is home safely. You'll recall he went missing last weekend from his city residence.

"We found him hiding in a covered-up boat. Before I did though, I dug up a big part of my 145-year-old barn floor. There are gofer tunnels under there."

So, we can surmise that Spot felt duty bound to hunt the varmints. He heard a higher calling and answered it nobly. For shame thinking he was out for self-indulgent amusement when there's obviously work to be done on the property by an expert -- veritable catacombs to search for burrowing pests!

Spot's latest photo with that pointed expression tells the whole story. "You gotta problem with that?!"

Previously: Don't beam him up, Scotty! This cat is missing from MacArthur Drive and State Street

Jackson Square returns from COVID with Friday night concerts

By Steve Ognibene

Penny Whiskey kicked off this summer’s Friday Night Jackson Square concert series. The band features a mix of Celtic, folk, rock and bluegrass all rolled into a hilarious show. Members play a variety of instruments like banjo, bodhran, whistles, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar and flute.

Penny Whiskey offers the best in music from both Ireland and Scotland along with homegrown bluegrass, folk and rock influences and that touch of crunchy electric guitar that gets you on your feet.

Executive Director for the Batavia BID, Beth Kemp said, “The Batavia Business Improvement District is so thrilled to be able to host Jackson Square Summer Concert Series this summer! It has been a tough last year for our businesses and community and we are happy to be providing events and opportunities for people to come together again in our Downtown!”

For a complete list of Friday night concerts in the square, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene Photography.

Historic downtown building is ready to welcome tenants

By Mike Pettinella

Sight unseen.

The people who have signed contracts to rent the new third-floor apartments above Eli Fish Brewery Co. at 109-111 Main St. did so even before seeing the finish product, according to the building’s co-owner.

Matt Gray, who led a group of government and municipal agency officials on a tour of the apartments this afternoon, said the two two-bedroom and one one-bedroom units were rented about three months ago – well before completion.

“Yes, it was unsolicited,” he said. “We started receiving phone calls and emails down at Eli (Fish) wondering if we had apartments available. We told them that they were under construction and they still wanted to see them. And all three of them ended up being rented in March.”

Gray said the woman who is renting one of the two-bedroom flats in the historic J.J. Newberry building picked up the keys today and will be ready to move in on July 1.

“It really was the first time that she has seen it since drywall started to go up. She was very excited to see how it turned out,” he said, adding that none of the tenants (some are in their 30s and one is retired) are from Batavia.

The two-bedroom apartments are renting for $1,100 per month and the one bedroom is going for $800 per month.

City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr., one of the people invited for a sneak peek, called the apartments “absolutely beautiful and I would love to live in an apartment like that as a young person or retired person.”

Jankowski said Gray and co-owner Matthew Boyd are fulfilling city leaders’ mission of creating a vibrant Downtown.

“That’s exactly what I had envisioned when they talked about apartments and people living above businesses and bringing a downtown neighborhood back to our community,” he said. “That’s a perfect place to start.”

Gray, when asked why people are being attracted to living above downtown buildings, said it was a matter of walkability.

“It’s a lifestyle. People that are looking to live Downtown want to be able to walk to entertainment, to dining, to shopping,” he offered. “One of the gentlemen who is moving in is excited because everything that he wants to do is nearby – even walking to the Muckdog game or the farmer’s market. It’s all right here.”

He said the demographics of tenants in the building’s seven apartments (there are four apartments on the second floor) are across the board.

“Whether they’re young or retired even, the desire is there to be social and to walk to where they want to go,” he said.

Construction of the new apartments was aided by a $137,600 grant from the state Downtown Revitalization Initiative, facilitated by the Batavia Development Corp., NY Main Street program, and a grant from the DRI Building Improvement Fund.

Photos at top: Matt Gray, center, conducts a tour of the new third-floor apartments above Eli Fish Brewery Co. on Main Street, Batavia, as, from left, Chris Suozzi, Penny Kennett, Mary Valle and Mark Masse look on; kitchen area of the one-bedroom apartment. Photos below: View onto Main Street of the front apartment; the large kitchen/living room of the two-bedroom unit at the rear of the building. Photos by Mike Pettinella.

Hot weekend coming, water conservation urged

By Howard B. Owens

Press release from Tim Hens, County Highway Superintendent:

Heading into the weekend, it looks like a few days of 90° weather are forecasted for our area.  It has been abnormally dry and this combo is exactly what causes water usage to spike. The County is continuing to urge all residents connected to the public water supply system to make small changes to conserve water usage.  Please avoid watering lawns, washing vehicles and any unnecessary water usage.  If you need to water a garden, please do so at night.  Small changes at the residential level add up quickly. 

FOUND: Police looking for missing 66-year-old Batavia man

By Howard B. Owens

UPDATED 5:48 p.m. Saturday, June 26:

From BPD -- Louis Morris has been located alive and unharmed. The Batavia Police Department would like to thank the public for the tips they sent in.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Lewis A. Morris who was reported missing from his home in the City of Batavia on June 25th.

Mr. Morris was last seen at his residence on June 25th at approximately 12:30 a.m. and reportedly may have left sometime before 3 a.m. Mr. Morris is believed to be with his vehicle, which is a 2011 Hyundai Sonata, 4-door sedan, black, with New York registration - JAT5955.

Morris is described as an African American male, age 66, there is currently no clothing description available. His photo accompanies this news release. Anyone who sees Morris, or his vehicle, should call their local law enforcement agency.

Please be prepared to provide his current location and clothing description. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Batavia Police Department without delay at (585) 345-6350.

Mark Your Calendar: Genesee Symphony Orchestra holds free concert in Austin Park highlighting 75th season

By Press Release

Press release:

Genesee Symphony Orchestra Reveal Event

Music Director S. Shade Zajac reveals the orchestra's 75th Anniversary Season -- Get to know YOUR orchestra!

  • GSO Concert
  • Upcoming Season Information for the 75th Anniversary Celebration
  • T-shirts for sale with orchestra logo
  • Food trucks for refreshments

WHEN?  4 p.m. Saturday, July 17

WHERE?  Austin Park, 15 Jefferson Ave., City of Batavia

Bring a chair, relax and enjoy the evening celebrating YOUR community orchestra!

City roadwork set for Monday has been rescheduled for Tuesday

By Press Release

From the city's Bureau of Maintenance:

To all Residents/Property Owners:

Please, be aware the roadwork scheduled for Monday, June 28th has been rescheduled to Tuesday, June 29th. This work is weather dependent and if the work is delayed due to rain it will be scheduled for the next workday.

As a reminder that North Spruce Street (East Avenue to North Street), Fisher Park and Chase Park will be closed to all through traffic.

Residents living within the work area will have limited access to their driveway and may experience delays while the paving operations are ongoing. All efforts will be made to minimize delays. There will be no roadside parking.

Thank you for your cooperation in advance.

Genesee Chorale to hold virtual concert 'Like A River In My Soul' at 7 Saturday, tickets are $5

By Press Release

Press release:

The Genesee Chorale invites you to join them for a unique Spring virtual performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 26.

The performance is titled "Like A River In My Soul." The music the Genesee Chorale has chosen uses images and themes of nature meant to inspire and provide joy and hope.  

Tickets for this 30-minute virtual performance are $5 and are available here.

Your "ticket" purchase provides you access to the private premiere virtual concert. You will receive the link to the concert via email at noon on June 26th.

The concert goes "live" at 7 o'clock. The link will be available beyond that time. So, if you would like to see the performance but are unable to be there at 7 p.m. on the 26th, you can still watch and enjoy the concert with the same link!

For more information, please visit our website at GeneseeChorale.com or email info@geneseechorale.com.

Please join us, and let the Genesee Chorale raise your spirit through song!

'Straightforward' audit shows about 16 percent increase in Batavia Development Corp.'s net position

By Mike Pettinella

Calling it a “straightforward” audit, a certified public accountant with the Freed Maxick firm in Batavia reported that the Batavia Development Corp. experienced a 16-percent increase in its net position from March 31, 2020 to the same date this year.

At Thursday’s monthly BDC meeting at the City Centre Council Chambers, Nicole Ryan reviewed financial statements from fiscal years 2020 and 2021, giving the agency’s board a comparative look at its activity.

She said that since there was no new activity for Creek Park Batavia LLC, a BDC entity, her presentation focused on the BDC.

The BDC’s net position increased from $172,469 as of March 31, 2020, to $199,931 as of March 31, 2021 (about a 16-percent jump), while the operating revenues increased by about $5,000 from 2020 (from $114,964 to $119,769) and expenditures decreased about $3,000 (from $95,136 to $92,307).

“So, overall, year to year, there wasn’t a large change in the activity – as expected based on the type of year that was had …,” Ryan said. “There wasn’t an abundant amount of information that we had to go over; there was minimal grant activity that took place this year, compared to previous years. Overall, it was very straightforward and a rather quick audit. Very painless.”

Ryan found that the agency’s cash flow increase of only $31,358 from the prior year “again was due to the minimal grant activity that took place.”

Receivables for 2021 totaled $125,750 with $81,428 as part of the financial close of the Ellicott Station and $44,322 as part of the Building Improvement Fund, which will be reimbursed through New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

All told, Ryan said the audit identified no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies, “so I don’t have any exhibits for any type of filings that would have been communicated during the process.”

Andrew Maguire, BDC director of economic development, said that in April the agency was awarded a New York Main Street Grant of $417,000 for the Theater 56 project. That transaction will be reflected in the 2021-22 fiscal year financial statement, he noted.

Turtle in the road Le Roy prompts call to dispatch

By Billie Owens

A turtle was in the road on Church Street in the Village of Le Roy, says a caller to dispatch, and now it's on the sidewalk but there are children playing with it. A Le Roy police officer is responding.

UPDATE 12:04 p.m.: "The turtle has been removed; that job can now be cleared," an officer tells dispatch.

BPD reminder: COVID-19 pandemic in NYS ended today, so expired licenses and permits need to be renewed

By Press Release

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department would like to notify citizens that the State of Emergency declared by Governor Cuomo at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic ended today (June 24). Therefore, the extension of expiration dates for driver licenses and permits that expired on or after March 1, 2020 also ended today.

Expired drivers licenses and permits are no longer valid and need to be renewed with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Batavia Downs donates $2,300 in lost and unclaimed funds to Sheriff's K9 program

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

On June 24th, a ceremony was held in the lobby at Batavia Downs Gaming as Batavia Downs showcased their $2,300 sponsorship of the Genesee County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit. The money was left at Batavia Downs and was turned into the Sheriff’s office.

When the money went unclaimed, Batavia Downs decided to sponsor the Department’s K-9 Unit. The money will be used to help provide equipment for the unit, headed up by Officer Andrew Mullen and K-9 Frankie.

“We’re happy to help contribute to Genesee County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit,” said Henry Wojtaszek, president and CEO of Batavia Downs. “It’s important for our Sheriff to have the resources they need to keep our community safe.”

“We appreciate the support from Batavia Downs," said Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron Jr. “These funds will be put towards K-9 related expenses like food, training and equipment.”

Photo by Howard Owens.

Former J.J. Newberry building owners ready to unveil third-floor apartments

By Mike Pettinella

Matt Gray, co-owner of the former J.J. Newberry Building at 109-111 Main St., Batavia, is proclaiming “mission accomplished” as construction of a trio of third-floor apartments has reached the finishing touches stage.

“The building is finally 100-percent complete,” Gray said this afternoon. “Bringing people Downtown, that’s the whole idea behind it. We’re looking forward to a good 2021.”

Gray and partner Matthew Boyd have a reason to be proud as they, along with Eli Fish Brewery Company co-owner Jon Mager, have coordinated the transformation of the building (that was built in 1881) into a Downtown destination.

The entrepreneurs have invited the media and a select group of community officials connected to the project to attend an open house at 4 p.m. Friday (tomorrow) where tours of the apartments will be conducted.

Gray said that Whitney East Inc., of Rochester, was the general contractor for the apartment project that began in January. Two of the apartments have two bedrooms and the other has one bedroom.

All are equipped with high-efficiency washers and dryers and stainless steel appliances.

Gray said that tenants will be moving in on July 1, and that all are being rented at market rate – around $1,000 per month.

In 2018, four apartments were put into the second floor, with Thompson Builds as the general contractor. The building’s first floor houses Eli Fish Brewing Co. and restaurant, and Eden Café & Bakeshop.

Previously: BDC director points to Eli Fish/Newberry project as shining example of agency's value

Batavia Downs Gaming 'zooms' ahead, touting record week, hot start to concert series, new promotion in July

By Mike Pettinella

Nineteen million, seven hundred thousand.

That’s the amount in dollars that was bet at Batavia Downs Gaming during the week of June 13-19, a record for the Park Road entertainment center.

Batavia Downs Gaming Marketing Director Ryan Hasenauer reported that figure to Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s directors, who gathered this morning for their monthly board meeting.

WROTB President/CEO Henry Wojtaszek, when asked if it was safe to say that the gaming industry has bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic, simply replied, “Yes. That’s the most money that has been bet on the machines in our history in one week -- $19.7 million.”

Wojtaszek also commented on the Rockin’ The Downs Summer Concert Series, that moves into its third week tomorrow night.

“We’re off to a great start for the Summer Concert Series,” he said. “The first two concerts went well and we’ve sold a lot of tickets for Steve Augeri (formerly of Journey) on Friday night."

In other developments:

  • Batavia Bets, WROTB’s interactive online platform, handled almost $2.2 million in May, up more than $1 million (97 percent) from 2020.

Through June 20, handle was $1.2 million – down $79,000 (6 percent) from 2020, but the year-to-date handle of $9 million is up almost $2.9 million (47 percent) from 2020.

Wojtaszek attributes the increase to patrons who turned to horse racing wagering during the pandemic and have found it a favorable pastime.

“It (COVID-19) did cause a lot of people to take a look at horse racing because that really was the only activity available to them at the time,” he said. “But, I think what they’ve seen, they liked because they continue to utilize that service. We have a great rewards rebate program that seems to be working well.”

Additionally, it was reported that $121,737 in surcharge generated in May will be distributed to the corporation's municipalities. 

  • Batavia Downs Gaming will be hiring two full-time customer relations managers to “try to take our customer service up a notch,” Wojtaszek said.

“We want to make sure all of the different facets of the operation are coordinated properly and that our customers are looked after, so we’re trying to take it up a notch,” he said, adding that two current employees may be promoted although the positions will go through the Human Relations department.”

  • Several resolutions were passed, including three pertaining to legal representation – a $200,000 contract with Harris Beach, $100,000 contract with Hodgson Russ and $5,000 contract with Connors LLP.

Others measures approved were a contract with Canal Concerts Inc., for $3,500 per concert (not to exceed $35,000) to provide setup and oversight services during the 2021 Concert Series, and the purchase of a block of eight tickets with parking in an amount not to exceed $25,200 from Live Nation Marketing Inc., for the 2021 concert series at Darien Lake.

Photo at top: Ryan Hasenauer, Batavia Downs Gaming marketing director, stands next to the Zoom Ball game the facility will be promoting next month. Hasenauer said that during the five Saturdays in July, two customers will be called at random each hour over a four-hour period (7 to 10 p.m.) to play the game. Upon pressing the big red button, the balls -- gold, red, white and blue -- will be blown around and sucked into the "win zone" at the top of the machine. If the player gets all six gold balls in the chute, he or she will win $50,000. Prizes decrease from there -- $10,000 for five, $1,000 for four, $250 and $250 free play for three, $150 and $250 free play for two, $100 and $250 free play for one, and $250 free play even if none of the balls at the top are gold. Ten of the balls in the machine are colored gold. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Photos: Batavia Concert Band returns to Centennial Park

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Concert Band performed its first concert of the 2021 season last evening in Centennial Park.

The public is encouraged to attend the free concerts at 7 p.m. every Wednesday through Aug. 4 in Centennial Park, located at 151 State St. in the city.

These concerts are "made completely possible through local funding."

Upcoming concerts and/or their sponsors:

Photos by Howard Owens.

WROTB directors approve $200,000 in payments to City School District, Genesee County and Town of Batavia

By Mike Pettinella

In what is being called a "good faith" gesture initiated by Genesee County's representative to the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., the public benefit corporation's board of directors this morning voted to approve host agreements with the Batavia City School District, Genesee County and Town of Batavia to provide payments totaling more than $200,000 over the next four years.

These payments are being made to the taxing jurisdictions in light of Batavia Downs Gaming's recent purchase of the Hotel at Batavia Downs from ADK Hospitality of Buffalo, thus taking the property off of the tax rolls and negating a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement the entities had with the previous hotel owners.

The breakdown of the payments, which add up to $212,508, reveals that the school district will receive $27,000 for 2021, and the school district, county and town will receive a total of $46,377 for 2022 through 2025. Dissecting the latter amount further, the school district will get approximately $27,000, the county approximately $13,000 and the town approximately $7,000.

"Dick Siebert," replied WROTB President/CEO Henry Wojtaszek when asked what prompted the board to propose allocating money to three taxing jurisdictions affected by Batavia Downs Gaming activities. "Mr. Siebert addressed the board and asked them to consider this because he indicated to everybody that we have great relationships with them -- which we do -- and thought it would be a good faith effort to go ahead and do this. It was something that they had counted on because they had a PILOT in place with the former owners of the hotel."

Wojtaszek said the funding covers the amount of the PILOT that would have been in place.

Siebert, a longtime WROTB director and Genesee County election commissioner, said passage of this resolution is "more about the spirit of what we're doing than the actual dollar amount."

"It's not a great deal of money, but it shows than even though we are tax exempt ... it shows our good faith," he said, adding that the county, school district and town have supported the corporation's efforts.

He asked Wojtaszek to formally inform the school superintendent, county manager and town supervisor.

Richmond Reads Committee reveals 2021 title for community reading on July 8

By Press Release

Press release:

Join the Richmond Reads Committee on Thursday, July 8 at 7 p.m. to celebrate the reveal of the 2021 title selection! 

Richmond Reads is a community one book program that began in 2019 at Richmond Memorial Library. Each year, a committee reads dozens of titles and selects a work of fiction to share with the community. Programs and discussions are then created around the selected title.

Prior selections include "Southernmost" by Silas House and "Nothing More Dangerous" by Allen Eskens. 

“This program is already developing into a tradition here at Richmond,” said program coordinator and librarian Samantha Basile. “We’re so encouraged and excited by the support we have from the community.

"The committee is looking forward to revealing the title, which we believe holds the note of hope that everyone is seeking after a long year.” 

The reveal program will take place outside at the library, pending good weather, with a rain location in the Reading Room. The event will include refreshments, the title reveal, and a special guest reader who will read from the first chapter of the book.

Copies of the title will be available for sale for $15, cash or check made out to The Friends of the Richmond Memorial Library, and the library will have plenty of copies to borrow. Copies will also be available to purchase at the library until the virtual author visit in October. 

Registration is requested at: http://batavialibrary.org/richmond-reads

The author will visit virtually on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.!

More programs and book discussions will be announced throughout the summer.

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