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The Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse is making a difference in the lives of women dealing with substance use issues while trying to raise a family, according to Jessica Budzinack, the agency’s parent/family support and project specialist.

“During the past year, we have been able to connect with parents or family members that need individualized support, putting a primary focus on pregnant and post-natal women and women who have children that were exposed to substances in the womb,” Budzinack said.

“Parents in recovery or parents that struggle with addiction have different needs and different barriers that they need to overcome.”

The initiative is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a financial assistance awarded totaling $500,000, said Rosalie Mangino-Crandall, GCASA’s director of Project Innovation and Expansion.

Mangino-Crandall said the specific program is funded by an HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (RCORP-NAS) grant.

The HRSA RCORP-NAS program places emphasis on pregnant women, mothers, and women of childbearing age who have a history of, or who are at risk for, substance use disorder or opioid use disorder, and their children, families, and caregivers.

At GCASA, Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies specifically supports pregnant and post-partum women with substance use disorder and their partners and children as well as anyone caring for a child exposed to substances in the womb.

Services include case management (including connections to treatment, healthcare coordination, and assistance with social determinants of health), parenting peer support, recovery peer support, and transportation and childcare assistance.

Budzinack said the program offers “coach-like peer support to parents and their families.”

“We work with them to overcome obstacles, such as navigating the Family Court system, helping them find extra support for their children and helping them … connect to different organizations or resources that they need to help them be successful parents,” she said. “We also connect them with our Prevention team, which offers active parenting classes and other forms of education.”

She noted that she also has been able to assist mothers with children in foster care.

“We do what we can to help during the process of trying to bring them home. We help them navigate in that area to achieve those goals,” she said.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies staff are committed to lifting mothers and children with self-esteem issues as well.

“Another thing that they face is stigma,” Budzinack said. “They kind of feel like the world is shaming them for making that decision. Our job is to make them feel comfortable and responsible, and educate them to the best of our ability. Education is a big thing.”

Mangino-Crandall said the project utilizes the research-based Positive Direction Model created by Dr. Davina Moss-King to help pregnant women prevent and mitigate the effects of substances taken during pregnancy on their babies.

“This includes properly taking prescription medication such as MAT (medically-assisted treatment) medications as well as illicit drugs, alcohol and misused prescription drugs,” she said. “Women who receive medically-assisted treatment have different needs, and there’s much to consider in those cases.”

Budzinack mentioned the high level of uncertainty and fear faced by pregnant women on MAT who have just given birth.

“They have so much to think through,” she said. “How does this affect my pregnancy? What’s going to happen after I have the baby? Just to have someone that they can talk to without judgment, to make sure they know the importance of her health and the health of that child.”

She said she worked with a woman last summer who was pregnant and had two daughters in temporary foster care.

“We helped her to meet the criteria for the Office of Children and Family Services to bring her children back home while she underwent medically-assisted treatment to maintain recovery,” she explained. “Through support of a case manager, participating in The Recovery Station (on Clinton Street Road) and taking advantage of active parenting classes, things are working out for her.”

Budzinack said the woman has made a concerted effort to get her children back and that commitment has paid off. Her baby is going to be a year old in a couple months and both of her older daughters are back home with their mother.

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies is backed by a consortium that includes the following original partners: Oak Orchard Health, Lake Plains Community Care Network, and Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

More recent partners include Oak Orchard WIC (Women, Infants and Children), Genesee and Orleans County Mental Health Departments, United Memorial Medical Center, UMMC Moms Program and Orleans Recovery Hope Begins Here.

For more information or to make a referral, go to https://fs9.formsite.com/DCn0ab/yxjhrj9pyu/index.html or call Budzinack at 585-813-8583.

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

Eighteen months and still no signs of slowing down.

Public Health Director Paul Pettit and his staff at the Genesee & Orleans Health Departments have worked tirelessly since February of 2020 to educate, test and vaccinate residents dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic that seemingly just won’t go away.

The Batavian spent about 15 minutes on the phone with Pettit this afternoon, picking his brain about the increase in cases, the Delta variant, community spread categories, face coverings, booster shots and natural immunity.

Q. With the number of cases increasing, do you plan to release information on a daily basis as was the case last year?

A. We’re discussing that; it is readily available as anybody can go to our website (www.gohealthny.org) and/or the dashboards to get all of the current data. We probably will be moving back to reporting at least once a week on the numbers.

We’re in the process of discussing that component of it. We have seen our numbers definitely pick up over the last eight to 10 days compared to where we were in July.

Q. When you talk about numbers, is it the same virus or is it the Delta variant? It seems like there is confusion over what people are coming down with now.

A. The reality is that every time you have a COVID test, there’s not a serotype done to see what strain of the virus it is. So, a lot of times we don’t have that level of detail. The state’s Wadsworth Lab in Albany does do that level of detail – they’ve been doing surveillance sampling of random samples from around the state and they’re also in the process of opening additional labs that will be able to do that. I believe the University of Rochester and one of the labs in Erie County are going to be able to do that.

It’s pretty much understood to be the Delta variant the way the cases are picking up. Samples that have been identified in the region are primarily Delta. It is presumed that it is the Delta strain by the way the numbers are picking up so quickly, but we don’t have the ability locally to analyze every sample.

Q. Do you think there will be some guidance out of Albany – either from the new governor coming in (Kathy Hochul) or from the New York State Department of Health?

A. We haven’t heard any updates on that beyond what the lieutenant governor commented on yesterday that she plans to meet with all of the cabinet members … ultimately it will be her decision on what direction they want to go with that.

(Since this interview, Hochul has announced that she wants students and staff to wear masks when school opens up next month. “My view is that people — children and everyone in the school environment — will be wearing masks,” Hochul said).

We’re going to continue locally to deal with cases through isolations and quarantines, and working in the community to keep the numbers down as best as we can.

Q. It seems like the categories that indicate the level of cases have changed. What are the actual categories now and how are they defined?

A. There’s low, moderate, substantial and high; four buckets basically that the CDC is using to essentially categorize community transmission of COVID. So, moderate is greater than 10 cases per 100,000 per week; substantial is greater or equal to 50 cases per 100,000 per week, and then high is greater than or equal to 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

From 10 to 50 is a pretty big jump, right, but then when you get to substantial, you have to double your weekly count of cases to get to high.

Q. Is it true that Genesee County currently is in the moderate range?

A. We have been in the moderate category but the numbers that we have seen over the past four to five days, averaging from seven to 10 cases per day, if those numbers continue over the seven-day period – which the CDC uses as their window – we’re definitely on the edge of potentially going to substantial.

Per the CDC guidelines, once an area is designated or classified by their chart as substantial spread, that’s when they would start to recommend that people consider masking indoors – vaccinated or unvaccinated – especially if you have certain underlying health conditions or are at high risk, so to speak.

It’s not a mandate – there are no local mandates – and, obviously, the state has not put out any mandates because the executive order/state of emergency has lapsed, but it is recommended due to the amount of spread that is occurring.

Q. How effective do you feel are the masks that people are wearing, especially considering the different types of materials the masks are made of?

A. We’ve talked about the mask question all along, from day one … we’ve heard that you should mask and that you shouldn’t mask from the federal side.

What we do know is that masks are effective in certain settings in reducing risk. People are not wearing, in most cases, N-95 – those are the gold standard masks in stopping viruses and bacteria, etc. But when it comes to what people are wearing in the community, you see many different types of masks.

Your medical surgical masks are probably the most effective outside of the N-95 because they are used in clinical, healthcare settings, and then you have cloth and buffs and all different kinds of barriers that people have created to try to meet the face covering requirements.

It’s a spectrum of how much protection they will provide depending upon the type of material of the masks. I will say that any type of barrier is going to provide some type of protection; depending on which one, more or less, and depending upon how it is worn. There are a lot of variables.

Is it foolproof, that if you wear a mask, you’re not going to get COVID? No. In the general setting, masks are a tool to try to reduce risk of getting the disease. The recommendation is that if you put it on, you’re protecting yourself and potentially others if you have COVID, and providing a layer of risk protection.

Q. Do you agree with Dr. Fauci that everyone will need a booster shot down the road?

A. The boosters are being studied on the federal level by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration), looking at the effectiveness of the current vaccines that we have out there. What we do know is that the vaccines are safe and effective; they’ve done a very good job of preventing illness and preventing disease in those who are fully vaccinated.

We have seen that there are some breakthrough cases occurring and the efficacy of all three vaccines is a little bit lower with the Delta variant than what it was with the original variant of COVID that we were dealing with since the beginning of the pandemic.

With that being said, they’re still very effective. Even with any of the breakthrough cases we are seeing, these folks have had very mild symptoms or asymptomatic, and none of them have gone to the hospital and none of them, obviously, have passed. We know the vaccines are working; they’re keeping people from getting sick. They may get COVID but they’re not getting sick.

As new variants come along, we need to give folks or encourage them to get a booster shot to match up better with the new strain and boost the antibodies and protection they may have. I think there will be a need for a booster shot at some point.

Q. What about people who have had COVID? Don’t they already have natural immunity, and do they need to be vaccinated?

A. Obviously, when you have a disease you develop natural antibodies, so there is some level of protection. But, again, what the data is showing is that those who have had COVID, their antibodies are not as high as they are when you get the vaccine. The recommendation still is that you get vaccinated even if you have had COVID.

The vaccine efficacy gives you better protection from re-infection than just having natural antibodies.

“Masking is the big issue.”

In five words, Pavilion Superintendent Kate Hoffman this morning summed up what other high-level administration officials at Genesee County school districts are thinking as they contemplate their reopening plans when classes resume on Sept. 7 or 8.

The Batavian reached out to public school superintendents and Notre Dame Principal Wade Bianco to gauge their progress in articulating what restrictions, if any, will be placed on pupils and staff.

During discussions with the officials contacted, it was reported that a Zoom meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. today with Kevin MacDonald, Genesee Valley BOCES district superintendent, to communicate updates on COVID-19 case data and to try to reach a consensus regarding protocols and procedures.

School leaders also have been consulting with Paul Pettit, Genesee/Orleans public health director, for additional guidance on testing, vaccination and other health-related topics.

“We have gone over some guidance following CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommendations,” Hoffman said. “For us, I’m still formulating our plan. A couple things that I know are likely to happen – we will move to a 3-foot social distancing and we will not be offering a remote option this year.

“We do some opportunities for our high schoolers for a BOCES-run program, but that’s has limited slots for that, so we’re really working through things and trying to see if any guidance does come down from state ed (the New York State Education Department) to see what that entails.”

Currently, superintendents are indicating that they don’t expect any executive orders or mandates coming out of Albany, but things could change if there is a reorganization at the top of the NYS Department of Health.

“It’s my understanding that everything (from the state) are recommendations this time around,” Hoffman advised. “More local decision-making.”

All superintendents said they will be sending out information to the staff and community electronically on their websites and via letters, but none have scheduled in-person meetings with parents yet.

On masking, Hoffman said she’s aware that it is the primary concern of all involved.

“We have some families that are strongly against masking and we have some that are strongly encouraging masking,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’m aware that any plan that we put out is not going to satisfy every single person. My hope is that we do the very best for our students and we approach this with a good dose of common sense and we listen to the people who know the numbers.”

Hoffman mirrored what other superintendents said when it comes to putting out a plan that is flexible in case the landscape changes in either direction.

“I believe our plan will be flexible enough to adjust if the number of COVID cases in our area go up, then we adjust to that; if they go down, then we adjust in the opposite way.”

Comments from other superintendents are as follows:

Scott Bischoping, Batavia High School:

"We’re still in the development of those regionally; still meeting with other superintendents," he said. "As you have seen from the national sort of news how this is traveling – changing very significantly, so we’ve held off on finalizing any planning until we get a further view of it."

Bischoping said Batavia plans on returning with students' in-person learning, so at this point, it's down to the masking requirements.

As far as meetings with parents, he said it may be done on a school building basis.

“We may even do those on a building level rather than a full district level because there would be nuances of those requirements and expectations for different buildings," he offered. "Most would be the same and we will communicate that electronically in letter, but with meetings we have not decided yet whether to do one with the full district or with various groups. Obviously, athletics will be different and will have their own meeting."

He said local districts have the "benefit" of seeing what other states are doing.

"We want to get a good look at that over the next couple weeks before we settle on anything," he said.

John Fisgus, Oakfield-Alabama:

Fisgus said that he anticipates releasing O-A's reopening plan by Friday afternoon, which likely will be the first document that will go out to the public. Previously, he sent out a survey to both staff and the community to gauge residents' feelings on face coverings.

"We certainly will be back five days a week in person; we were that all last year, so that's not a question at all," he said. "The big question for us is the masking."

Gretchen Rosales, Elba:

"Our goal is to develop a plan that meets academic, social, emotional and safety issues of the students and the staff. We have to carefully balance the wishing of our community with the CDC guidelines," she said. "The process is pretty intensive but it's important so it will take a little bit of time. We're working collectively to come up with something."

Rosales said she is expecting to begin the 2021-22 school year with 100 percent in-person learning, but is aware of the public's concerns over masking.

"I think that everyone is just waiting for final guidance and then we can make our plan and go from there."

Merritt Holly, Le Roy: 

Holly noted the number of "moving parts" in the process, especially considering what has happened with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

"The interesting part is that I don't know, with the administration change in Albany, if the DOH now will put something out at the 12th hour before we start in September," he said. "So, that's always hovering and hanging. Even though they said they wouldn't, was that Governor Cuomo telling them to do that?"

At the local level, Holly said that today's meeting with MacDonald will hopefully "piece some things together and to find out what other districts are thinking about."

He said he initially thought to release his plan next week, but may wait as more and different information is disseminated.

"Really, what I think that it comes down to is that the mask requirements will be the biggest thing," he said, reiterating the common theme.

Plus, students need to be in school five days a week, he said.

"We can't go back to a remote or hybrid learning model," he said. "That's just not good for kids."

The Le Roy Town Zoning Board of Appeals’ unanimous decision Tuesday night to disallow a solar farm on Thwing Road was more than a 3-0 vote -- it was a 3-0 vote times five, according to ZBA Chair Stephen Barbeau.

Barbeau returned a call from The Batavian seeking reasons behind the panel’s action pertaining to CleanChoice Energy’s application to site a 4.95-megawatt solar array on farmland owned by the Gary W. Clark family at 7120 Thwing Rd.

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SEE ALSO: Solar company rep reacts to Le Roy ZBA's denial of community solar project proposed for Thwing Road

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A former Le Roy Town supervisor, Barbeau said the application, in this case, had to meet five different criteria before the ZBA could issue the use variance necessary to place a solar farm in a district zoned other than either Industrial or Interchange (near the NYS Thruway).

The first one was whether the project could be considered a “public utility,” which was the contention of CleanChoice Energy, and the other criteria – in four parts – were contained in the standard use variance guidelines issued by New York State, he said.

“It’s not for the Le Roy Zoning Board of Appeals to declare that commercial solar projects are akin to a public utility; that’s way above our pay grade,” Barbeau said. “That is not something that is supported in the law as it is known and we had no desire to make new law or try to make new law or set any new precedent.”

Barbeau said the ZBA sought out legal advice from multiple sources in order to make an informed decision.

“The applicants, their attorney, Ty (Baccile, project manager) and the Clarks are all good people,” he said, “but the elected board members of the Town Board set code and what these folks were asking for was an exception to that code.

“For us to grant an exception, there had to be some kind of overwhelming, unique, unusual circumstances as it is pretty rare that a use permit is granted.  It’s a very high bar.”

He said that the vote by the three voting ZBA members was 3-0 against categorizing the project a public utility and 3-0 on each of the other four criteria.

“Even if we had relaxed the standards (on the public utility issue) as they wanted us to, they still wouldn’t have cleared the other hurdles,” he said

The four criteria for a use variance for any town, according to Barbeau, are as follows:

1 – The applicant would not be able to realize a reasonable return (profit) as shown by financial evidence and that lack of return must be substantial.

“For example, 'I can’t sell this land for $2 because it’s landlocked or there’s poison on it or it’s an archaeological site so no one would want it. I can’t lease it … or a realtor determines that it’s valueless,'” he said. “They would have to show that they can’t make any money any other way through a permitted use on the property.”

2 – The alleged hardship relating to the property is unique.

“If there’s some kind of unique element to that property that doesn’t allow you (to use it), such as it’s all rock, and you can’t develop it for houses or to farm it or to mine it,” he said. “It’s just so unique that it’s a hardship.”

3 – The use that the applicant is requesting will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.

“It’s wooded land, it’s farmland and there is some scrubland in there,” he said. “The only things that go on in that area is that people live there, people farm there and they hunt.”

4 – The alleged hardship has been self-created.

“In other words, ‘I inherited the property, I didn’t anticipate inheriting the property, I’m not a farmer, I’ve never been a farmer and I have no farm equipment, and a realtor said the property is worthless, so I can’t do anything with it,’” he said. “Even if that was the case here, you could potentially sell this land.”

Randy Fancher, president of Fancher Properties of Akron, is returning to the Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday night for a third time to propose a revised site plan for a mixed-use project on Main Road between Brickhouse Corners Drive and Tim Hortons in the Town of Pembroke.

The latest version has Fancher Properties of Akron, doing business as Brickhouse Commons LLC, constructing a two-story building with 7,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor and six market rate apartments on the second floor, along with driveways, parking lots and a six-bay tenant parking garage to the south.

A review of his site plan is on the agenda of tomorrow’s meeting starting at 7 o’clock at County Building 2 on West Main Street Road.

“This is basically the third version considering changes requested by the DOT (NYS Department of Transportation) and issues with wetlands,” Fancher said. “So, this is where we have to start until we hear back from the Army Corps of Engineers on our request for wetland reclassification, which could take up to a year. We didn’t want to wait so we decided to get started here.”

Fancher said that his company will begin construction once all permits are obtained and verbal commitments for tax incentives from the Genesee County Economic Development Center are approved.

“We’re looking to start in the late fall and hope to have the building up about a year from now,” he said.

The project has changed in scope from what Fancher Properties proposed last June – going from a three-story mixed-use building with retail on the first floor and 17 apartments on the top two floors.

In January of this year, the company modified its plan to a two-story mixed-use building along with two buildings housing 12 apartments.

“Last year, we were already to go but then the DOT said that we couldn’t have a driveway onto Route 77,” Fancher said. “We’ve had a few challenges up to this point but we’re working through them.”

Because of the DOT’s concerns, the company moved the location from Route 77 to Main Road (Route 5).

“We’re still on the corner, basically, but instead of building on Route 77, we’re on Route 5,” Fancher said, adding that the venture was delayed because the DOT would not allow a curb cut onto Route 77,

“We have to connect a road from Route 77 over to Brickhouse Corners Road, which is where Yancey’s Fancy is located. There are wetlands there and we’ve applied to the Army Corps of Engineers for reclassification because, right now, the road has a big curve in it,” he said. “Once we get that approval, we can continue on to Phase 2 and Phase 3, which will consist of more retail and more apartments.”

The development’s location is the GCEDC’s Buffalo East Technology Park in the Town of Pembroke’s Interchange District.

Fancher said he and his brother, Jeff, company vice president, plan to reach out to companies such as Starbucks or Mighty Taco to gauge their interest in placing a store at the site.

Other referrals on tomorrow’s planning board agenda include:

-- Downtown design review for a new façade, lighting and signage on one side of the Batavia Tailors & Cleaners building at 33-39 Ellicott St., along with a new rooftop heating and air conditioning unit.

-- Downtown design review for the addition of four wall-mounted canopies, one large structural entrance canopy, new wall paneling and new freestanding signage at Fieldstone Private Wealth, 219 East Main St., at the intersection of Summit Street. The project is part of the New York Main Street grant program administered by the Batavia Development Corp.

-- Downtown design review of the Healthy Living Campus project in the city, with developers seeking approval to remove multiple buildings and construct new ones.

-- Site plan review and sign permit request from Zambito Realtors to convert a dwelling into a new realty office across from Applebee’s on Lewiston Road. The project includes siding, windows, and removing a breezeway to make it into an office with handicap ramp.

-- Site plan review and special use permit in a Commercial district for Alvamar Healthy Foods to use 1,000 square feet on the first floor of the Masonic Temple building at 12 S. Lake Ave. in Bergen for freeze drying, warehousing and shipping of healthy snacks.

Owners Eddie Alvord and Michael Marsocci’s application indicates that Phase 2 would be the addition of retail space in the front area of the building to dispense healthy snack foods with no preservatives.

-- Site plan review for Tamara Parker to reuse an existing storefront at 22 East Main St., Corfu, for a sign and vinyl graphics business to be known as TMP Signs.

-- Special use permit for PCORE Electric, Inc., 135 Gilbert St., Le Roy, to build a 227 square-foot addition for an office.

Photo: Architect's rendering of Brickhouse Commons mixed-use building proposed by Fancher Properties of Akron near the intersection of Route 5 and Route 77 in the Town of Pembroke.

The project manager of the proposed Thwing Community Solar Garden project on farmland owned by the Gary W. Clark family at 7120 Thwing Rd., Le Roy, declined to address any future action following Tuesday night’s rejection of the 4.95-megawatt system by the Town of Le Roy Zoning Board of Appeals.

Contacted by telephone at his Corning home this morning, Ty Baccile, project manager/solar development for Washington, D.C.-based CleanChoice Energy, acknowledged that the ZBA’s vote against the siting of the solar system on 26 acres of a 62-acre parcel represents the end of CleanChoice Energy’s communication with local officials.

“As far as the Town of Le Roy goes, that is the last procedural step for CleanChoice Energy and the Gary Clark family to pursue the application,” he said. “We could proceed with an appeal to the New York State Supreme Court to review the ZBA’s response that we are not a public utility and to review the same points that we presented to the zoning board.”

When asked if CleanChoice Energy would be looking to appeal, Baccile said, “I can’t comment on that at this time.”

Baccile has been working on the project for a couple years leading up to last night’s public hearing in front of the four-person ZBA at the Le Roy Town Hall courtroom.

The plan came up against a recently-passed solar ordinance by the Le Roy Town Board that restricted such projects to land zoned as Industrial, or located in the municipality’s Interchange Zone.

On Monday night, Baccile said a few neighbors asked “constructive questions” about the project, but said there were no controversial issues.

“We gave a PowerPoint presentation with lots of visuals to show both the Zoning Board of Appeals and the public just how suitable the site was and how special we believe it is – and the benefit to both agriculture and the landowners,” he said. “The landowners farm 600 acres in town and this would serve to help their farm out and also to show the different things you can do with the operations and maintenance plan with pollinators.”

Baccile said the solar farm was “barely visible” from the road and was formulated with appropriate setbacks.

He said the current zoning as it pertains to community solar farms is restrictive to the point of infringing upon property owner’s rights to control the use of their land.

“If you were to look at a zoning map of Le Roy, the town is 80 percent Residential or Agricultural district and very little amount of Industrial,” he said. “Part of our presentation was to show them that if we were to move our project to an Industrial district and leave behind the opportunity for the Agricultural district and the landowner, that we would have a very difficult time because of the technological and environmental constraints that exist in the Industrial district.”

Calls and emails to ZBA Chair Stephen Barbeau were not returned at the time of the posting of this story. Barbeau is a non-voting member of the board; voting members are Tony Madeau, Mark Moochler and Jay Whipple.

Baccile cited concerns from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation over the impact to wildlife, plants and wetlands in Industrial/Commercial zones and also mentioned the lack of appropriate electrical infrastructure in those districts.

“We wanted to show them that we could still follow the spirit and intent of their zoning – with how you site a project and doing it safely and following all the setbacks – but we just couldn’t place it in an Industrial district because of the lack of appropriate land,” he added.

Another issue was that the code stipulates the project fit the definition of a public utility, and the ZBA disagreed with that as well.

“The public utility aspect … started with a series of court cases in the early 1900s right to the late 1990s with various emerging technologies from electric power to steam to antennas to telephone towers. As they have merged, it has been identified that they don’t always fit in the zoning schemes, for the very reasons that we presented: the technical challenges,” Baccile said.

“As a result, zoning boards are allowed to relax some of the use variance rules related to landowners’ desires to dedicate some of their property for solar. But the ZBA declined to accept that thought process, and simply responded that they do not believe we are a public utility and since we are not a public utility, they will apply the standard methodology and denied our application.”

The vote was 3-0.

Baccile said the ZBA’s decision possibly could be challenged in the future as New York continues its push for more renewable energy.

“They have made it very difficult for them to achieve the goals of their solar plan, which are to distribute energy resources as called for by the state, and to promote the opportunities that exist per the state’s legal mandates for the electric generation transmission by 2025,” he said.

Le Roy Town Supervisor James Farnholz, who cast the lone “no” vote to the town board’s solar zoning code ruling, said today that he felt a compromise could have been worked out when considering the Residential and Agricultural districts.

Farnholz agreed that the solar code is restrictive and mentioned that trying to place solar farms in Industrial or Interchange (by the Thruway) districts would be more expensive.

“It’s not that there isn’t significant property available for solar companies to use. There is about 20 percent, I think, outside of Residential and Agricultural, if you combine it all,” he said. “But it’s going to be more expensive because it’s not flat, tilled ground that you can just come in and throw solar panels on. The available land is going to require more site preparation and that will cost more.”

If it was approved, the Thwing CSG would have qualified for the CleanChoice Community Solar program, generating enough energy to power 800 to 850 homes in the Town of Le Roy and surrounding areas, Baccile reported.

Photos: Visual simulations of the proposed Thwing CSG project that was turned down by the Town of Le Roy Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday night. Submitted by CleanChoice Energy.

Press release:

The City of Batavia has been awarded a Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) 2021 State Economic & Infrastructure Development (SEID) grant.  

The City’s Bank Street water project was awarded $334,000. The NBRC received 156 applications this year for the SEID grant cycle, requesting more than $81M in funding.  This was a 16% increase in requests over 2020. Across the four states, 44 applications from this very competitive field were selected including the City of Batavia.

“The much-needed upgrades to infrastructure will support both public and private development along Bank Street including the progress being made at the City Centre Campus redevelopment and Healthy Living Campus. The new 8” water main will also allow for an additional number of residential and commercial units to be developed in the corridor as planned in the downtown revitalization strategy,” said Eugene Jankowski, Jr. City Council President.

The current Bank street waterline will be updated to an 8” line.  Over 950 linear feet of 8-inch diameter water main will be installed and replace the current 4” and 6” lines that are undersized and aging, 90+-year-old water lines.  The estimated cost of the project is $410,000 and the City will provide a local match to the grant of 20% ($82,000).  

The waterline project is needed to improve water pressure and fire suppression capabilities on Bank Street, as well as enable future development on the City Centre Campus, and the Alva Place parking lot for the Police Station,” said Rachael J. Tabelski, City Manager.  

This project aligns with the strategies laid out by the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Investment Plan and New York State Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) as well as being in a federally designated Opportunity Zone. It is also part of a larger corridor plan in which the City is seeking Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant funds, as well for roadwork and streetscape on Bank Street.  

Currently, there is over $50M in public/private development in downtown Batavia, at various stages of planning, permitting, and construction.  This will be a welcomed investment that helps City as a whole, as well as the local business community, community institutions, and quality of life. 

As expected, the Batavia City Council on Monday night voted to pursue a 2021 Transportation Alternative Program grant that, if awarded, could spur city maintenance crews to address the inadequate crosswalk setup from the Genesee County Office of the Aging to the parking lot on the west side of Bank Street.

“It’s really not a highway project … (but) is focused on non-vehicle enhancements, which would be traffic calming and more pedestrian elements,” said City Maintenance Supervisor Ray Tourt during the board’s Conference Meeting. “And we would finally go ahead and try to configure a crosswalk out there.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. jumped at the chance to comment further on the crosswalk situation.

(See below -- Previously: Video: Crosswalk awareness event on Bank Street)

“Is that going to solve the problem that we’ve had where people are in the crosswalk and cars are whizzing by not noticing them?” he asked. “It’s kind of a situation that has been like that for a long time.”

Tourt said a goal is to narrow that corridor “which tends to slow vehicles down.”

“So, with the use of bump-outs and vertical elements in the way of replacing trees … and actually formalizing a crosswalk where it could make sense,” he said. “There’s a chance that there could be a change to the driveway access points to a couple of the properties and try to get those in line and then include a crosswalk at the intersection of Alva Place.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski reported that these federal TAP grants administered by the Genesee Transportation Council and New York State Department of Transportation range from $500,000 to $5 million, depending upon the project’s price tag.

Tourt said an estimate provided by LaBella Associates of Rochester about 18 months ago pegged the Bank Street project at $1.5 million, but that price could go up by 20 or 30 percent due to rising material costs. The city would be asking for the amount of the project and would be on the hook for 20 percent of the final cost.

The proposal includes adding streetscape elements, pavement markings, signs, accessible ramps, more crosswalks, pedestrian corner “bump-outs” and/or center median refuge.

“And there certainly could be more road improvements that could go on there,” Tabelski said. “If we do receive a grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission as well, this would play nicely to do the waterline (on Bank Street) and the road at the same time.

Following the meeting, Tabelski answered additional questions about the section of Bank Street between Main Street and Washington Avenue.

• On the chances of getting the grant:

“We always like to try our best to pursue grant opportunities, and we have LaBella Associates (of Rochester) helping us write the grant. We’ve gotten this grant before and we’ve been successful with it.

“There’s definitely a lot of positive attributes to the project – not only the pedestrian safety and the streetscape, but also the studies we’ve done previously where it was identified as a need in the community. The DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) had a Bank Street project component and so did the Mall Feasibility Study. So, it has been identified multiple times as an area to be enhanced with streetscape and pedestrian safety.

• On attracting a developer to put up a mixed-use building:

“Any enhancements we make in infrastructure can be an incentive for developers to look at an area. A proposal to have apartments and possibly commercial at Bank and Alva Place is one of the long-term concepts in the BOA (Brownfield Opportunity Area) plan. So, it would be directly across from the police station. It has always been envisioned to have more downtown living near the mall campus.

• On slowing down traffic with a new police station on the block:

“I don’t know the traffic flow patterns of where they (patrol cars) will go; it will probably be call dependent on how they will leave the station. Even now, they have to get out of the parking lot that they’re in (behind the old City Hall, next to Austin Park).

“But, typically, they don’t leave the station to go out on a call because they’re already out in the community when calls come out.  A lot of times they’re already on a call when another call comes in.”

• On the status of the new police station on the Alva Place parking lot?

“Right now, we’re drawing up the documents to put out an RFP (Request for Proposal) for a design and engineering firm that we hope to release at the beginning of September.

“The stages of the project start with the RFP for design and engineering, score and rank those firms internally and then bring that proposal to Council at the same you bring all of the funding information to them so they can decide to move forward.”

In other action last night, Council:

• Approved a resolution authorizing the city to act as lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review for the renovation of Jackson Square, the concert area located between Jackson and Center Streets, next to Center Street Smoke House.\

• Moved resolutions to the Sept. 13 Business Meeting pertaining to the rezoning of two parcels on East Main Street to C-3 (Commercial) and to conduct a SEQR for the Healthy Living Campus project of United Memorial Medical Center and the Genesee Family Area YMCA.

• Approved a resolution for the receipt of a Police Traffic Services grant for $12,936 for details dedicated to increasing seat belt usage and reduce dangerous driving behaviors, and another to reflect the receipt of $3,000 for the fire department to continue its child safety seat program through the NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.

• Agreed to not lock the Little League and Minor League fields on State Street and Denio Street, respectively, despite communication from youth baseball officials who expressed concerns about dogs leaving a mess on the diamonds.

Jankowski urged residents to respect the fields and clean up after their pets, but stated that it would be best to keep the parks accessible for all to use.

“We don’t want (people) climbing the fence to use a city park,” he said.

Previously: Video: Crosswalk awareness event on Bank Street.

Nateeka Gibson

Nateeka M. Gibson, no age provided, no residence provided, is charged with burglary 2nd, sex abuse 1st, robbery 3rd, grand larceny 4th, criminal mischief 4th, and prostitution.  At 4:36 p.m., Aug. 5, Batavia police officers were dispatched to a location on Holland Avenue after a report that Gibson was involved in a disturbance with another female. Officers were aware of four active arrest warrants against Gibson from City Court and Town of Batavia Court. Gibson was also a suspect in an ongoing investigation where charges are still pending. Among the responding officers were Officer Stephen Quider and K-9 "Batu."  The K-9 team conducted a search of the Holland Avenue residence. Gibson was reportedly located hiding in the basement.  Gibson was placed under arrest after an alleged brief struggle inside the residence.  Gibson was arraigned in City Court on Aug. 6 and ordered held without bail.  The ongoing investigation is related to Gibson allegedly entering the residence of an elderly male on July 28 at a location on East Main Street.  Police suspect Gibson of stealing money from the victim on two occasions and prevented the male from calling 9-1-1.  

Brooke Kimberley Tubbins, 40, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny 3rd and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing.  Tubbins allegedly failed to report income on two applications for SNAP benefits and as a result, received $6,215 in benefits she was not qualified to receive from May 2020 through March 2021.  The case was investigated by Robert Riggi, DSS. Tubbins was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on her own recognizance. 

With leadership at the Executive Mansion in Albany in disarray, local governments are being forced to take on greater responsibility in the decision-making process as COVID-19 rears its ugly head once more.

Noting that New York State is backing off on mandates and guidelines, Genesee County officials are banding together with administrators from neighboring counties to figure out the best course of action as the number of cases increase and with the reopening of schools just a few weeks away.

“There is no state policy; everybody is on their own,” said Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein during Monday afternoon’s special legislative meeting at the Old County Courthouse. “What we do now – our behavior is really going to matter.”

County Manager Matt Landers told legislators that county managers have restarted discussions on how to handle what he called “a changing landscape.”

“We will not be under the state umbrella where there was a facilitator,” Landers said. “We had our first official meeting today after a long break and we decided to make this a weekly meeting because of the nature of how things are changing.”

He emphasized that public health directors will be included in the talks – “a good step,” he said -- because last time county administrators and public health directors conducted separate meetings.

VACCINATED? THEN NO MASK

Landers said his group is looking at the various county and school policies when it comes to the wearing of face coverings.

“A couple of counties have gone the route of mandating masks for their workforce, regardless of vaccination status. We haven’t gone that route at this point, and I wouldn’t recommend that route as necessary,” he said.

Genesee County employees do not have to wear a mask if they are vaccinated, he said, but need to show proof of vaccination to do so.

He said that Legislature Clerk Pamela LaGrou came up with that idea, and it was applauded by leaders in other counties.

Unvaccinated county employees are required to wear face coverings, however.

“Here, we’re not going to ask vaccination status of any of our workforce, but if you want to take the mask off at work, you have to provide proof of vaccination to your department head,” he said. “So, we have high confidence right now in the county workforce that if you see a county employee with his or her mask off, they have shown that proof. And because of that, we won’t have to rush to have any mask mandate for all of our workers anytime soon.”

FOLLOWING CDC GUIDANCE

Landers said that an interim step before mandating face coverings could be distancing county workers from the public.

“But we’re not there yet either,” he said, “because our transmission level is still low. Still, it’s something we have to start thinking about now. It’s unfortunate that we have to do this (again), but I like the spirit that everyone has in wanting to make sure that we’re being consistent and cooperating.”

Public Health Director Paul Pettit is in constant contact with school district officials, Landers said, with the goal of reaching a point where all schools draft similar guidelines when classes resume.

“There’s no universal set policy (for schools) yet; I think there’s an attempt,” Landers said. “We’re taking the position that we recommend following CDC (Centers for Disease Control) guidelines; in good conscience, we can’t deviate from recommending CDC guidelines. But each of the schools is going to make its own decision.”

GENESEE AT ‘MODERATE’ LEVEL

Genesee County has 25 active cases as of Monday, Landers said. Eleven of them occurred over the weekend, but no one is hospitalized.

He said Genesee is in the “moderate” category and just about to go into “substantial,” which is 28 cases a week on average. The “high” level is 57 cases.

The county manager said that about 20 to 30 percent of the positive cases are vaccinated people, adding that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is “a little less effective” than the Moderna or Pfizer doses.

He said he’s not sure of the percentage of county employees who have been vaccinated, but estimated it around 70 percent – which is higher than the Genesee County number of 59 percent.

The county’s Facebook page has been getting significant hits as the public searches for current information about the coronavirus, Landers said, adding that a press conference is being set up for next week for the sharing of more data.

YUNKER: MUST BE PROACTIVE

In the meantime, he said the county will continue to test and vaccinate.

“… and if the demand is out there, we will increase the testing days and vaccination," he added.

Legislator Marianne Clattenburg mentioned that if school guidelines remain the same as before, more testing will be in order.

Landers said federal funding from the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act will enable the county to place at least one Abbott rapid antigen test machine in each school to quickly test students and to provide BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Cards for asymptomatic testing.

Legislator Christian Yunker urged the county brace for another wave.

“We should probably be prepared to deal with another stint of rising cases,” he said. “It’s probably going to happen, so however we can be proactive to curb in those problems (the better off we’ll be).”  

At least one City of Batavia resident is fed up with the traffic jams at the Dunkin Donuts at 405 West Main St. and ambulance sirens in the vicinity of Oak and Union streets.

Speaking during the public comments portion of tonight’s City Council Conference Meeting at the City Hall Council Board Room, Michael Barrett urged council members to look into a way to alleviate both situations.

The owner of Barrett’s Batavia Marine Sporting Goods reported that vehicles lined up for coffee and donuts are infringing upon his property and, moreover, said he is afraid that a major accident is just waiting to happen.

“They’re blocking my east entrance to come into the store and they’re backing up onto the (West Main) street and forming a line,” he said after the meeting. “So, they’re taking one lane of the street and blocking it off just so they can go into Dunkin Donuts.”

He noted that there is a sign there that indicates no left hand turns, but it isn’t being heeded.

“I’ve put signs out; I’ve put pylons out, and I see that Arby’s has got a little bit of that and downtown Tim Hortons had that until they had that extension put on the back part of their lot,” he continued. “If the police would just park out front for a couple days and just keep the people from turning and keep the traffic flowing, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“There’s going to be one heck of an accident coming one of these days. They’re going to come barreling down the street and ram right into somebody that’s parked in front of my store.”

During the meeting, he expressed his frustration to Council, stating he doesn’t know what to do next.

As far as the sirens are concerned, Barrett, who lives on nearby Richmond Avenue, said it seems to be constant as ambulances speed south on Oak Street before exiting onto Union Street to get to West Main.

Council members agreed with Barrett’s observations, with Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. asking City Manager Rachael Tabelski to see if the ambulances could sometimes use a different route that could be just as fast and to study traffic patterns at Dunkin Donuts during its peak times.

“I can hear them from where I live (on Otis Street),” Jankowski said about the sirens. “Maybe they could vary their routes a little bit … but we will let them know there has been a complaint.”

Council member John Canale said he checked into the siren issue in the past, and acknowledged that “it’s almost constant and very unsettling.”

It was asked if the ambulances could turn on the sirens only when they approached intersections, but Canale and Tabelski said that they have to have them on for insurance purposes.

Citing the “need for speed,” the Genesee County Legislature at a special meeting this afternoon approved a resolution to accept a pair of bids for the construction of a new water pump station along Golden Road in the Town of Chili to advance Phase 2 of the Countywide Water Project.

Legislators awarded the general construction contract to C.P. Ward, Inc., of Scottsville, for an amount not to exceed $2,825,533, and the electrical construction contract to Kaplan-Schmidt Electric, Inc., of Rochester, for an amount not to exceed $595,000.

The $3,420,533 total will be funded from bonds issued by the Monroe County Water Authority for the Phase 2 construction.

Prior to voting, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens stressed that timing was the major factor in calling the meeting outside of the board’s normal schedule,

“The biggest concern is the need for speed, obviously, with the supply chain disruptions we’re seeing with COVID and long lead times, especially on things such as motor controls and pumps,” he said. “So, we want to give contractors the most time as possible to get the project completed.”

Hens said the completion date in the contract is June 1, 2022, but it could take up to eight months to receive the pumps. Thus, the importance of awarding the contracts to get materials ordered while the building is being erected.

He also pointed out that the cost is about $600,000 more than expected, but not as much as it could have been when factoring in the increased costs due to COVID.

“The original total bid package for the general and the electrical when we were designing this about two years ago was around $2.8 million,” he said. “With what we’ve seen with COVID bidding recently, I was really nervous that we would be up around $4 million. So, I’m actually very pleased that are inflation was somewhat muted.”

 

Press release:

“According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view) Orleans County has increased to substantial level of community transmission,” stated Paul Pettit, Director of the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health).  “Genesee County is currently maintaining a moderate level of transmission for COVID-19.  This is not surprising as Niagara, Erie, and Monroe Counties are all considered to be at the substantial level of transmission.”

“We continue to monitor the data and update the Genesee – Orleans – Wyoming COVID Case Tracker map daily (https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/5f8401b0516247b490934303e3975e49/),” stated Pettit. 

Although we are not sending daily data updates to the media, the GO Health website is updated on Monday’s and Thursday’s with COVID-19 data and the public can access this information by visiting our website at www.GOHealthNY.org and clicking on Emerging Issues. 

Both Genesee and Orleans are experiencing an uptick of new cases of COVID-19, including some cases where the individuals are fully vaccinated.  This is not unexpected as we are seeing this across the state and nation.  This is what viruses do. Even for those who are fully vaccinated there is a chance the individual may become infected with COVID-19, especially due to the high transmission rate of the Delta Variant.  Although being fully vaccinated may not completely protect someone from getting COVID-19, the vast majority of those who have been fully vaccinated and have become infected had little or no symptoms or serious complications.

It is important for everyone who is not vaccinated and eligible, to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The vaccination is free and clinics are held weekly at each of the health departments (visit: https://bit.ly/GOHealthCOVID for updated clinics and locations). Pharmacies and health care providers also provide the COVID-19 vaccine and you can visit (www.vaccines.gov) for a location near you. If anyone has concerns about whether or not the vaccine is right for them, we encourage them to talk to their primary care provider.  

Per the CDC recommendations for communities with substantial or high spread of COVID-19 we encourage everyone to continue, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to continue practicing the following public health prevention precautions: 

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. 
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. 
• If water is not readily available, use hand sanitizer. 
• Wash and sanitize frequently shared/touched items.
• Stay 6 feet away from others and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
• Wear a face mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission. 
• Monitor your health daily and stay home if you are experiencing any symptoms.
• Get tested if you are experiencing symptoms and self-isolate until you get your results back. If you test positive for COVID, you are to isolate for 10 days. 

“The best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 or health complications from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated,” stated Pettit. “Now is the best time to take advantage of getting vaccinated for COVID-19 before the new school term starts and the weather changes and we start moving back indoors”.   

Thomas Matthew Bergman, 22, of Park Road, Batavia, is charged with forcible touching. Bergman is accused of touching the intimate parts of a female Uber driver at 12:49 a.m., Aug. 1, at the Relax Inn on Park Road, Batavia.  Bergman was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on his own recognizance. 

Karrie Morrow, 38, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a substance 7th. Morrow's car was reportedly stopped at 1:15 a.m. on East Avenue on July 31 by Officer John Gombos.  Police say K-9 "Batu" alerted on Murrow's purse on the front passenger seat of the vehicle. The purse allegedly contained "illegal contraband." Morrow was processed at the jail and issued an appearance ticket.

Luis Santiago-Arroyo, 33, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Santiago-Arroyo allegedly violated an order of protection by calling the protected party.  He was issued an appearance ticket.

Alex Dumbleton, 28, of Batavia, was arrested in Rochester on three bench warrants out of Batavia and for failing to appear as directed on one arrest warrant. The arrest warrant was for alleged burglary 2nd and criminal contempt 2nd. Dumbleton was arraigned in City Court and ordered held on bail pending his next court appearance on Aug. 25.

Carlene Mahoney, 59, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Mahoney allegedly took produces from a store on Ellicott Street without paying on July 28. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Brittany Lynn Bolton, 21, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with petit larceny. Bolton is accused of stealing $293.80 in merchandise from Walmart in the Town of Batavia.  She was issued an appearance ticket.

Joseph Michael Dispenza, 27, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with two counts of harassment 2nd. Dispenza was allegedly involved in an altercation with two people outside the Autozone at 8347 Lewiston Road, Batavia.  He was issued an appearance ticket.

Carl Eugene Goodman, 34, of Main Street, Yorkshire, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Goodman allegedly violated a stay-away order of protection by calling the protected party multiple times for no legitimate purpose. Goodman was issued an appearance ticket.

Teresa Marie Stephenson, 31, of Cedar Street, Batavia, and Justin Thomas Stephenson, 36, of Cedar Street, Batavia, are charged with trespass.  Teresa and Justin are accused of being inside a building on Bethany Center Road Bethany, at 2:54 a.m., Aug. 6, without permission.  Both defendants were issued appearance tickets.

Anthony L. Vanelli, 43, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Vanelli was arrested by State Police in the Town of Batavia at 6:10 p.m., July 28. No further details were released. He was issued an appearance tick.

The heat index today could reach as high as 100 degrees according to the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the region.

The index will at least hit 95 degrees.

High heat and humidity may cause heat-related illness.

The NWS advises: 

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. 

Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heatstroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.

Village of Corfu? In.

Town of Darien? Out.

Town of Pembroke? To be determined.

That’s the status of three municipalities on the western side of Genesee in the county’s quest to achieve updated water supply agreements from all towns and villages leading up to a proposed $10 million annual sales tax distribution plan.

Corfu, Darien and Pembroke had been holding out on signing the amended water agreements since early July when the Genesee County Legislature introduced its potential solution to revenue distribution by linking it to a reworking of current water supply pacts.

On July 28^th, Corfu trustees voted to accept the agreement.

Last week, Darien Town council members voted, 5-0, to not accept the county’s offer.

And this coming Thursday (Aug. 12), the Pembroke Town Board is scheduled to vote on the issue.

A $10 MILLION OFFER

As previously reported, the county needs universal buy-in to the updated water agreements to set a plan in motion to distribute $10 million in sales tax revenue to municipalities over the next 38 years.

Without all towns and villages opting in, the county is proposing to distribute $7 million in annual sales tax revenue and another $3 million in other revenue on a periodic basis over the next 38 years. Municipalities not opting in would receive less in revenue distribution than expected to allow for the equalization of water surcharge revenue.

Contacted Sunday, County Manager Matt Landers explained that money would have to be withheld from communities that don’t sign the agreement to ensure that the water fund is made whole.

“In those cases, it will be the entire community paying for it and not just the water users,” he said. “For the Town of Darien, we’ll make sure water consumption is covered at $1.20 (per 1,000 gallons) if it can’t be covered by a surcharge because there’s a valid contract in place only charging them 60 cents. So, we’ll just have to equalize that through lower revenue distribution payments.”

Landers said he respects Darien’s decision, but welcomes further discussion with Darien Supervisor Steve Ferry Jr. and the board.

“We would love to have a $10 million sales tax sharing agreement in place for the next 38 years to provide that guaranteed revenue source to all towns and villages, but Darien is going to do what it feels is best,” he said. “I understand he’s (Ferry) doing what he believes is in the best interests of his constituents, which a town supervisor would do. I happen to disagree.”

DARIEN BOARD NOT CONVINCED

Ferry said his board rejected the county’s idea for several reasons.

“We have a water agreement in place,” he said. “This is the same resolution that they offered in 2018 and the board, then, rejected it. It was a totally different board but the outcome was the same, a vote of five to nothing.”

He said Darien officials are looking for a master plan to see “what was going to happen in the future” and also for movement toward an equitable, unified water rate in the county.

“We felt that our positioning was that if we signed it, they would still ignore us. So, we did not sign it because it is the only bargaining position that we have,” he advised.

Ferry said the county “ditched the sales tax agreement in 2018 with the towns and village in favor of a contract with the City of Batavia, and now they want us to try and fix it.”

“The two (water and sales tax) shouldn’t even be connected,” he said. “Why is it that we’re tying them together now?”

FERRY: ‘GIVE US A BONE’

When it was mentioned that the Town of Darien would receive less in revenue than entitled to based on assessed valuation, Ferry said, “Possibly, but then again, possibly, I call the AG’s (New York State Attorney General) office.”

“I’m saying, ‘Work with us here. Give us a bone.’ And they did nothing. They would not even produce a letter stating that they would try to equalize the rate within X amount of years – because I think they don’t think they can.”

Ferry said the Town of Darien pays $1.12 more per 1,000 gallons of water than other communities.

“If they make the claim that water pays for water, we on the western side of the county have been paying more for our water to get water out here,” he said. “If the east and the central part need water, why not make them pay more?

“We represent our constituents and if we were to sign this contract … in addition to the old one, and they get charged 60 cents more per thousand (gallons) right off the bat, what else do they get out of that contract? We can’t enter into an agreement that is worse than the one we have without something as an offset.”

Landers said by opting in to updated water agreements, municipalities are ensuring that their water users are paying their fair share of the cost for water.

“One way or the other, Darien will still pay the additional costs – it’s a matter if they want to pay through the entire town or through the water users,” he said. “I still hope and there’s still time since I’ll be back in the office tomorrow and will reach out to Steven and see if there’s anything else that I can communicate.”

LANDERS OPEN TO MORE TALK

He said that he and Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein presented the plan at meetings of the Village of Corfu and Town of Pembroke boards, and indicated that Ferry attended the Corfu meeting as well while another Darien council member was at the Pembroke meeting.

Landers also said he would like to address the entire Town of Darien board – something that hasn’t happened yet – as the deadline for towns and villages to make their intentions known is this Friday.

“I’d be more than willing to have further talks with Steve,” he said. “I’m 100 percent available to Steve and the Darien Town Board to talk some more, and until the 13^th comes and goes, there is still an opportunity.”

Calling it a “complex issue,” Landers said the original water agreement has limitations to it as it has a fixed 60-cent surcharge (per 1,000 gallons).

“Genesee County is responsible for bringing an adequate supply of water into the county, and we have incurred significant monies beyond Phase 1 into Phase 2, and now going into Phase 3. If we truly want water paying for water, we can’t live by water supply agreements that are fixed at 60 cents for time in eternity,” he said.

“When we raise the surcharge, we have to raise it across the board for all users because it’s our responsibility to bring supply into the entire county. I realize that Darien and Pembroke don’t see the benefit of paying that extra 60 cents because they received their benefit from Phase 1. But with Phase 3, there will be future enhancements that will benefit them.”

Landers said he was not involved in the first round of water supply agreements with municipalities … and looking back, “the 60 cents didn’t work and that is one of the major factors that we’re trying to change with all of these updated water supply agreements; the ability to have water paying for water.”

PEMBROKE: IT’S A MATTER OF TRUST

When asked about the Town of Pembroke, he said he did not want to speculate, stating only that he has had “a good conversation” with the Pembroke Town Board.

Pembroke Supervisor Thomas Schneider Jr. said he believes there is support for the amended agreement, but also noted “some concerns from the past over the way things have been handled, as far as agreements with the county.”

Citing lingering hard feelings, he said the county has “made agreements that they don’t seem to be concerned about breaking.”

“So, now if we sign on to this new one, what’s to say that it can’t be changed five years down the road. I think that’s the biggest concern that most people on our board have.”

Landers said it’s his job to try and build trust in all the towns and villages and hopes that “over time they will believe what we say.”

An email to Corfu Deputy Mayor Michael Doktor and a phone call to Mayor Thomas Sargent seeking comment were not returned. In fact, there has been no reply to requests from The Batavian from either village official throughout this process.

Previously: Ways & Means passes measures rescinding revenue distribution payments, accepting HCA with Plug Power.

Previously: Genesee's west side municipalities considering county legislature's sales tax/revenue distribution proposal.

City of Batavia Manager Rachael Tabelski and Maintenance Superintendent Ray Tourt are seeking to “tap” into a funding source that has benefited the community in the past.

Tourt, in a memo to Tabelski dated July 22, advised that the Genesee Transportation Council and New York State Department of Transportation put out a call to municipalities wishing to apply for 2021 TAP (Transportation Alternative Program) grants.

Ranging from $500,000 to $5 million, these grants are earmarked for planning, design and construction projects that “address improvements to non-driver safety, access to public transit and enhance mobility,” Tourt wrote.

TAP initiatives are eligible for up to 80 percent federal funding with a 20 percent local share match.

According to the memo, the city has received TAP grants before, including one for its Pedestrian Way and Healthy Routes to Schools projects. This year’s funding, if received, would be used for improvements on Bank Street between Main Street and Washington Avenue.

Per the memo, that area has been identified in both the Downtown Revitalization Initiative proposals and City Centre Feasibility study “to promote economic prosperity corridor to promote accessibility to downtown.”

The project would include streetscape elements, pavement markings, signs, accessible ramps, additional crosswalks, pedestrian corner “bump-outs” and/or center median refuge.

The city has contracted with LaBella Associates of Rochester to prepare the grant application.

Tabelski has drafted a resolution for Monday night’s City Council Conference Meeting and (if approved) for voting at the Business Meeting afterwards. The Conference Meeting is scheduled for 7 o’clock at City Hall Council Board Room.

In other developments, Council:

• Will consider a resolution authorizing the city to act as lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review for the renovation of Jackson Square – one of the city’s several DRI projects. Jackson Square is located between Jackson and Center Streets, next to Center Street Smoke House.

In a memo dated Aug. 3, Tabelski wrote that the city looks to complete the SEQR process and then notify “involved interested agencies” of the city’s intent to act as lead agency.

She is recommending that Council move the resolution from the Conference to the Business Meeting on Monday, approve it, and then for Council to move a resolution to issue a declaration at the Sept. 13 Business Meeting.

Tabelski wrote that design drawings from Architectural Resources of Buffalo are almost done, and construction is expected to begin at the end of October.

• Will consider several event requests, as follows:

Batavia Players/Main St. 56 Theater Holiday Craft & Gift Sale – Dec. 3-4, 10-11, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the City Centre concourse.

Great Lakes & Attica Central Model Railroad Club Picnic – Aug. 19 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Farrall Park.

Batavia Police Community Night Out – Oct. 10 at City Church St. Anthony’s Campus on Liberty Street.

Batavia Players/Main St. 56 Theater Summer Youth Theater – Aug. 27-29, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 27-28, and 2-4 p.m. on Aug. 29, at the City Centre stage.

GO ART! Art Festival – Sept. 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the City Centre parking lot along Bank Street, featuring music, food trucks, beer tent, art vendors and demonstrations, dancing, theater and art walk.

Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District Wine Walk – Oct. 2 from 4-8 p.m. with 20 to 24 stops; a 21-and-over event for wine and cider tasting.

• Will hold a public hearing Monday night on the rezoning of 211 and 211 ½ East Main St. from P-2 (Planned Development) to C-3 (Commercial) in connection with the Healthy Living Campus project.

The city also is seeking lead agency status for the SEQR for this venture.

Jacob Sponaugle Devon Wright

A Batavia man facing multiple criminal charges, many of them stemming from alleged acts after prior arrests, didn't show up in County Court this morning.

According to defense attorney Nathan Pace, his client, Devon Wright, called him this morning and said that last night he had dislocated his knee, couldn't walk, and was in much pain and so wouldn't be able to make it to court.

The court clerk then revealed that Wright had also called the court and said he wanted a new attorney so he wouldn't be showing up for court.

At the request of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Judge Charles Zambito issued a warrant for Wright's arrest.

Zambito then proceeded with setting a trial date for Wright on two of the charges against him, attempted criminal possession of a weapon 2nd and attempted criminal possession of a weapon 3rd, along with his co-defendant in that case, Jacob Sponaugle.

Sponaugle is charged with attempted murder, assault, 1st; criminal use of a firearm; aggravated criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd; criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd; and criminal sale of a firearm, 3rd.

Both men were allegedly involved in an attempted gun sale gone wrong on July 22, 2020.  A third person at the scene was shot and wounded in the lobby of the Days Inn in Batavia.

According to Friedman, Wright was the person attempting to buy the guns.

Details of what transpired at the Days Inn that night have not been released.

Soon after Zambiot set a trial date of Sept. 13, Wright walked into court (showing no signs of any injury).

Dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, he stepped to the defense table and informed the judge that he would like a new attorney.  His complaint about his attorney was that he didn't think he and his attorney were on the same page, that Pace had called up Wright and informed him they needed to meet, and that Wright needed to go to Pace's office. Because Wright's driving privileges are suspended, he said he couldn't drive himself there.

"I can't make somebody drive me there," Wright said.

Zambito denied Wright's request for a new attorney finding his reason this close to trial without merit.  He instructed Pace to work with his client to find a suitable time and place to meet,  Pace told Zambito that he needed a quiet and private place to meet with his client, which is why he asked to meet at his office. Zambito said that if Pace's office is difficult for Wright to get to, the courthouse has conference rooms they can use to meet. He told Wright it is unreasonable for him to expect Pace to come to his house to meet.

Among the other charges still pending against Wright are:

• Larceny, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child from November 2019;
• Attempted assault 1st and resisting arrest from December 2019 when he allegedly ran down a person on Highland Park; 
• Sexual conduct with a person less than 15 years old and two counts of criminal sexual act from May 2020.

Wright remains free on bail set in the Highland Park case and Zambito has expressed frustration at his inability to set new bail in subsequent cases due to New York's bail reform law.

Previously:

• Judge Zambito unable to hold Batavia man who has been arrested repeatedly
• No bail hearing and no plea yet for Batavia man facing multiple charges
• Suspect charged with attempted murder in shooting outside Days Inn

When reporters for a national publication focused on justice system reform looked for a county to illuminate the changes in jail population due to pandemic-related fluctuations, they settled on Genesee County and an inmate they thought illustrated the shifting priorities of the system.

The selection of Matthew Reed to help tell the story of a person who might have been mistreated by the system drew attention locally.  

Reed's name is familiar to anybody who regularly pays attention to published arrest reports.

In this case, Reed was highlighted for his conviction on a petty larceny charge -- he stole, as the story noted, $63 in bedsheets from Target. His example was perhaps colorful because his sentencing was delayed for months because of the closure of the Town of Batavia court during the pandemic. When he was eventually sentenced by Town Justice Andrew Young in May he was ordered to serve six months in the Genesee County Jail. (With good behavior, he should be out in about a month).

Reed told reporter Beth Schwartzapfel of The Marshal Project he thought the sentence under the circumstances was unfair.

Reed doesn’t understand the point of sending him to jail now, only further destabilizing his life. “They could have at least offered me drug court or some type of rehab or something,” he said in an interview from the Genesee County Jail last week.

While it's true Reed wasn't offered an opportunity for drug court or rehab, in Genesee County -- at least -- it's up to a defendant's attorney to ask the court to consider those options prior to sentencing, something Reed said his attorney didn't do even though he asked him to make that request.  Reed's attorney, Michael Guarino, told The Batavian after a recent court appearance on another matter that he did make that request, and it was rejected by the DA's office.

The Marshall Project story leaves the impression that stealing some bedsheets was Reed's only crime and he was given a harsh sentence after being left in limbo for months while awaiting his sentence.

That isn't the whole story, however.  In October 2020, Reed also admitted to a criminal charge of bail jumping in the third degree.  He was sentenced in May on both charges.  

While Young didn't give a reason for his sentence of six months for Reed, according to a recording of the proceeding obtained by The Batavian from the Town of Batavia Court, Young was made aware of the 38-year-old Batavia resident's prior criminal history, including multiple failures to appear and parole and probation revocations. 

These issues came up because Reed was requesting a delay in his sentencing over concern he wanted to collect one more disability check before going to jail so he could have some money on his books. This fact isn't mentioned in the Marshall Project story.

Assistant District Attorney Kaitlynn Schmit objected to the delay out of concern Reed wouldn't make a future court appearance.  She also brought to Young's attention a letter Reed had sent the court earlier asking that his case be expedited.  He was distressed by the COVID-related delay in his sentencing. 

While Reed's criminal history as an adult is lengthy, the prior arrests are all for relatively minor offenses, such as trespassing, harassment, and disorderly conduct.  His sentences over the years have included time in jail, community service, fines and probation. His longest sentence appears to have been 365 days in 2008 on a scheme to defraud conviction. 

Reached via email, Schwartzapfel said none of that -- not even the bail jumping charge included in his May sentence -- was relevant to the story she was writing.

The story's thesis is captured in the article's 28th paragraph:

The pandemic underscored what reform advocates have been saying for years: Cramped and filthy jails are the wrong place for most people who have been arrested.

In an email to The Batavian, Schwartzapfel wrote: 

To answer your questions, yes of course I did a criminal history search on Reed, and I knew he had also been charged with bail jumping, which is a very scary-sounding way of saying, he missed a court date. I could have included that, as well as the list of other priors (almost all years-old petit larcenies), but it wasn't really relevant to the point, which was, he stayed out of jail during the pandemic when he would have otherwise gone to jail; and now, months later, he's serving a delayed sentence.

While ADA Schmit is on leave, The Batavian reached out to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman for background on the case and the policies of his office on cases like this.  Asked about Schwartzapfel's characterization of her story, he said:

“Missed a court date” is a very nice sounding way of saying “bail jumping”.

Regardless of how old his priors are, they still factor in the determination as to what is an appropriate sentence.

Leaving out any other charge that was pending against him certainly misleads the reader about the nature of Reed's sentence, especially bail jumping.

I can’t understand the logic behind the contention that, because he hadn't been sentenced for so long, he shouldn't have been sent to jail.

---

AUTHOR DISCLOSURE: I first met Matthew Reed years ago while outside of our former downtown office and he asked me for money.  I gave him money then and two or three times in the next couple of weeks when he asked for money, usually with some story about his disability check being late or the funds not being available to pay his rent or needing money for food.  After three or four times of this, I told him I couldn't give him any more money.  Eventually, he stopped asking for money, including in the past year when I would see him almost daily in the area Ellicott Street and Liberty Street.

---

In the story, Schwartzapfel writes:

In the Genesee County Jail in New York, where Reed recently began a six-month sentence for petit larceny, there were, for a time, only 35 people jailed, down from 90 before the pandemic, according to data compiled by the Vera Institute. Defendants had court dates pushed off, and judges went to extra lengths to allow people to wait at home rather than in jail. (New York’s bail reform law also went into effect in early 2020 and reduced jail populations even further.) By March, there were 54 people jailed in the county lockup.

The numbers and actual events in 2019 through June of this year tell a more complex story, however.

It's true that prior to the pandemic, the Genesee County Jail inmate population did hit 90, and even higher at times, but the reduction in the jail population initially had nothing to do with the pandemic and the data doesn't suggest the pandemic had much impact on the inmate population other than delaying inevitable criminal convictions.  

The average number of inmates -- convicted and being held pre-sentence -- rather than "creep up" actually declined from April through June (The Marshall Project story was published in early June).

Long before any local judge had heard the term COVID-19, they were starting to obey a directive from the state court system to begin implementing bail reform.  The Assembly and Senate passed the new limits on bail for criminal defendants in the summer of 2019 and even though the law wouldn't officially take effect until Jan. 1, 2020, judges and town justices were directed to take the new guidelines into consideration when deciding on bail for newly arrested defendants.  Defense attorneys were well aware of this directive and were sure to remind judges of the new guidelines at every opportunity. 

The Genesee County Jail population started dropping around August 2019 when there were 85 inmates in the jail.  By December, that average daily count had dropped to 55.  In February of 2020, when the novel coronavirus was still a distant threat, the local jail population fell to 37 and would remain at or about that level throughout the regional height of the pandemic.

In December 2020, when the total new number of COVID-19 cases in Genesee County peaked on Christmas Eve at 101, the average daily number of inmates hit its highest number since the beginning of the year, 42.  As the number of new cases locally began to drop and more people were out and about, the average daily population of the jail did start to increase, hitting a total of 55 in April. 

March and April were the first months in the previous 10 when more than 300 crimes were reported in Genesee County in a single month.

The drop in crime in 2020 could be a factor -- as some local officials think --  of police reluctance to interact with people unless absolutely necessary.  But, perhaps, a lot of would-be criminals were equally reluctant to interact with other people, meaning fewer victims.  Or with less activity in the community, there were just fewer opportunities to do something wrong.  We'll never know for sure but the fact remains, the lower the number of crimes reported, the fewer people arrested, the fewer people held in jail (with or without bail reform), and the fewer people convicted of crimes.

The other factor was for much of 2020, most courts in the county were closed. That created a backlog of arraignments, plea agreements, trials, and sentencing. 

"We're still pushing to sentence people convicted from more than a year ago," said Friedman. "If you think about what happened here, no courts, no grand jury for four months last year, we're playing catch up."

One tangential result of the delay in court cases, Friedman said, is it is much harder to get defendants to accept a plea.  Why accept a plea, he noted, when you know the court calendar is jammed and you can put off going to jail just waiting for your case to get called before a judge?

Fewer people accepting pleas means fewer people in jail.

It's Schwartzapfel contention that she didn't intend to single out Genesee County as treating convicted criminals more harshly but to use Genesee County as an example of a national trend.

"I intended to use it as a county that was very much in step with how most other counties are handling jail populations post-pandemic," Schwartzapfel said.

This seems to indicate, then, that other counties nationally are not locking away many convicted criminals, which is counter to the narrative of the Marshall Project story, or, as the local data indicates, Genesee doesn't fit the national trend and wasn't a good example to use in the story.

The number of sentenced inmates being held in the Genesee County Jail dropped precipitously in 2020 and has remained relatively low. The highest average daily count of sentenced inmates in the Genesee County Jail in 2021 peaked at 11 in March, not even half of the lowest numbers of 2019.

The delays in sentencing have been the largest contributing factor to the drop in total inmate count locally (Schwartzapfel leaned on total population counts, not the different segments of pre-sentenced and sentenced inmates), so contrary to the impression left by the Marshall Project Story, Genesee County is not rushing to lock up new convicts.

But this isn't the doing of judges, as the Marshall Project Story states, it's the response of defendants that are leading to delayed jail sentences, Friedman said.

"Because of what has happened and we're still very slow in courts, people don't have the same incentive to accept a plea offer," Friedman said. "They think, 'let things go. Time is on my side."

Meanwhile, if your concern is bail reform, something Schwartzapfel said was not a focus of her story but does matter if your goal is to reduce the number of people held in jails, the local crime data offers little assistance to either side of the debate.

Crime dropped dramatically in 2020, the first full year of bail reform, but that almost certainly has more to do with the pandemic than anything else and the pandemic may have masked bail reform's full effect on crime.  On the other hand, crime rates in four of the first six months of 2021 exceed the rate of 2019 but dropped below both 2019 and 2020 in June. So it's a mixed bag with too little data -- and the available data is tainted by other factors -- to lead to any meaningful conclusions.

The headline-grabbing unintended consequence of bail reform is anecdotal, not statistical, such as the repeated arrests of Devon Wright and the frustration of County Court Judge Charles Zambito at his inability to hold him, legally, in jail.

One clear result of bail reform, Friedman said, is, again, people are less likely to accept a plea offer.

"If I'm out on the street, why should I go in and plead guilty and go to jail," Friedman said. "When people are already in jail, they're more likely to say, 'Let's get this done.'"

The other downside of bail reform, according to Kevin Finnell, Friedman's first assistant, is that when defendants don't show up for court, judges can't issue warrants like they used to. They first have to reschedule the hearing and give the defendant up to another month to appear.

Since judges started implementing bail reform, the number of people held in jail before sentencing has been cut roughly in half, if not less.  There are still 30 to 40 people a month held in jail who have yet to be convicted of the crime that led to their confinement.  Bail reform isn't benefiting as many defendants as the public seems to believe.

Friedman has a sense that there are at least some defendants who, because of bail reform, have used the opportunity to re-offend, and that concerns him.

"Anecdotally, we all know of cases involving people who have been on the street who wouldn't have been otherwise and they continue to commit criminal offenses," Friedman said. "I can’t give you statistics or how many would have been locked up before bail reform. But I don't think you can say, 'Well, people who have been released, they're not committing crimes anymore because obviously, that's not the case."

---

 

Cold hard facts about a stormwater retention plan apparently will determine the fate of a Batavia businessman’s proposal to build a 60-unit senior residential complex off East Avenue in the Village of Le Roy.

“I’m looking for scientific information – I don’t want anybody’s opinion – that can tell me that the project is going to have no impact upon groundwater or, actually, will improve the situation that the residents are feeling now, including the (Le Roy) golf course,” said Le Roy Mayor Greg Rogers this morning.

“I still believe there is a need for that type of housing in the community … but the main thing is that the water issue has to be a non-issue.”

Rogers presided over a meeting on Monday night that was attended by about 50 village residents at the Town of Le Roy courtroom. The purpose of the meeting was for the board to conduct the State Environmental Quality Review for the project.

After the first two sections of the long form were completed, the SEQR then was put on hold, Rogers said.

When asked if the water issue was the reason for tabling it, he said “it had more to do with the overall project.”

When asked if the site plan submitted by Eric Biscaro, owner of Armor Building Supply in Batavia, was in jeopardy, Rogers said, “I wouldn’t say that, it’s just that we’re in the information gathering process.”

“I’ve always contended that the stormwater part of it – the stormwater plan -- was the deal breaker on the whole thing. If any of the properties get more stormwater than they’re getting now, that’s a deal breaker. Right now, for me, it’s all about the water.”

If photos provided by LeRoyan Tom Frew are any indication, standing water in yards in the Poplar Lane and Orchard Drive area as well as nearby Mercy Grove and Le Roy Country Club is a major concern that needs to be addressed.

Frew, a Poplar Lane resident, has been outspoken in his opposition to the project, claiming that the 30 duplex patio home rentals on a 20-acre parcel that runs east of East Avenue are not compatible with the neighborhood. He also is against the village spending money to improve East Avenue and is concerned about the increase in traffic.

Biscaro’s plan, estimated to cost around $9 million, also calls for the development and sale of eight single-family home building lots along an extension of that street.

Contacted this morning, Frew said that a heavy rainfall two weeks ago caused a foot and a half to two feet of standing water behind a neighbor’s home near the intersection of Poplar and Orchard (see photo above).

“That that took a few days to flow out through a buried pipe that goes down parallel with Orchard Drive and dumps into a creek which flows over to Mercy Grove and the golf course,’ he said. “The golf course had two holes under water.”

Frew said turbidity is another issue.

“You could only see about six inches down in the two feet of water, and (Mercy Grove and Le Roy Country Club owner) Jim Gomborone said that when the water recedes on the golf course, he has suspended solids all along the lower shore line that came from that water,” he added.

Frew agreed with Rogers that water “seems to be the tiebreaker.”

“He (Biscaro) will have to build a retention pond to hold and contain it, and then slowly release the water,” he said. “That was where the rubber met the road at the meeting last night.”

Rogers said the developer is on board with village officials when it comes to providing necessary and accurate information relating to water runoff.

“His engineer had sent the water remediation plan to CPL (Clark Patterson Lee) for review, but CPL didn’t feel that they had enough information at that point and time,” Roger said. “So, we’re going to do our due diligence among Biscaro, Clark Patterson and the DEC (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation) to get accurate information on the water remediation plan.”

The mayor said the next step is a public hearing at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Memorial Auditorium on Trigon Park in the village. The public hearing originally was to be held at Le Roy High School but the school is not available, Rogers said.

“After that and if all the information is in regarding the water, then we can go back and adopt Section 3 -- if that’s where it leads us,” he said.

Photo at top: Poplar Lane resident Gerry Robinson in standing water behind his home. Photos at bottom: Standing water at Mercy Grove and Le Roy Country Club following a recent steady rainfall. Submitted photos.