town of batavia

A hero-themed park as an ode to first responders, with each a veterans and first responders memorial, boardwalk, lookout point, picnic shelter, gazebo, interpretive art panels, asphalt parking lot, and much more is on the books for construction within the next year or two as officials seek funding, says Molly Vendura of Landscape Architecture and Charlotte Brett of New York Green.

The women presented the plan as representatives of a multi-agency committee consisting of the town and city of Batavia, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, Planning and Parks departments, Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security, Veteran’s Affairs, and U.S. Department of Immigration.

“So the construction plan will be ready by the end of May, and then we really just need to, we'll have cost estimates at that point. We'll be applying for grants. And it would be great if we could get a grant in the next year and then construct it in the next year,” Brett said during an information meeting Wednesday at Batavia Town Hall. “But it really depends on how quickly the town can secure funding. It’s likely to be a year or two.”

New York Green received funding from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Legacy Funds administered by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo for the design of a proposed new public park on a property owned by the town of Batavia and located on Park Road in the city of Batavia. 

The initial phases have taken place since last summer, from a geographic survey and preliminary concepts, comments from town officials for revisions, and finally, a “buffet” of various options for the Army Corps of Engineers to work with for a final plan, Vendura said.

The park would be in a large area encompassing a pond and wetlands in the northwest corner of the property along Park Road and Veterans Memorial Drive, backing up to the VA. 

There would also be two EV charging stations for vehicles, and chargers for electric bikes and scooters, a landscape plant bed to shield visitors from the farthest northwest corner traffic and wind, a monument sign, gated access at the adjacent VA Hospital and Monsignor Apartments, a kayak launch, benches and vegetation to serve as a buffer for the flocks of geese that are regular visitors to the area.

The Batavian asked Vendura how the construction and creation of this park might disrupt those geese and other wildlife, such as rabbits and deer, in the area. The establishment of wetlands serves as some protection, she said.

“Because we are in a wetland area, we have to be very careful to minimize disturbance to the existing vegetation and soils,” she said. “So just by nature of that, the disruption from the construction of this park will be as minimal as possible because we're required to by the DEC when we do work in a wetland."

So, even laying down a 19-spot asphalt parking lot won’t disturb nature?

“Regarding that parking lot area, that actually used to be where the road cut through the property, so the town took out the road and just put some soil and grass seed on top of it right now, but under that is already existing sub base from the old road, so we're not actually disturbing pristine ground to put in the parking lot,” she said, answering if any trees would be removed with the underbrush. “It’ll be if there’s dead trees, not living trees, it might be more of like shrubby material, and typically it’s invasive shrubs like buckthorn and honeysuckle. So we would be actually improving the environment for native pollinators and birds by removing the invasive species, the shrubs, but also be opening the view for security reasons and safety.”

Rick Iannello, one of the half-dozen residents who attended the meeting, was interested in fishing. He has seen programs offered to kids in other areas and has enjoyed watching the youth here get a chance to throw a line in when possible.

“One of the things I think is really heartening is when you go over to DeWitt Park, you see a lot of young kids fishing. I think it's terrific, you see these kids are out there casting a line or doing whatever. But it's awful nice to see that,” he said. “And along with that would be the thought that if you perhaps had an area that was set aside for kids to fish and to learn how to fish. You could go back to the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation on their youth initiative and see if there would be the ability of them to kick in some additional funds for something like that."

Wilson Legacy Funds were established to provide support to four areas that were important to Mr. Wilson: caregivers, community assets, design and access, and youth sports. Vendura and Brett were take notes about the fishing idea.

Barbie Starowitz of Elba wanted to know why a dog park couldn’t be part of the plan, especially given that the VA has therapy dogs, she said. While the wetlands protect nature in some ways, they fall under state and federal regulation and would not be suitable for a dog park, Vendura said. And that section of the town space would have to be fenced off, which is not part of the overall project, she said.

Batavia Town Supervisor Greg Post said that the town owns property that is “developable and is willing to work with whatever collaborative agencies want to assist us in supporting that.”

“What we're looking for is a viable partner to assist with the collaboration for the funding of the initial design and the cost of maintenance for that specific sector, that community that would be benefited by that,” he said. “My board members can confirm that we've had a number of discussions and have the means to assist any agency that wants to come in, or an organization or club that wants to start that.”

As for the town park that is on the table, organizers are inviting people to submit a name for it and will be seeking funding sources before it can begin. Post is not concerned about raising the $2 million to $3.5 million he estimated it would take, he said.

“We're very persistent, and we're looking for enough partnership that I do not think that this will be an issue,” he said. “I think any recreational opportunity that services our veterans and all of those community visitors, as well as our children and grandchildren, is a good thing. We're very pleased that we've had the support of all of our regional partners, and we're very grateful for the Wilson Foundation for supporting our design. And much appreciate all the Partnership for it, and we're committed to seeing this thing done sooner than later.”

Any questions or name suggestions may be emailed to supervisor@townofbatavia.com. Post  advises to send them “sooner than later.”

Press Release:

A public information meeting will be held regarding New Town Park on Wednesday, February 26, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at Batavia Town Hall, located at 3833 West Main Street Road, Batavia.

Project: New York Green received funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds administered by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo for design of a proposed new public park on a property owned by the Town of Batavia and located on Park Road in the City of Batavia. 

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds were established at the Community Foundation to provide support to four areas that were important to Mr. Wilson: caregivers, community assets, design and access, and youth sports. Endowment funds, like these created to honor Mr. Wilson, are designed to grow over time and provide funding for charitable causes according to a client’s wishes.

Agenda: At the meeting we will share and solicit public feedback on the conceptual design for the proposed new park.

Special Arrangements: All are welcome to attend this meeting. If you require special arrangements (translators, handicap accessibility etc.) please contact Steve Tanner at 585-813-7246.

Press Release:

The Town of Batavia GOP Committee has set an Endorsement meeting on Jan. 29 for the following positions:

Supervisor (1)
Council Member (2)
Town Justice (1)
Highway Superintendent (1) 
Town Clerk (1)

 Any town resident who has an interest can submit a letter of interest and resume to Steve Hawley at: PO Box 1733, Batavia, NY, 14021 by Jan. 24. 
 

If you haven’t heard or been paying attention, there's been increased focus on water in Genesee County, from drought in some areas causing residents to drive several miles to haul water to their homes and a $150 million Phase 3 water project being mapped out for funding and the physical work, to appeals for citizens to use water judiciously in the face of potential shortages.

The city fire department had to curtail its hydrant flushing this week due to hot temperatures to conserve water. 

City management is dealing with other issues as well, which have been dragging on for the last two years. Here are a few updates:

Seneca Power Partners sought to draw water from a city well, while both Seneca and city management argued their cases to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 2022. City Manager Rachael Tabelski said the case is still ongoing.

After a more than four-month review process of paperwork and supporting documentation from the applicant, Seneca Power Partners, and from city, town and county management and legal sources, the DEC has opted to grant Seneca a permit to “add Well D at the Batavia Well Field as a new permanent source of water supply.”

The permit has been granted for five years, with the option for Seneca Power Partners to reapply when that time is up.

“We have the same concerns we had when we issued the letters of concern (in July),” Tabelski said. “We outlined our concerns to the DEC, and we will meet with DPW and our legal counsel to determine the next steps.”

At the time, Tabelski wasn't quite certain how the DEC arrived at its decision, given some confusing supporting information. 

“It is my understanding that Seneca Powers’ Application with the NYS DEC to draw water directly from the aquifer is still under review,” she said. “The city, county and town of Batavia continue to work together to prevent this draw of water because the aquifer is a historical low. The aquifer is the city’s primary drinking source of water, which must be protected. Depending on the demand of water and the termperatures we could see shortages in water for customers, and we encourage water users to continue conservation techniques.”

In short, the permit authorizes the withdrawal of up to 698,400 gallons per day, or a total of  26 million gallons per year of water for the purpose of system maintenance, boiler make-up water, and non-contact cooling to support the generation of electric power in accordance with the terms and conditions of this permit. Water will be withdrawn from a new groundwater supply, Well D, located at the Batavia Power Plant.

Given the tenuous condition of the city’s and county’s water supply — with the county issuing similar appeals to taper water usage each summer — The Batavian asked if the city has or is formulating a plan to counteract future potential water shortages.

“The City purchases water from the county but we see ourselves as a partner to the water issues that the county is facing.  We work constantly to assist the county with projects at the Water Treatment Plant to increase water production closer to the permitted level at the plant," Tabelski said. "Over $4 million has been invested in the last four years to make improvements at the Water Plant.

 “In 2022, a WIIA (water infrastructure improvement) grant was secured by the City and County to complete these projects.  At this time, the Batavia Water Plant produces water and services the entire center region of Genesee County."

The Batavian had also asked about the status of the lead survey, however, City Council approved another measure toward this goal during Monday’s business meeting to identify lead water lines in homes.

As a result of a recently passed Lead and Copper Rule, the city will inventory 400 water service lines throughout the city to determine where any lead lines are located. The city issued a request for a proposal to conduct the inventory and made water meter replacements were needed, Water and Wastewater Superintendent Tom Phelps said during Monday’s meeting.

Out of five company bids, a decision was made not to proceed with replacing the meters due to the cost of completing the project, he said. Electro Scan Inc. was the lowest bidder for the inventory portion, coming in at $375,000. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of September, he said. 

“We will not be using an intern for this project as the timeline for the Lead and Copper Rule Planning is due in October.  Once we have this data collected, the city will be able to use predictive modeling to gain more insight into the actual number of lead lines and prepare our plans for replacement,” Tabelski said.  “Currently, we have 28 public sector lines identified as lead, 4,054 unknown, and 0 residential/commercial lines identified as lead, with 5,645 unknown.  We need assistance from the community to help us identify lead lines and funding to start replacement.  

"A video was recently released to the school district, and we continue to encourage residents and building owners to fill out our survey online that feeds directly into the City’s GIS system for identification, which can be found here: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/40d14e33590842a088144a45cb1eee6c .”

On a related note, a $120 million expansion project at HP Hood was temporarily halted by the city earlier this year because the town of Batavia had been exceeding its wastewater limits and related wastewater facility agreement. That remains on hold, Tabelski said.

“The City continues to remain hopeful regarding the finalization of the updated Wastewater Facility Agreement with the Town of Batavia.  Once the agreement is executed the city will rescind the SEQR challenge to the Hood project specific to the town’s sewer capacity,” she said.  “It’s vitally important, fair, and equitable for both city and town residents that the agreement reflects the town’s current usage of sewer and that the percent of town usage is purchased via a capacity purchase agreement. 

“Once the agreement is executed, both the town and city have agreed and look forward to moving forward with an expansion study of the Wastewater Treatment Plant for the potential for increased capacity,” she said. 

 Tabelski sent the town Planning Board a letter on March 13 notifying the group that the city had not been informed in a timely manner that the town had been established as lead agency for the proposed expansion of process lines at HP Hood on Feb. 13, 2024, and the city did not receive word of that until March 4. The city, therefore, objects to the town acting as the lead agency, Tabelski said.

In addition, ”due to violations of the town’s contracted wastewater capacity limit, the project cannot proceed,” Tabelski said in the letter. 

Press Release:

The Genesee County Health Department receives funding from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to carry out the Healthy Neighborhoods Program (HNP). Residents in the Town and City of Batavia are eligible to participate. 

The program offers free home evaluations for asthma triggers, indoor air quality, lead-based paint hazards, fire risks, and other health hazards. At the home evaluations, residents are educated on asthma management, childhood lead poisoning prevention, carbon monoxide poisoning, radon gas, fire safety and prevention, and other home safety issues. Safety and cleaning supplies are also available to eligible participants.

Staff from the program are going door to door in the City of Batavia to raise awareness about the program and look for participants. At the homes we visit, we leave a door hanger or flyer with contact information for the Health Department.

During the spring we are focusing on Ward 1 (north of East Main Street from Vine Street to the eastern edge of the City) and Ward 6 (south of East Main Street from Liberty Street to the eastern edge of the City). We will be covering other areas of the City later in the year.

Information on the streets we are visiting each week will be posted on the Health Department’s Facebook and Instagram account under GOHealthNY.

Go to https://bit.ly/HealthyNeighbors to request a home visit from the Healthy Neighborhoods Program for yourself or to refer someone to the program. Once the Health Department receives the request, a staff member will reach out to schedule a home evaluation. 

For more information, call Healthy Neighborhoods Program staff at 585-344-2580 ext. 5555 or visit www.GOHealthNY.org.

Press Release:

To all motorists, businesses, and property owners along Batavia-Bethany Townline Rd in the Town of Batavia:

Batavia-Bethany Townline Road will be paved on May 21 and 22 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

The roadway will be closed to all through traffic on Batavia-Bethany Townline Road between Shepard Road and Bethany Center Road while paving operations occur. Through traffic is advised to seek alternate routes.

Residents and Property owners of Batavia-Bethany Townline Road between Shepard Road and Bethany Center Road will have access to their property but should expect delays.  

Emergency services will be permitted through. All other traffic is asked to seek alternate routes.

This work is weather-dependent. If work is delayed it will be rescheduled for the next available date.

Press Release:

Town Assessor Rhonda M. Saulsbury announced that beginning April 10, Change of Assessment Notices will be mailed to property owners within the Town. Instructions indicating the procedure for requesting an informal review, how to obtain forms, and where to get information will be included with each notice.  

Ms. Saulsbury reminds property owners to review the full market value estimate found on the Change of Assessment Notification. If you do not agree with this estimate AND can offer proof for a change, you can follow the process of filing a challenge. Informal reviews will be held during April & May. Appointments are required with email submissions preferable.

Property assessments, inventory data, and sale information will be available online beginning in April at https://townofbatavia.prosgar.com.

The Town of Batavia strives to maintain a 100% equalization rate (sale price to assessment ratio), which means that we aim to keep our assessments at 100% full market value across all property types. To accomplish this, we do regular re-evaluations and make adjustments accordingly during the assessment update project. Values can adjust due to physical changes and/or market changes.

As part of this process, we run each property through our appraisal software system, comparing the building style, square footage, year built, bedrooms, baths, lot size, et cetera, against the recent sale data. Based on the aforementioned data, we then do a field review to determine the fair full market value.

Press Release:

The Town of Batavia was awarded a $730,000 Green Innovation Grant from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation for a water meter replacement project that is underway throughout the Town of Batavia. This project will replace older water meters with new advanced metering infrastructure technology water meters which will increase water-use efficiency, reduce operational costs, and promote sustainable green infrastructure practices.

Residents and businesses with water meters that are required to be replaced received an initial letter detailing what to expect and how to schedule their water meter replacement appointment. A second letter will be sent to those who have not scheduled their appointment yet. The Town of Batavia asks those who do receive a second letter to schedule their appointment as soon as possible. 425 residents or businesses have scheduled their appointments, and 200 water meters have already been replaced. About 1000 residents and businesses still need to schedule their appointments.

The Town of Batavia Water Department has located water curb-stop boxes near the road with blue or white flags at the locations that require a water meter replacement. The Town kindly asks residents to leave the flags in place until the Town removes them. For more information on this project, please visit the Town of Batavia’s website, or contact the Town’s Water Department by calling 585-343-1729, then select option 5.”

Press Release:

The Organizational Meeting of the Genesee County Republican Committee was held on Tuesday, October 3 with a huge majority of members present. Due to the decision of Richard Siebert, Chairman for the last 20 years, to not seek re-election, the position of Chairman was the main item on the Agenda. 

All officer positions were available and were re-elected as follows:

• 1st Vice Chairman Stephen M. Hawley, Town of Batavia 
• 2nd Vice Chairman Mary Alice Panek, Town of Stafford 
• Treasurer Michael Cianfrini, Town of Oakfield 
• Secretary Kathleen Jasinski, Town of Batavia
• Scott German, City of Batavia, was elected as Chairman. He is the present Genesee County Treasurer.

Press Release:

The Town of Batavia was awarded a $730,000 Green Innovation Grant from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation for a water meter replacement project that will occur at various locations throughout the Town of Batavia beginning the week of September 17, 2023. 

This project will replace older water meters with new advanced metering infrastructure technology water meters which will increase water-use efficiency, reduce operational costs, and promote sustainable green infrastructure practices.

Residents and businesses with water meters that are required to be replaced will receive letters in the mail detailing what to expect and how to schedule your water meter replacement appointment.

 In preparation for this project, the Town of Batavia Water Department will be locating and operating water curb-stop boxes near the road with blue flags at those locations. The Town kindly asks residents to leave the blue flags in place until the Town removes them. 

For more information on this project, please visit the Town of Batavia’s website, or contact the Town’s Water Department by calling 585-343-1729, then select option 5.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) board of directors accepted an initial resolution for Oak Orchard Solar 3 LLC’s community solar farm project in the town of Batavia at the board’s Thursday, August 3 meeting.

The $9 million investment will include the installation of ground-mounted solar panels in order to generate up to 5 megawatts of power.

Since 2019, the GCEDC has reviewed over $1 billion of solar energy projects. These projects have proposed 860 megawatts of renewable energy and property tax-type revenues of $127.4 million to municipalities.

Under the proposed project agreement, Oak Orchard Solar 3 LLC’s project would generate $4,000/megawatts (AC) annually + a 2% annual escalator of revenues to Genesee County and the Elba Central School District. Including a host agreement with the Town of Batavia, this project is estimated to generate a $319,088 increase in property-tax type revenues to host municipalities over the life of the agreements.

A public hearing on the proposed project agreement will be scheduled in the town of Batavia.

Press Release:

On Monday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., resurfacing operations will occur on the following listed roads:

• Dorman Road – Creek Road to Alexander Townline Road
• East Road – Creek Road to Putnam Road
• Shepard Road – Putnam Road to Batavia/Bethany Townline Road
• State Street Road – City line to Saile Drive

Traffic should expect delays and short-term closures while resurfacing operations occur. All through traffic should seek alternative routes. 

Residents on the listed roads will be permitted access to their property but may experience delays. Work is weather dependent. If postponed for weather, work will resume the next work day.

If there are any questions concerning this work, please, contact The Town of Batavia Highway Department at (585) 343-1729, Extension 218. Thank you for your cooperation in advance.

A “significant bridge replacement project” to the tune of six figures is about to shut down a portion of Wortendyke Road for up to two months beginning Monday, Genesee County Highway officials say.

The project, funded by a grant agreement to accept $50,000 of county Soil and Water Conservation District grant funds matched by existing county funds, will replace Culvert 8G on Wortendyke Road in the Town of Batavia.

Classified as a large span culvert — metal culvert structures that span in excess of 40 feet — the project will require a temporary closure of approximately six to eight weeks between South Main Street Road and State Route 33, county officials said.

County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens had recently recommended that the county Legislature — via the Public Service and Ways & Means committees — execute the grant agreement and modify the capital project, making the appropriate budget amendment to allow for the matching funds.

The county Soil and Water Conservation District offered the grant to implement Best Management Practices with the installation of large-span culverts, and, per the resolution, “the grant agreement provides $50,000 to be matched by existing county funds allocated to the large-span culvert capital project."

Two Town of Batavia projects — the Kings Plaza Pump Station and Force Main Upgrade —  originally planned for completion in 2020 had been put on hold due to Covid-19 and increased pricing, city officials say, pushing it out to December 2021 when additional funding was available.

During that same time, the town’s wastewater flows increased to approximately 1.2 to 1.4 million gallons per day, which exceeded the town’s current contractual limit of .85 million gallons per day, as established in the Wastewater Facility Agreement dated in February 2015, city officials said.

“So basically what you’ve got, the Town of Batavia was awarded a grant from the New York State Community Development Block Grant to upgrade the Kings Plaza pump stations and make improvements to the existing water main that connects to the city's sewer system. They are over capacity right now,” Public Works Director Brett Frank said during City Council's conference meeting Monday at City Hall. “The pump station has a maximum capacity of .54 million gallons per day (MGD), and the town would like to plan for future growth … there’s concern with their current exceedance of the contractual former limits in the full capacity of the plant, and we believe we should not yet approve a capacity of one million gallons per day. This agreement will address these concerns and proposes modifications to ensure that the town adheres to the current capacity flows of point .54 MGD.”

City Council was asked to approve a resolution of agreement between the town and city of Batavia that the town will stick with an average .54 million gallons per day, and that if it goes above that, “daily monetary penalties will be levied by the city.”

City Attorney George Van Nest said that the city has “the ability to have penalties for going over that, which it’s in there, but we haven’t stipulated what those penalties would be.”

The town is also asked to agree that a new 12-inch force main will be installed from Kings Plaza Pump Station to River and South Main streets, and that the city may inspect the project.

“The upgrades at the Kings Plaza Pump Station will include a new master sewer meter,” the resolution states.

Council members Bob Bialkowski and Eugene Jankowski Jr. said they were concerned about the town paying the penalty, “and that’s not solving our problem,” Jankowski said, “and they’re getting away cheap to cause a problem for us.”

They wondered if the town should have to do its own water treatment, and Frank said that’s already in the plan.

“We’re actually engaging in those engineering services to potentially expand the wastewater treatment plant, and that would all be at the cost of the town of the Batavia to do those engineering services,” he said.

The matter was forwarded on to a business meeting that followed, and Council approved the resolution for the city manager to execute a related state Department of Environmental Conservation BSP-5 form.

Seven months after approving the acquisition of property between Tonawanda Creek and Evans Street, Batavia Development Corporation received the word it hoped for: yes.

A somewhat unusual sale, this one involved the Town of Batavia, which owned the 4.26-acre parcel tucked behind and alongside the McCarthy ice arena.

Batavia Town Board approved the sale of land this week, and agreed to sell it to BDC for $1. It falls under the name Creek Park LLC, which is a subdivision of BDC, and will be marketed for land development. That is, after the  unknowns are known, she said.

“First step after closing is to initiate the Phase II sampling, which is necessary for determining if there is a presence of any pollutants,” Hathaway said Wednesday. “Once results of the sampling are received, the BDC will have a pathway to whether the parcel is to be marketed as a Greenfield or a Brownfield; each offering different developer incentives.”

An example is Savarino Companies, which went through Creek Park LLC for its Ellicott Station housing project. BDC worked to get that project into a Brownfield development, which is identified as potentially needing remediation to remove toxic materials, and also comes with financial incentives for doing so.

As for the town property, the BDC has not yet closed on it.

“The conveyance was approved by the Town of Batavia and is currently in the Permissive Referendum period,” she said. “This period will expire on April 18; an anticipated closing is to follow as soon as can be scheduled.”

BDC uses the city of Batavia’s planning initiatives “as our roadmap,” Hathaway said, and one is the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) study and program. Since the Creek Park area is vacant and underutilized, she said, the BOA has identified it as a “prime area” for redevelopment.

“The BOA program focuses on adaptive re-use of a site through environmental assessments, followed by clean-up efforts should the parcel be determined a Brownfield,” she said. “The Creek Park acquisition follows the mission of the BDC to encourage reuse of underutilized real estate.”

BDC voted to pursue purchasing the town property in August 2022.

Map provided by BDC.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Health Department received $477,000 in funding from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to implement the Healthy Neighborhoods Program (HNP) for the years 2022 to 2027.

Residents in the Town and City of Batavia are eligible to participate in the program and the goal is to visit 1,000 households over five years. The program offers home evaluations for asthma triggers, indoor air quality, lead-based paint hazards, fire risks, and other health hazards. At the evaluations, residents are
educated on asthma management, childhood lead poisoning prevention, carbon monoxide poisoning, radon gas, fire safety and prevention, and other home safety issues.

Free safety and cleaning supplies are also available to eligible participants. There are four main goals of Healthy Neighborhoods Program:
1) Reduce hospital visits due to asthma: According to the NYSDOH Asthma Dashboard from 2017 to 2019, residents of the zip code 14020 (which includes the City and Town of Batavia) visited an emergency department for an asthma attack at a 28% higher rate than the average for Genesee County. The Healthy
Neighborhoods Program aims to provide participants with tools to better manage their asthma and avoid emergency room visits by evaluating their symptoms, triggers, and medication usage. Participants are encouraged to ask their primary care doctor to create a written plan to follow during an asthma attack.

2) Prevent childhood lead poisoning: The majority of housing in Batavia was built before 1978, which is when the federal government banned consumer use of lead-based paint. In partnership with the Genesee County Health Department’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, homes will be assessed for lead-based paint hazards and lead poisoning prevention education will be provided.

3) Improve indoor air quality: According to the NYSDOH, about 1,800 people in New York visit an emergency room due to carbon monoxide poisoning each year. Carbon monoxide poisoning is more common during the winter months due to use of heating sources. The Healthy Neighborhoods Program provides education on carbon monoxide poisoning, radon gas, smoking cessation, and pest management. In addition, eligible participants may receive carbon monoxide detectors, radon test kits, and cleaning supplies.

4) Reduce household injuries from fires and accidents: Residential fires are more common in the winter months, according to research by the National Fire Protection Association. A small fire can become a major fire in less than a minute, so working smoke detectors are crucial to alert residents so they can escape in time. The Healthy Neighborhoods Program encourages participants to practice fire escape routes. Participants may even receive free smoke detectors and small fire extinguishers.

For more information or to make a referral to the program, call Genesee County HNP staff at 585-344-2580 ext. 5519 or visit www.GOHealthNY.org.

If you have driven past the former Clor’s building on West Main Street Road and thought you saw a sign that later disappeared, you’re not seeing things.

A sign for F&M Convenience store was briefly put on the front of 4169 West Main Street Rd. in the town of Batavia. The site, which sits on a triangular piece of property between Top’s Friendly Markets and Valu Plaza, has been leased, Town Building Inspector Daniel Lang said.

Unfortunately, Ali Musa, the renter, has not taken his business through the proper channels of the town planning board yet, Lang said. His business is set to go before the Town Planning Board next week. Meanwhile, the process has been explained to the new occupant at least a few times, Lang said, yet Musa put the sign up, then took it down as directed, followed by putting up blue and white lights around the front windows. Those have also been taken down.

Property owner Benderson Development is leasing the 1,737-square-foot building to Musa after an 18-month gap in occupants. Musa has also been stocking the future store, although some of his products may not pass town code, Lang said.

Cannabis sales are legal in the city, but not in the town, which vetoed an option for cannabis dispensaries. Apparently, Musa intends to sell related products at the convenience store.

A representative of Benderson Development was unable to provide any details about the renter's plans.

The site was built in 2004 and has served to house several various operations, most notably Clor’s Meat Market, which moved there in 2009. Longtime owner Chuck Gugel sold the business to Kathleen (Kate) Gonzalez in 2013, who closed it by the end of that year.

Other former occupants have been Pizza Joe’s and Georgie Porgies.

Photo: After an 18-month vacancy, the building at 4169 Main Street Rd., Batavia, has been leased for use as a convenience store, but has not been through the Town Planning Board process yet. Photo by Howard Owens.

The Town of Batavia engineer says he has cleared up miscommunication with the Lewiston Road businessman who has been speaking out against the proposed construction of a pair of restaurants with drive-thru lanes on the south side of the former Kmart parking lot near Park Road.

Steve Mountain today addressed comments made by pizzeria owner Jerry Arena earlier in the week. Appearing at the Batavia Town Board meeting, Arena said that it was his impression that the town was requesting Benderson Development Corp. to resubmit its plans.

Arena has charged Benderson with submitting what he calls a “falsified application,” primarily referring to the company checking boxes on its documentation that there are adequate bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways along the Lewiston Road corridor extending to Veterans Memorial Drive.

During the meeting, Arena said that Mountain indicated, in a phone call to him, that the town was looking for a revised application from Benderson. Town Supervisor Gregory Post responded by saying that he wasn’t aware of that.

“… the town engineer told me that Benderson was going to have to resubmit their application. And I was going to ask you guys about starting that process all over again,” Arena said.

He went on to say that he was very disappointed that town officials don't grasp that traffic is going to be much worse.

“I'm kind of in shock here. I was really happy that maybe …you're coming to a realization that it's a safety issue – a severe safety issue,” Arena said, reiterating that he continues to consider filing a temporary injunction to block the proposed development.

Contacted today, Mountain said he told Arena that Benderson needs to submit its engineering plans to him.

“The Town Planning Board approves the project contingent on my final review and approval, which is typical for every project,” Mountain said. “We'll go back and forth with the plans – review them and have some minor comments. All that engineering stuff – water and sewer and all those things.”

But as far as Benderson having to submit a new project application, Mountain said that is not the case.

He said he spoke with Arena a couple days ago and “better explained to him” that no new application was coming – just a revision of the engineering comments on the plans.

When asked if he thought there was a safety issue with the traffic in that area, Mountain said a traffic study consultant and state Department of Transportation officials had no concerns.

“We did note, in my comments back to them, however, that we need to look at – with the DOT – the southbound lane on Lewiston, where there’s only left turn arrows to the old Kmart,” he said. “We feel that should be left and right turn arrows, similar to what is near Tim Hortons and Tops. That’s the only thing, traffic-wise, that we’re looking at.”

Mountain said that the Park Road Reconstruction Project has resulted in more vehicle congestion, but he sees traffic flowing better once that is completed.

“The DOT will be going around the county, updating things, but we feel the Lewiston Road/Route 5 section is still acceptable,” he said.

He did mention that the town’s future projections include a new road from Lewiston Road to West Main Street Road (Route 5), north of the current intersection.

“That’s in our Comprehensive Master Plan,” Mountain said.