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Genesee Community College President James Sunser couldn’t have used a more appropriate word than “retrenchment” while sharing the financial plight of the two-year institution with the County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee this afternoon.

Sunser and his staff were forced to implement large-scale retrenchment – the reduction of costs or spending in response to economic difficulty – to formulate a 2020-21 operating budget that takes into account an anticipated 30-percent reduction in aid from New York State.

And drafting a spending plan that compensates professors, teachers and staff while providing necessary student services will be a daunting task for quite some time, he said.

“Indications from the state are that these reductions should be planned for 2021-22 as well, so we’ll continue to work with bringing our budget into line,” Sunser said. “It is going to be, not surprisingly like it is for the county and all other groups, painful.”

Sunser emphasized that the dilemma isn’t due to “deficiencies on the part of the staff or the faculty … but, unfortunately, it is going to require some substantial changes in what is going on at the college.”

The college’s Board of Trustees approved a $38.1 million budget for the next fiscal year that starts on Sept. 1, and that’s about 8 percent less than the target of $41.6 million (the amount of the 2019-20 budget).

Furthermore, around $2 million from the college’s reserves was used to balance this year’s budget, which may take another state aid hit in the fourth quarter.

County's share is $2,636,374

Genesee County has budgeted $2,636,374 for the second straight year for its sponsorship of the college, action that is subject to a public hearing scheduled for 5:30 p.m. July 22 at the Old Courthouse. The Ways & Means Committee approved the date of the public hearing as well as the contribution.

Sunser said the county’s decision to not reduce its sponsorship is key to preventing further financial implications.

“We have had a number of conversations with the county about maintenance of effort,” he said. “Without maintenance of effort, it puts into play a number of additional considerations that SUNY (State University of New York) would impose on the college.”

Sunser said a multistep plan was put into place in order to “deal with the deficits coming from the state” and achieve the $38.1 million mark.

“Currently, the state is suggesting that next year’s budget for the college will include a 30-percent reduction in state aid. Obviously, when your operation is labor-intensive – we teach and we support students to get through their academic programs – you’re not going to be able to go through that without having some type of adjustments made,” he explained.

He outlined some of the cost-cutting measures:

-- Freezes of travel and training;
-- Deferral of capital projects, other than critical maintenance issues;
-- Deferrals of a printer purchase replacement, office supplies, contractual services, facility improvements;
-- Freeze on hiring of adjunct professors.

Salaries to be Frozen in 2020-21

He also indicated that to close an additional $2 million budget gap during the course of the 2020-21 fiscal year, significant cuts in salaries and positions have to be realized.

“We have looked at instituting management confidential pay freezes. We have two collective bargaining units on the campus – one is our combined faculty/administrative group and the other is our CSEA group,” he said. “We negotiated with both of those groups to take pay freezes so everybody will be on a pay freeze for the 2020-21 year – and that was approved by both unions.”

Beyond that, management negotiated with the faculty/administration union to give notice to employees who are going to be retrenched (or laid off). Sunser said the union approved a period of Oct. 31-Dec. 31 for retrenchments, and that will result in savings of eight months’ worth of potential salaries.

He also said a process of involuntary retrenchments to close the rest of the gap has begun, with notifications going out to the Civil Service group by July 1 with a July 31 retrenchment, and by Oct. 31 with a Dec. 31 retrenchment for the unionized faculty/administration group.

Employee retrenchment is a cost-cutting tool for businesses or organization to use in times of economic hardship – a form of dismissal due to no fault of workers. Retrenched employees are eligible for compensation along the lines of severance pay, money equal to annual leave or time off, and notice pay, and also may file for unemployment insurance.

There’s more, Sunser said, as the Board of Trustees approved a voluntary retirement incentive beyond stipulations in existing contracts with the unions.

“Through that retirement incentive we have realized 23 voluntary retirements,” he said. “Those are going to be occurring as of July 31, so that will help close that gap (in state aid) that we’re anticipating in the last month of the current year."

Programs of study are under review as well, and some may be discontinued.

“We’re talking about a 41 and a half million dollar budget that’s going to be about five million dollars less by the end of next year,” he said, “and there’s no way of doing that without involuntary retrenchments, which is unfortunate, but that where we find ourselves.”

College Tuition is Increasing

Donna Ferry, a member of the Board of Trustees, reported that tuition has been increased (to $4,550 for New York State residents) for 2020-21, but “GCC still is the second lowest in the state across the board as far as tuition (for two-year colleges).”

She also said that the present uncertainty could result in lower enrollment next year, but “the team is working really hard to get those numbers up.” Enrollment (full- and part-time) as of the Fall 2019 semester was 5,324.

Legislators Gary Maha and Rochelle Stein commended Sunser and his staff for going through the unpleasant process, with the former placing the blame squarely on Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“It is nobody’s fault but Albany’s fault, in my opinion,” Maha said. “It’s the governor’s indiscriminate spending. He’s something like $13 million in debt and we all have to suffer.”

Stein said the college’s budget process was “thoughtful, transparent and clear,” and pointed out that the “communications piece of this is very critical to our community, to your staff, to your teachers, to your professors, to the support staff and to our partners in our other counties.”

Sunser thanked the collective bargaining groups for their concessions, attributing that to a “level of trust” during negotiations.

“We had very candid conversations about … how many more people that might not be able to be at the college and they stepped up, I believe, as responsible leaders and advocated with the bargaining unit groups to go ahead and approve these things -- especially the notification claims,” he said.

Press release:

As of 2 p.m.

• Genesee County received zero new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 206 positive cases.
  • One of the previous community positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Zero of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
• Orleans County received three new positive cases of COVID-19 today, for a total of 259 positive cases.
  • The positive individuals reside in Ridgeway, Murray and Gaines.
  • One of the individuals is in their 20s, one of the individuals is in their 60s and one of the individuals is in their 70s.
  • One individual was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Fifteen of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. Please note those in the hospital may be from the community or a state-regulated facility. We do not separate them out to protect their privacy.
  • We are sorry to report we have lost another Orleans County resident to COVID-19. The individual was a resident of Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. Our heartfelt condolences go to the family and friends of this individual during this very difficult time.

While expressing remorse in having to eliminate jobs, Anibal Soler Jr. today said he is excited over the public’s approval of the Batavia City School District 2020-21 budget and the capital project that will result in a new playground at Jackson Primary School.

The district’s first-year superintendent also said he is looking forward to a revised commencement event on Saturday, June 27 that will feature four or five outdoor mini-graduation ceremonies at Batavia High School on State Street.

“It’s a good outcome for us,” Soler said in regard to Tuesday’s absentee ballot tabulation on the $51.4 million spending plan that passed with 1,489 “yes” votes compared to 862 “no” votes. “We worked hard; it was a tough budget season. Obviously, we had to make some tough decisions.”

Soler said it was difficult laying people off, but admitted the district “had to right some things” in light of its – and the state’s – current financial situation.

“I appreciate the community for supporting our budget with a zero percent tax increase, which is important given the economic crisis caused by the pandemic,” he said. “And we still don’t know what the future will look like as people go back to work.”

Batavia’s budget could be subjected to cuts down the road since Gov. Andrew Cuomo has specified different measurement periods through the end of the year in regard to the state budget. Any revenue shortages incurred by New York State likely will result in reduced state aid to local governments and school districts.

Soler said he hopes for the passage of a federal stimulus package to provide funds to the states, but, if not, the district did include a “pandemic adjustment” line in its budget.

“We hope there’s no impact but we won’t know until the governor makes a decision on his budget,” he said.

Jackson Project Passes by 198 Votes

The superintendent said he is happy that Jackson Primary School will be getting an age-appropriate playground and restroom renovation after residents passed a capital project referendum by a 1,277 to 1,079 vote.

Funded by capital reserves, the $619,151 project will cost the district about $60,000 after state aid is appropriated – and it does not affect the tax levy.

“I’m excited that the kids got an age-appropriate playground as we continue to make Jackson Primary a premier primary school in our region,” Soler said.

He also said he was pleased that three current board of education members – Alice Ann Benedict, Barbara Bowman and Tanni Bromley – will be returning.

“To have consistency on the board always helps us as we continue to work together and implement the mission and vision of our district,” he said.

Soler also responded to questions about the abolished positions and layoffs, public comments criticizing changes in the reading program at the Middle School, and administration’s relationship with the Batavia Teachers Association.

Administrators to be Reassigned

He said that two administrative positions – coordinator of assessment & instructional services, and the other in technology -- were abolished and those two employees will be reassigned to fill two vacant assistant principal positions.

“That was a decision of the board to protect building level administrative positions versus district level – in terms of people who were at a higher level,” he said, noting that the district has two assistant principals at both the high school and middle school and one at both John Kennedy Elementary and Jackson Primary.

Soler did not disclose the names of the new assistant principals or where they would be assigned, only saying that the board of education is scheduled to approve the transfers at its June 22 meeting.

“We’re looking at making sure there are strong teams on every campus, and we may move our assistant principals across the four buildings to make sure we have a balance of talent, also gender, things of that nature,” he said. “There is a plan for reorganization that will be shared publicly once the board approves the assignments.”

Soler said that although the district abolished or eliminated about 33 positions, only about seven teachers were laid off after the district learned of retirements and resignations.

“And recently a special ed teacher told us they are moving out of state, so that will bring back one that was laid off,” he said. “We believe we will chip away, and hopefully, depending upon attrition and retirement and moves, potentially we will have nobody laid off at the end of the day.”

Changes in Approach to AIS Reading

Academic Intervention Services is a program for students challenged in reading and math. Soler said the district is modifying the way it delivers these services.

“Our elementary teachers have been doing the (AIS) math, so they’ll just pick up the reading,” he said, adding that New York State regulations allow for elementary teachers to provide instruction in AIS math and reading. “In the past, they had reading specialists. But we don’t necessarily need a reading-certified person to deliver AIS. An elementary certified teacher can deliver this to the kids.”

Soler said AIS is only for pupils who have been identified as needing additional support.

“We will be able to give kids what they need,” he said. “Yes, we changed our approach a bit but we believe we can still deliver high-quality programming. Plus, we protected all of our electives, which we know kids love – art, music, physical education, things of that nature.”

Lessons Learned During Budget Process

Soler acknowledged some missteps in dealing with the Batavia Teachers Association, which was asked (and refused) to take a pay freeze to avoid layoffs and, later on, voted against a proposal to change the start and end times of the school day.

“I think it was a tough process, and they didn’t know me and they still don’t necessarily know my approach or my focus,” he said. “So, I think that some things may have been miscommunicated given the fact that I came in January and the budget process started a month or so after that. In hindsight, I learned some lessons for myself on communication and trying to get the word out.”

He said he heard “a lot of negative feedback from people assuming that reading was eliminated.”

“We didn’t completely eliminate reading; we did reduce it,” he said. “And those were people who didn’t have 25 kids in their class, or 22 kids; they were supplemental supports.”

Soler said he hopes there isn’t any lingering animosity with the teachers’ union.

“I appreciate them even exploring the scheduling as an option of (cost) savings. That didn’t work out but we’ll continue to work through those conversations and maybe down the road we can re-explore that,” he said.

Graduation Under the Willow Tree

The governor’s mandate that graduations be limited to 150 people have quashed the district’s plan to have commencement at Van Detta Stadium.

“We have more than that graduating (165), so our high school principal, Mr. (Paul) Kessler, has developed a plan to kind of have smaller, micro-graduation ceremonies all on the same day,” Soler said.

The new arrangement is to have 30 or so seniors with their parents and some staff taking part in the smaller graduation ceremonies – in front of the high school under the willow tree that has been the backdrop of numerous commencement exercises in the past.

Soler said the first one will start at 11 a.m. Each ceremony will run for about 45 minutes and will be followed by a 30-minute intermission to allow for people to leave and the new group to enter. Each student will be allowed to invite a maximum of four family members and/or friends.

A statement issued today by City of Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch in response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order mandating that all New York police agencies must revise their policies and procedures by April 2021 or risk losing state and/or federal funding:

“The Batavia Police Department is working towards New York State accreditation and follows all of the most current policies and procedures from the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC) with regards to Use of Force and other policies governing police services.

“The BPD remains dedicated to community involvement and community policing. The men and women in the BPD seek to identify and de-escalate problems as they arise among residents and they take their duty to protect and server seriously. The officers in the City of Batavia are dedicated, professional, public servants who serve the community every day to the best of their abilities.

“After reviewing the Governor’s new executive order with the City Manager’s Office, I feel that we as a department are well positioned to move forward to enhance our police services. We have most of the polices and “evidence-based policing strategies” in place here in our City.

The BPD will continue to seek community input and will look forward to working with City management, the City Attorney, City Council, City leaders, City residents and our collective associations in regards to the executive order.”

On Monday, The Batavian posted a statement from Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron in response to the Executive Order.

Voting on Byron-Bergen Central School's $24,599,800 budget, bus purchase and board of education election:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 751
No – 396

Proposition #2 – Bus Purchase
Yes – 758
No – 397

School Board (Two Open Seats)
Tammy Menzie – 793
Amy Phillips – 737
Lynn Smith – 553

Voting on Pavilion Central School District's $17,684,182 budget, board of education election and board seat modification:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 417
No – 106

School Board (Two spots – incumbents running)
Margaret "Peg" Gaston – Elected to a five-year term
Callin Ayers-Tillotson – Elected to a five-year term

Board seat modification (Change length of term from three to five years)
Passed

Voting on Pembroke Central School's $23,679,522 budget, proposition and board of education election:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 952
No – 543

Proposition #2 – Purchase of school buses
Yes – 893
No – 601

School Board – Unexpired Term
Daniel Lang – 1,311
School Board – Five-Year Term
Heather Wood – 1,258

Corfu Public Library Board
Kimberly Harlach
Julie Hengenius
Kristie Miller

Voting on Batavia City School District's $51,470,726 budget, capital project and board of education election:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 1,489
No – 862

Proposition #2 – Capital Project (Jackson Playground, Restroom Renovation)
Yes – 1,277
No – 1,079

School Board – Three Positions
Alice Ann Benedict – 1,828
Barbara Bowman – 1,779
Tanni Bromley – 1,623
Write-in candidate – John Reigle – 489 out of 544 total write-in candidates

Library Trustee – Two Seats
Kristie Evans – 2,096
Write-in candidate – Leslie Moma – 45 out of 234 total write-in candidates

Voting on Le Roy Central School's $26,334,488 budget and board of education and library trustee elections:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 999
No – 286

School Board (Two 3-year terms)
Richard Lawrence – 1,041
Jacalyn Whiting – 988
Write-in, Alicia Reschke – 119

Woodward Memorial Library
Trustee (One) – Michael Iten – 1,176

Voting on Alexander Central School's $18,540,258 budget and board of education election:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 611
No – 306

School Board (One spot open)
Christopher Mullen – 511
Diane Steel – 350
Write-in candidate – 10

Voting on Oakfield-Alabama Central School's $21,123,746 budget, propositions and board of education election:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 706
No – 276

Proposition #2 – Capital Improvements Project, 2020
Yes – 567
No – 393

Proposition #3 – Buses
Yes – 663
No – 295

School Board (Top Three Elected to the Board)
Jackie Yunker Davis – 654
Pete Zeliff – 601
Daniel N. Groth – 599

Voting on Elba Central School's $10,269,322 budget, propositions and board of education election:

Proposition #1 – Budget
Yes – 303
No – 103

Proposition #2 – Vehicle and transportation reserve
Yes – 310
No – 97

Proposition #3 – School bus purchase
Yes – 311
No – 95

School Board (Re-election)
Incumbent Michael Riner – 377

Press release:

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received four new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 206 positive cases.
    • The positive individuals reside in Alabama, Alexander, Batavia and Elba.
    • One of the individuals is less than 20 years old, one individual is in their 20s, and two individuals are in their 30s.
    • The new positive cases were not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
    • Oneof the previous community positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Zero of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
  • Orleans County received two new positive cases of COVID-19 today, for a total of 256 positive cases.
    • Two of the positive individuals reside in are residents of Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.
    • One of the individuals is in their 30s, one of the individuals is in their 80s.
    • One of the previous community positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Thirteen of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. Please note those in the hospital may be from the community or a state-regulated facility. We do not separate them out to protect their privacy.
• We encourage everyone to remember to be polite and respect individual privacy. If you have a complaint about someone or a business, use the appropriate channels provided by the state. Using social media to air your complaints and accusing individuals/businesses of wrongdoing generally does nothing to fix the problem. Be compassionate of other people and spread kindness.

A partnership with Orleans County may be the key that unlocks the door leading to the construction of a new $60 million Genesee County Jail to be located just east of County Building 2 on West Main Street Road.

“Here’s an opportunity for an efficient, 21^st century, state-of-the-art jail that is ready to go. We have the designs … we have willing partners to the north and in Genesee County, so we hope that it is something he (Gov. Andrew Cuomo) is willing to get behind.”

Those were the words of Assistant County Manager Matt Landers, reporting on the progress – or lack thereof due to the coronavirus – of the proposed 184-bed jail during a Genesee County Legislature “Committee of the Whole” meeting Monday via Zoom videoconferencing.

Landers said he is hopeful that state laws prohibiting a shared jail could be alleviated and that Cuomo would see the benefit of such an arrangement – one that lines up with the governor’s call to reinvent the way local government operates.

“(Cuomo) had in his budget some easing of the laws, restrictions that made it difficult to have any kind of coordination with jails in the state, but that didn’t make it to the final budget,” Landers explained. “Seeing that there are talks of a potential (federal) stimulus 4 package out there that may have a large infrastructure component to it, this could be something that could be attractive.

“It meets a lot of the benchmarks .. that you’d think the governor would be interested in. It is something that he is continually harping on – reimagining New York and how we do business.”

Along with looking at new ways to facilitate services in line with Albany’s wishes, the meeting focused on five other pertinent areas:

-- Shared jail housing opportunity;
-- Maintenance of the current jail;
-- Cost of boarding out inmates if current jail was closed;
-- Status of activity on new jail:
-- Impact of bail reform, social justice on jail population.

SHARED JAIL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

According to Landers, who is cochairing the jail steering committee with County Sheriff William Sheron, officials from Orleans County are willing to team with Genesee to explore the possibility of a joint facility.

“Building a new jail with the opportunity to do that with a partner up north – that’s where we’re focusing our energy and efforts right now,” he said. “It’s going to rely heavily what Albany allows and what kind of funding comes out of stimulus 4 on the infrastructure side and what kind of funding comes out of Albany.”

A shared jail could lead to increased efficiency in the delivery of services, with technology likely to stay in play, Landers said, noting the current use of Skype and other video and teleconferencing software.

County Public Defender Jerry Ader said he foresees legislation to allow for a greater use of electronics for proceedings, but “it may take a while and it may not be as much of a cost-savings as we’re led to believe.”

“Right now, our jail is across the street and other than maybe bringing an inmate from the prison, which is a state cost, or if we have female inmates in jails outside the county, which might be some savings, I don’t think you’re going to get the savings you’re expecting just on electronics … that’s just my opinion,” he said.

Landers mentioned that with a new jail, “there’s probably less opportunity for that (type of) savings because it’s not going to be that difficult to transport people from the jail right here in Batavia (compared to having to transport from other parts of the state as has been the case).”

MAINTENANCE OF THE CURRENT JAIL

Highway Superintendent Tim Hens said the county will be unable to avoid ongoing expenses (repairs and renovations connected to safety and mandated services) to keep the current jail in the City of Batavia going for, what could be, another three to five years.

In a discussion with the Public Service Committee last month, Hens said that $3.5 million worth of projects at the 40-year-old jail are on the punch list for the next five years if the county is forced to hold off on the new jail.

Concerning the new jail, Hens said to expect a 30-percent increase – or $50,000 -- in his facility maintenance budget to run a facility of that size, and a similar percentage add-on as the cost of doing business in New York State.

COST OF BOARDING OUT INMATES

Sheron said that the state Commission on Corrections recognizes that the county is in a “pause period” and has not indicated it would shut down the current jail.

But in case that did happen, the going rate to house out inmates is $100 per inmate, Landers said.

“It would be sizeable cost on an annual basis if we were forced to do this, if we had a population of 50 or more, but at the same time there would be the opposite cost of running a jail that would help offset that cost,” Landers said.

The assistant county manager noted the good working relationship among the COC, sheriff’s department and the architects and engineers involved with the project, so, “we would have significant lead time if there’s anything brewing that we need to be concerned about to start planning for.”

STATUS OF ACTIVITIES ON NEW JAIL

As indicated, the new jail project is in a holding pattern, but the county has closed on the land acquisition, and the schematic designs of the jail are complete, Landers said.

He said the county has two contracts in force – one with SMRT, the design firm, for about $2.3 million and one with Pike Company Inc., the construction manager, for around $1 million.

Both SMRT and Pike are aware of the county’s plight and “looking forward to getting back to work on this project, just as we are,” Landers said.

To date, the county has spent more than $1 million on the contracts, which are being funded by established jail reserves built up by proceeds of the former county nursing home sale and higher than expected sales tax receipts in 2018, Landers reported.

“We have reserves of about four to five million dollars (the number is around $8 million when considering the jail reserve fund) that are going to be used in the short term to fund these contracts until we get long-term debt financing,” he said. “Once the long-term debt financing comes in, it will cover these contracts and replenish that reserve. So, we need that full reserve to help get through what we are calling the Delta period.”

Landers said that the financing plan has been “blown out of the water by COVID-19” since it was expected to use an increase in sales tax proceeds starting in 2020 to fund the debt service payment on the new jail.

IMPACT OF BAIL REFORM ON POPULATION

Landers said recent changes to the original bail reform laws could result in an increase in jail population, but it’s too early to tell how much as courts remained closed.

Jail Superintendent William Zipfel reported that approximately 90 sentencings have been put off, and predicted that 30 to 45 percent of those people may receive jail time.

“The issue with that is, from district court, they won’t be doing sentencing for in-custody people until sometime in July, but they are starting to sentence people who are not in custody – and won’t have jail time built up,” he said. “I’m guessing our population sometime before this fall is going to come back up that 50 or so level at least.”

Landers said the county jail population in July 2019 was at the level we expected to be at in 2042,” he said. “Going back a year ago, there were concerns that we were building a jail that would be too small because our sizing had grown to what we were projecting in 2042.”

Today, the jail population is at 36, including one female who is housed in Wyoming County.

“This significant volatility is just another reason why -- until we have a clearer picture -- that we’re taking a pause in the timing,” he said.

Shane H. Zimblis, 49, of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with: second-degree harassment; first-degree criminal contempt; and attempted robbery. Zimblis was arrested on June 11 for an incident that occurred at 11:30 p.m. June 10 on Bank Street in Batavia. No details provided. Following his arrest, Zimblis was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on July 21. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jordan McGinnis, assisted by Officer Arick Perkins.

Jamie M. Cyr, 38, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. Cyr was arrested on June 10 after an investigation into a stay away order of protection violation that allegedly occurred at 2:45 a.m. on June 10 on Bank Street. Following arraignment in Batavia City Court, Cyr was jailed with bail (amount(s) unspecified). Cyr is due in city court July 9. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Samuel Freeman, assisted by Christopher Lindsay.

Michael Todd Showler, 48, of Trumbull Parkway, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. Showler was arrested at 11:42 a.m. on June 13 on East Main Street after he allegedly violated on Order of Protection out of Batavia City Court. Showler was issued an appearance ticket and is due in city court on July 14. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Jaequele M. Tomlin, 25, of Holland Avenue, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. On June 6, Batavia Police Officer Peter Post arrested Tomlin after it was reported that he intentionally entered the roadway on Main Street in front of City Hall and allegedly obstructed traffic. Tomlin was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on July 21. Post was assisted in the case by Sgt. Eric Bolles.

Robert D. Wood, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with obstruction of governmental administration in the second degree and resisting arrest. He was arrested at 3:15 p.m. on June 7 at Batavia City Centre after he allegedly attempted to prevent a city police officer from arresting another person. He was taken to Batavia Police Headquarters, issued an appearance ticket and released. He is due in Batavia City Court on July 21. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Miah Stevens, assisted by Officer Jason Davis.

Already reeling from three months of COVID-19 regulations, Genesee County government officials and law enforcement personnel now must deal with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s latest executive order mandating that all New York police agencies must revise their policies and procedures by next spring or risk losing state and/or federal funding.

“At this point there are no details, but all we know is that we at the county level will have to conduct public hearings and solicit public comment for, as the term was used, cadre, of local law enforcement reforms,” said County Manager Jay Gsell, speaking at today’s Genesee County Legislature Public Service Committee meeting via Zoom videoconferencing. “Everybody will be required to go through this process and adopt reforms via local law at the county level by April of 2021.”

The executive order, named the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, requires that the municipality that oversees the law enforcement agency must adopt, certify and enforce its plan by passing a local law. It also applies to the NYPD.

Cuomo, during his COVID-19 briefing on Friday, said protests taking place across the nation following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer “illustrate the loss of community confidence in our local police agencies — a reality that has been fueled by our country’s history of police-involved deaths of black and brown people.”

He said the executive order will help “rebuild that confidence and restore trust between police and the communities they serve by requiring localities to develop a new plan for policing in the community based on fact-finding and meaningful community input.”

Issues that must be addressed in the plan include use of force, community policing, community outreach, restorative justice programs such as Genesee Justice, crowd management, retraining for bias awareness and a procedure for citizens to lodge complaints against police officers.

The measure calls for municipalities to bring in representatives from a variety of community organizations (for example, in Genesee County, the Criminal Justice Advisory Council comprised of several law enforcement and judicial entities) and be receptive to public feedback after developing, presenting and ratifying their plans into law.

It also stipulates that if the local government does not certify the plan, the police force may not be eligible for future funding from New York State.

The executive order builds upon the governor’s signing of 10 police reform bills into law earlier Friday, with several Republicans joining the Democratic majority in voting for the legislation.

Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, contacted by telephone, called the reform mandate action another example of Cuomo taking a one blanket covers all approach.

“Again, he’s lumping everything into a one-size-fits-all, and I don’t think that’s appropriate with the state of the size of New York and a city the size of New York City,” he said. “We in Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region and rural counties, I believe do have strong community-minded police agencies.  And when you threaten New York State taxpayer money being withheld from those who are there to serve and protect, that’s the wrong direction to go.”

Hawley acknowledged that there are “a few bad examples in any organization,” but called it an overreaction to isolated incidents.

“I stand with the men and women in blue, unequivocally,” he said. “We need to be sure that police agencies are working in a collaborative way with the citizens they are charged with protecting. No police agency would have a problem with that.”

Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron said, by phone, that he is working with sheriffs across New York to try to get a handle on what the governor is expecting to happen.

"Our department is a New York State accredited agency, meeting all the standards, rules and regulations, and there are well over 100 of them as far as the right way to do things," he said. "All he has to do is simplify that to require that all New York State police agencies be accredited."

Sheron noted that it was the NYS Sheriff's Association that first came out with the current standards and that a few years later, those guidelines were adopted by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.

He made it clear that he believes in community input -- "we do that now and that is important," he said, and rejected Cuomo's practice of "painting all agencies with one brush because of a few bad apples."

"I'm proud of our sheriff's office and it's upsetting to me that the governor doesn't stand behind our police officers," Sheron said.

In an email, Batavia City Police Chief Shawn Heubusch reserved comment until he and his leadership team learn more about the governor’s mandate.

“We are currently reviewing the executive order internally, and when I have a better understanding I’ll reach out,” he said.

Back to the Public Service Committee meeting, former Sheriff Gary Maha, now a county legislator, asked Gsell if the governor had the authority to tie police reforms to funding.

“The receipt of future state or federal funds is conditioned on the filing of the certification at the local level, and realistically, that second issue of federal funding grants for emergency management … there’s already some considerations and concerns as to whether or not he can even go to that extent,” Gsell responded.

Gsell said that although Cuomo “means business,” more legislation is likely to follow at the state level and there will be plenty of debate over the next several months.

“There will be a lot of back and forth before anyone goes diving in with both feet and potentially finds themselves, can we say, in quicksand,” he said.

Kevin John Kisiel, 60, of Creek Road, Batavia, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; refusal to take a breath test; and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation. Kisiel was arrested at 4:29 p.m. on June 13 on Lehigh Avenue in Batavia after a traffic stop. He was issued traffic tickets and is due in Batavia City Court on Aug. 5. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor, assisted by Deputy Andrew Mullen.

Amanda M. Webb, 31, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with: possession of marijuana in the second degree, a violation; two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor. Webb was allegedly found in possession of marijuana, amphetamine/destroamphetamine, and lorazepam after an investigation by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force. Webb was issued an appearance ticket and is due in City of Batavia Court on July 21.

Roses have been placed in the doorway of Roxy's Music on West Main Street in memory of owner Rose Marie Caccamise, who passed away June 5.

There was no formal obituary released to the local media. Attempts to get more information about her death and the future of Roxy's Music Store have been unsuccessful.

She was 80 years old.

Roxy's Music was founded in Batavia in 1934 by her parents, renowned accordionist Roxy Caccamise and his wife Nellie. Rose took over the business in the 1960s, eventually moving it from 331 W. Main St., Batavia, to the Genesee Country Mall, and eventually to its present location at 228 W. Main St.

The legendary store was a magnet for area musicians -- and accordionists from around the world -- for decades. Hundreds of local musicians took lessons at Roxy's over the years.

Caccamise was also an accomplished athlete. She finished fourth in 1956 for the Melbourne Olympics in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.5. She was among the first inductees in 2002 in the Batavia High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Rose Caccamise, center, with her parents in an undated photo, Nellie Caccamise and Roxy Caccamise.

A Mercy Flight helicopter responded to Edgewood Drive in Batavia around 7 o'clock tonight after a man riding a bicycle suffered a medical condition.

A passerby saw the man and pulled him out of a ditch off the roadway and minutes later Mercy EMS and Genesee County sheriff's deputies were on the scene.

Mercy EMS personnel administered CPR to the man, who was transported to Erie County Medical Center. The Town of Batavia Fire Department also was on the scene. The initial call came in around 6:20 p.m.

Submitted photos.

Greg Kinal vividly recalls the first time he set foot on the Pembroke Central High School grounds in the weeks leading up to the 1970-71 school year.

“I remember the first day I came here,” Kinal said earlier today, reflecting upon a teaching career in Dragon country that has reached the 50-year mark and shows no signs of ending. “You see that large sign (on the front of the main entrance). Well, the old sign was, and I’m not kidding, maybe this big (using his hand to show that the letters were maybe eight inches high) and made of steel.”

Kinal said he drove from his Elma home to his interview – the first time he had ever been to Genesee County – but wasn’t sure if he was in the right place.

“I didn’t know if this was the school. So, I pulled into the driveway and I remember squinting, looking at the sign, and then I saw Pembroke, and then I parked and went in for my interview,” he said. “And I remember distinctly the interview.”

He said he was hired by "Prof" Lane, the superintendent, and Mr. Choate.

“They called him Prof Lane and there was a reason – you didn’t talk back to Prof Lane,” he said. "And technology-wise, they gave me a piece of chalk and a chalkboard. Plus, I also got a paddle, and they told me to use it. Of course, times have changed since then.”

Yes, teaching has changed significantly over five decades, but Kinal’s classroom savvy and flair have set a standard of excellence that is valued by his colleagues, administrators, parents, grandparents and former students.

The community celebrated Kinal’s long and productive career today with a 50-vehicle parade that started at Pembroke Town Park and ended a short distance later at the school where he and his family waited to show their appreciation. The caravan was led by a Genesee County Sheriff’s patrol car and included a Village of Corfu police car driven by Officer David Drozdiel (in photo above with Kinal).

“This is unbelievable to me,” said Kinal, 72, who has taught eighth-grade Social Studies at Pembroke for all these years and now also teaches a 12^th-grade Sociology class. “I think there are many deserving teachers in Genesee County and me being singled out, it’s very humbling to me.”

Kinal, a well-known expert of history who speaks frequently at events throughout Western New York, said his energy level hasn’t waned; in fact, he’s as enthusiastic as ever.

“They didn’t clinically diagnose me as ADHD*, but I’m convinced because I can’t sit still,” he said. “And I got to tell you, just to be home teaching virtually, I’m out of my mind. I need to be in these halls, I need to be walking and I thank God that I have this affliction because I’m just as crazy as my eighth-graders. I think the day that I’m not (full of energy) maybe it’s time (to retire). But not yet.”

He said he’s “in love” with the spirit exhibited by eighth-graders and is looking forward to continuing his annual practice of taking students to a field trip to Washington, D.C.

“We’re going on our 49^th trip in June and a week later, the 50^th, because I had to cancel this year,” he said. “The community is so good here and I would never leave.”

Alan Miano and Laurie Rudolph, who helped organize the parade, both graduated from Pembroke in 1980 and both gushed with admiration of their former teacher.

“Greg is the type of teacher that will take the underachiever -- the unruly students that all the other teachers are having problems with and he brings them in,” Miano said. “And he’ll take them to Washington, which he’s done for 50 years. A lot of other teachers think he’s crazy and would say, ‘How can you take that kid on a field trip for three days? I wouldn’t want him for three minutes?’ You know what, he’s never had a problem.”

When it was mentioned that he must have changed a lot of young lives for the better, Miano pointed to himself.

“I’m one of them,” he said. “If it was up to the other teachers, they would have never let me go on the trip. I was one of those unruly students, and then I ended up going into teaching.”

Miano also taught Social Studies at Pembroke, retiring last June after a nearly 34-year career.

“When I retired, I was begging Greg to retire because I felt like a quitter, because Greg was still going strong,” Miano said, calling Greg a mix of Cal Ripken, Yoda and Dr. Phil.

“You can go to him with your problems. He’s a phenomenal teacher. If you walk into his classroom, the kids are just drawn in and he never has any discipline problems. Simply put, he’s the best,” he said.

Rudolph, a teaching assistant who used to work with Kinal, said she rallied the community together through “Fans of Greg Kinal” Facebook page, also crediting Ron Funke, Gary Diegelman, Ed Gutowski and her daughter, Debbie Bonn, for assisting.

“Greg's not retiring, but we didn’t want 50 years to pass by without honoring him,” she said. “He probably will never retire, so this is like his retirement/celebration.”

She said that Kinal has impacted thousands of lives in the school district.

“I, my children, my grandchildren – we all were taught by Greg. He is a mentor, a supporter and a nurturer and he means a lot to all of the people in our community.”

Kinal’s wife, Jackie, and children, Tracy, Scott and Marty also attended the celebration. He and his wife have four grandchildren, including Drew Monti, a popular harness horse racing driver at Batavia Downs.

Oh, and getting back to that old sign on the school building.

“Years ago, when they were making the new sign, I said to the custodians, ‘What are you going to do with the old sign?’ Kinal offered. “They said it’s trash. Well, I’ve got it and it’s in my garage. I repainted it black and mounted it in my garage … and I see it every day.”

*Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder