Press Release:

Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) have identified Genesee County as having a high average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter). 

Radon can build up to dangerous levels in your home, which can occur in new homes or older homes. 

“Radon can enter your home through cracks in the foundation, cracks in basement walls, holes, joints, dirt floors, sump pump holes, suspended floors, and in the well-water supply,” stated Darren Brodie, Environmental Health Director for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health). 

“Any house that has contact with the ground has the potential for radon to enter the home. That is why training contractors and code enforcement officers about the risk of radon is important.” 

On Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 1 - 4 p.m., the Genesee County Health Department will be hosting George Schambach, the Vice President of the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologies, Inc., and President/Owner of Professional Home Inspection Service to implement a training for all contractors and code enforcement officers. 

This training will be held at the Genesee County Emergency Management Office on 7690 State Street Road, Batavia.

Topics will include: 

• Radon Measurement
• Radon Mitigation
• Radon Abatement
• Health Risks of Radon to Construction Personnel

This training is free of charge. Any Contractor or Code Enforcement Officer interested in attending can contact Allysa Pascoe at 585-344-2580 x5508 to register. For more information on radon or other GO Health programs and services, visit GOHealthNY.org.

Press Release:

Arc GLOW will be holding its annual Arc GLOW Fall Basket Raffle on Nov. 10 and 11.

Currently, Arc GLOW is seeking theme basket and gift card donations, with a starting value of $25. They can be dropped off at Arc GLOW Community Center, located at 38 Woodrow Road in Batavia, Arc GLOW’s Genesee County administrative office at 64 Walnut St. in Batavia, or at Arc GLOW’s headquarters at 18 Main St. in Mt. Morris.

Funds raised from the basket raffle help support Arc GLOW’s programs and services for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families across the agency’s four-county service area.

The basket raffle will be held at the Arc GLOW Community Center on November 10 from 4 - 6 p.m. and November 11 from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. with drawings immediately following.

For questions, please contact Tracey Jones at TJones@ArcGLOW.org or (585) 343-1123 ext. 1735.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flow-testing fire hydrants on Thursday, Oct. 5 from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will affect the entire city. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected.  These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.  As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.  If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until clear.

This annual testing is essential to maintain the community class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settles in the water lines. Checking each hydrant improves fire department personnel's knowledge of the hydrant locations.

If you have any questions or should notice a hydrant in need of repair, please contact the fire department at 585-345-6375.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) board of directors will consider an initial resolution for Country Side Apartments LLC’s proposed four 24-unit market rate apartment buildings at its board meeting on Thursday, October 5. The project’s capital investment is estimated at $15 million and would be located in the town of Pembroke.

The project is requesting assistance from the GCEDC with a sales tax exemption estimated at $739,200, a property tax abatement estimated at $2,020,688 based on the incremental increase in assessed value via a fixed 60% 20-year PILOT (Housing PILOT for 20+ market-rate units), and a mortgage tax exemption estimated at $130,000.

Each building will have eight 1-bedroom and 16 2-bedroom units, totaling 96 units throughout the complex. The project aligns with the Genesee County Economic Development Center's recognized need for housing availability.

The fiscal impacts on local benefits total $10,032,176 ($8,705,683 in temporary and ongoing payroll and $1,326,493 to the public in tax revenues). For every $1 of public benefit, the company is investing $5 into the local economy.

If the project application is accepted, a public hearing will be scheduled on the proposed project agreement in the town of Pembroke.

The October 5, GCEDC board meeting will be held at 4 p.m. at the MedTech Center’s Innovation Zone, 99 MedTech Drive, Batavia. Meeting materials and links to a live stream/on-demand recording of the meeting is available at www.gcedc.com.

Previously: Shadow of Ellicott Station throws shade on apartment plan for Pembroke, developer promises no low-income housing

Visit our Facebook page for more information or order online here.

Press release:

Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM) ("GHM" or the "Company"), a global leader in the design and manufacture of mission critical fluid, power, heat transfer and vacuum technologies for the defense, space, energy, and process industries, today announced that it shipped the last of the first article units related to the Columbia Class submarine and Ford Class carrier programs. While the Company expects to continue to have first article programs in its backlog as it wins new programs and applications, the amount as a percentage of total backlog should be reduced moving forward.

Daniel J. Thoren, President and CEO commented, "Completing the first article U.S. Navy projects and delivering the final units this month on schedule was a great testament to the team we built at our Batavia facility. Without their dedication and commitment to our customers, we would not have been able to achieve this milestone. I would like to thank each and every one of them for their hard work. We built this team by committing to training welders in house, partnering with academic resources, and improving our operating processes in support of our strategic U.S. Navy programs. These investments in our people and operations have paid off given our recently announced strategic investment from a major defense customer to expand our capacity for future projects and we believe demonstrates our customers confidence in GHM as being a critical supplier to the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program."

During fiscal 2022, the Company chose to make significant investments to ensure it could deliver these and previous units on schedule and were the main source of the losses incurred that year.

City residents may recall a number of years ago when code enforcement officials tamped down on all things unsightly, from overgrown grass and garbage cans left by the curbside to missing address numbers on homes and other property maintenance issues gone awry.

No one is exempt from this policy, and Sam Savarino of Savarino Companies has apparently made the unkempt list for his parcels at 40 Ellicott St. that have apparently been abandoned by the now-defunct Buffalo-based company.

The developer of the stalled Ellicott Station apartment complex received a list of code violations in September, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

Code Enforcement Officer Douglas Randall sent a letter to Savarino informing him about the violations.

“After visiting the Ellicott Station project site, the Bureau of Inspections has determined that defects in the building envelop may result in weather deterioration of the wood frame structure and freezing damage to plumbing and/or mechanical systems that may contain water used to test newly installed piping.  We encourage you to take all precautions to winterize the residential building,” Randall said. “Please be aware there are building materials scattered throughout the grounds that present an attractive temptation for passersby and habitation opportunities for rodents and other animals. Access openings into the existing masonry building are unsecured and will likely attract unwanted intrusion through the fencing and onto these properties.”

A list of violations was attached that included cleaning up weeds, plants, grass, rank vegetation in excess of 8 inches, and other debris on the premises, and the need to perform some building site work to make sure the property is secure during the lapse in construction. 

Examples of needed work include “the exterior walls into the interior, the exterior finish system is incomplete, and the roof system in unsecured and loose along the top of the walls in various areas. The wood structure of this building must be protected from weather deterioration,” one violation stated. 

"Exterior walls shall be free from holes, breaks, and loose or rotting materials; and maintained weatherproof and properly surface-coated where required to prevent deterioration," another citation states. 

Yet another stated that “Vacant premises, structures and portions thereof, or vacant land shall be maintained by the owner in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition as provided herein so as not to cause a blighting problem or adversely affect the public health or safety.” Corrective action was recommended, given that the interior of this masonry building under reconstruction is open to the public and adverse weather, that the exterior doors and windows of this structure must be secured to prevent unauthorized entry and protect the building from further deterioration.”

Deadlines for taking corrective action began Sept 26 and continue into October, with fines starting at $250 for the city to take care of the necessary maintenance.

To her knowledge, those items have not been taken care of yet, Tabelski said.

“The clean-up has not been satisfied,” she said to The Batavian on Tuesday.

When asked if Savarino has been getting hit with fines, she said: "not yet."

"(It) has not gotten to court yet," she said.

Ellicott Station is a low-income housing development on the city’s Southside. Due to financial entanglements, company owner Sam Savarino announced earlier this summer that he was closing his company, which meant the ceasing of construction at Ellicott Station soon after. 

More recently, tenants who were selected for housing in the 55-unit complex received emails notifying them to consider alternate housing since there was no guarantee they would be getting a new home at Ellicott Station.

Tabelski has also been remaining in contact with other agencies, including the state Office of Homes and Community Renewal, which had contracted with Savarino for low-income housing tax credits upon completion of the apartment complex.

She has not heard back from HCR recently, she said, and has “no new information at this point.” The Batavian plans to provide periodic updates on the status of the four-story project as it sits idle on the sidelines of a busy Route 63. 

After some delay from waiting to hear about their major funding source for the city's new police station, city officials finally received word this week, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

The new police facility already approved for the corner of Alva Place and Bank Street parking lot will begin the process of going out for bid, with a final destination of completion for summer 2025, Tabelski said Tuesday.

"My good news for today is we are authorized to go to bid by USDA. And we'll be doing the bid process very soon; it’s about a six- or seven-week process, with the hopes of awarding the bids in January or February  … and then starting construction of the new police station as soon as winter breaks next year,” Tabelski said to The Batavian. 

In April, City Council voted to seek funding from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program as a potential funding source for the new police facility. The city had already been awarded a $2.5 million congressional grant, which is to be applied toward the cost of the facility to “address capacity concerns, building limitations, improve handicapped access and ensure quality police protection services now and into the future.”

As for payment of the remaining $13 million, the USDA resolution allowed the city to pursue funding of loan and/or grant funding extended to the city by the federal agency. Council also approved financing the cost of project construction of the police station with bond anticipation notes for the project with a maximum estimated cost of $15.5 million.

There will be a related presentation to City Council during its Nov. 13 meeting from Wyoming County consultant Rick Hauser. He had previously performed a reuse analysis of the current police station, the Brisbane Mansion, with suggestions and recommendations for what it may be best suited for. 

Tabelski said the city is considering either apartments or a boutique hotel, and given the Main Street site’s age, it probably would qualify for historic tax credits.

“So that’s good. Savvy developers know how to use those types of tax credits, and we’re hoping we do get some interest in the Brisbane,” she said. “I’ll be laying out the city’s potential process to RFP that building for a developer to come in and turn it into either apartments or a boutique hotel. And with that, keeping the historical elements of the mansion is one of the main goals of the reuse analysis.”

Hearing from the USDA about grant funds and long-term financing was the signal the city was waiting for to go out to bid on the police station, she said, which it did on Tuesday.

Google "most important living artists," and Cindy Sherman is on that list.

In fact, in 2013, she was touted as one of the six great living artists.  

Some of her works have sold for millions, setting records for photographic prints. 

That notoriety helps make Sherman interesting to Gerald Mead, who has acquired 23 of her pictures, but that's only, at best, half the reason he collects her work. Mead's interest in Sherman is both parochial and personal. Sherman and Mead both attended Buffalo State University (though about a decade apart), and Mead's passion and specialty is collecting the works of Western New York artists.

He has more than 1,700 pieces in his collection.

"She's really kind of an icon in Buffalo," Mead said. "Her name is known far and wide as one of the most significant photographers, and she has that connection to Western New York. I was really familiar with her whole body of work, and because I was a curator at the Burchfield Penny, we had her works in our collection. It just became a special interest of mine when I first started collecting."

Over the next six weeks, art lovers from the area won't need to travel to London, Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, or even Buffalo, to see examples of Sherman's work. They can just take a little trip to GO ART! at 201 East Main St., Batavia, to see a portion of Mead's collection on display.

The show's run starts today (Wednesday) and concludes on Nov. 25, with an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 19.

The show is a real coup for GO ART! said Mary Jo Whitman, education/SCR director for the arts council. She wrote her master's thesis on Sherman.

"I'm very excited to get to know a lot of people in this area who don't always get to travel out to the bigger museums to see this kind of work will get to see it," Whitman said. "It's exciting to be able to bring these works to people, essentially."

Whitman said Sherman's work is important to her because it speaks to her in a personal way, because in her work, Sherman presents herself as a chameleon, taking on different roles as the main subject of most of her photos.

Sherman started her rise in prominence with what is still probably her most famous body of work, Untitled Film Stills. 

The series was created mostly between 1977 and 1980, mostly in New York City, with the city as a backdrop, or in her apartment. The black and white prints mimic the kind of studio publicity shots that were once produced for film noir or French avante-garde movies. Sherman conceived of the shots -- only a few directly inspired by actual movies -- created the costumes, did her own makeup, and created the pose that seemed to capture the movie's star at a pivotal plot point. 

"I felt this immediate connection with her," Whitman said. "I think it's really this idea of, you know, the constructed identity that you can be so many different people. You're in social situations, you're in professional situations, and that kind of really dictates who you are at that moment and really how many different people you can be. I know, for myself, I feel that way. I grew up in a very small town as a country girl, and I went on to be an artist, I can be a crazy hippie at times, and I can be in galleries like this as the pretentious curator. So I play a lot of different roles. I think that I just kind of felt a kinship with her after seeing her work.

After Untitled Film Stills, Sherman moved on to other series that, again, feature her in various roles and characters, such as Fairy Tales, Disasters, Centerfolds, History Portraits, Clowns, and most recently, Instagram Portraits

Mead, whose collection started with "Letraset Art Sheet #1," a collage Sherman made from British clip art in 1966, which he won as a door prize at an afterparty in 1995 for the 20th Anniversary of Hallwalls Contemporary Art Gallery (which Sherman co-founded while at Buffalo State), said his goal has been to collect something of Sherman's from each of her eras and from each decade of her career.

"I've been able to do that over the course of 35 years," Mead said.

Sherman's work appeals to him, Mead said, for that same chameleon character that inspired Whitman to study her work.

"She's used herself as the subject, but she's converted and transformed herself into personalities, personas, characters," Mead said. "She doesn't consider them portraits of people generally because she's the subject of all of them. I think it can be fascinating to see how a person can use their own appearance and alter it to have such a wide spectrum of, again, personalities, personas characters."

Also, Mead said, each photo tells a story that also allows the viewer to help fill in the narrative.

"What's interesting about her work, too, is that it's meant to sort of evoke a response or a reaction because the person in it -- they're all actors or actresses, right? Is just being caught mid-performance. So when you're looking at it, you have to get out it, 'what happened before? What's going to happen right after?' She's telling the story. The interesting thing is, a lot of times, I think people sometimes look to see what the title is to figure out what exactly is going on, but they're all untitled. She intentionally has no title on them because she wants you to bring your own understanding and your own kind of reaction to it."

It's that nuance of story and character that is one reason people should come to see Sherman's work while its on display at GO ART!, Whitman said.

"It's just really cool," Whitman said. "She's got a great idea that's really unique. I mean, she plays all the roles. She is the artist. She's the model. She's the makeup artist. She's creating the work all based on herself. There's all these different guises that she has. It's really fascinating when you kind of break it down to what it took to make each individual work. You're gonna come in, and you're gonna see what looks like a portrait to you, but when you kind of break it down, like okay, this is her in every single portrait, and you will be able to tell it's the same person. So, it's just impressive."

A simple plot -- 12 ordinary people deliberating the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder -- became a riveting drama on Sept. 20, 1954, when it first aired on CBS's Studio One.

In the 1950s, women couldn't serve on juries, so the title was to the point: 12 Angry Men.

A lot has changed over the past seven decades. Women have been able, for example, to serve on juries for decades, so now the play is called 12 Angry Jurors (12 Angry Men was also an award-winning movie in 1957 starring Henry Fonda). 

And a lot hasn't changed.  Not all is equal just yet. Society is still beset by prejudices, and people still have biases and personal histories that color their views of events.

So juries can still sometimes find it hard to agree on a verdict.

That's why the play originally written by Reginald Rose is still performed all over the country, is taught in schools, and is the subject of scholarship.

"It's still relevant," said Director Kristy Walter. "It's like one of those timeless plays that speaks to justice, it speaks to humanity, it speaks to people's prejudices and biases. And that's, I think, what makes it so compelling because when you watch the play, you see yourself in those characters. So I think that's what makes it worth seeing."

The first Batavia Players performance is at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The play begins with an off-stage charge from a judge in a murder trial: The jury must reach a unanimous verdict.

Once in the jury room, Juror #7 (the jurors are only identified by their numbers until the close of the play), played by Teressa Hirsch, says, “Yeah, lets vote. Who knows, maybe we can all just go home.”

She has someplace else to be, she reveals.

And the vote? It's 11-1. Not unanimous.

The lone holdout, Juror #8, played by Steven Coburn, confesses, “It's not easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.”

The jury decides it's up to them to convince him why they are right -- that the young man on trial stabbed his abusive father and killed him.  A guilty verdict would send the kid, from an impoverished background, to the electric chair.

The disagreements erupt for the jurors to confront their own morals and values, their own histories and beliefs.

You can probably guess the resolution -- if you've never caught the movie on late-night TV -- or better, no matter how well you know the story, you can join Batavia Players at 56 Main Theater this weekend to see how it plays out. The play holds up over decades of changing cultural norms and multiple viewings.

Notre Dame took a five-set match from Oakfield-Alabama in Girls Volleyball on Monday.

The games were scored:

• 25-18
• 19-25
• 25-17
• 25-27
• 15-9

Stats for the Irish: Kaitlin Kratz had nine kills, Loretta Sorochty, 26 assists, one kill, one block, three aces and five digs, CJ Campagna, six kills, four blocks, two aces and two digs.

For the Hornets, Jessica Sosnowski. three aces, 10 digs and 17 assists, Cara Williams, two aces, five kills, 19 digs and one assist, Sayde Bush, four aces, fiver kills and 15 digs.

Submitted info. Photos by Pete Welker.

If Office For the Aging staff thought the word caregiver was a buzzword before now, it has grown in even more prominence now that the National Family Care standards have gone into effect. 

That means “all caregivers need assessment in addition to the care receivers,” OFA Director Diana Fox said Monday, one day after the standards took hold. 

She gave a review of how that’s going and what it looks like during the Human Services meeting.

“So we took on the position as part-time and full-time in order to be able to pick up that additional. We’re not sure how many additional people we’re having. But we do say caregiving is a huge part of what we do. In terms of the demographics that we serve, a lot of folks in our community are right in the middle of their caring for children, caring for older adults, and finding resources and getting support is just a big part of what we do for them.

“We also do a lot of services directly for people who have the need for care, whether it's someone who has dementia or Alzheimer's and those types of things. We have a grant that helps services for those groups and education and direct services for respite,” she said.

County Legislator Gordon Dibble asked for a definition of caregiver. Fox said it’s someone who does something for another person, whether it’s giving your mother her daily medications, or also helping her dress for the day and cooking her meals, driving a loved one to doctor appointments, cleaning the house, or performing day-to-day care for someone with extensive emotional and physical needs.

These new standards now mean performing an assessment on each caregiver, no matter what he or she does for the other person, as a check-in to see how that person is doing, Fox said. Because caregivers can often get so busy and caught up in providing for the needs of someone else, they may neglect taking care of themselves, and it takes a toll on their own well-being, she said.

As if on cue, the OFA is hosting a Shaping the Future of Aging Services public hearing this week to obtain input and better understand “what matters most to you” in terms of agency services and what the community needs to support aging residents effectively.

That hearing begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the office, 2 Bank St., Batavia. That will be followed by a program, You are the Help Until Help Arrives, that will provide participants with skills for what to do during moments of crisis to help save someone’s life.

As the agency approaches its 50th year, the clock is ticking louder for everyone, and Fox has been reminding folks that Baby Boomers will be hitting 65 by the year 2030. That means potential health issues and service needs for seniors will be at an all-time high, she said.  

Older folks aren’t going anywhere, though, as they are taxpayers, volunteers, consumers, home-buyers, and — as county Legislator Gary Maha added — voters. They will have needs, requests, and voices and be a large chunk of the community to be factored in for most everything.

“We want to keep older adults in our community because they are taxpayers, they are volunteers, they have a lot of value in our community. So we don't want to lose them to another community because we don't have enough for them,” Fox said.

In her annual report, Fox listed OFA’s priority needs, which included:

Sustainable funding to maintain capacity to serve the influx of aging baby boomers. Without such funding, her staff will not be able to keep up with demand for information and assistance, caregiver support, community-based services, or long-term planning, Fox said. She has requested an increase of $50,000 for 2024, which would take her annual budget from $1,421,578 to $1,472,458. 

Overall support to provide information and assistance to help constituents manage the complicated health insurance system and rising health care costs resulting from increased premiums, prescription costs, and the onset of chronic health conditions as they age. Office for the Aging’s wellness and recreation programs, efforts to address social isolation challenges, and services that include a review of health insurance options and eligibility for financial and in-home services programs all contribute to overall health and financial wellness, keeping out-of-pocket costs contained.

Full spectrum continuum of care — meaning independent, supportive, assisted and/or assisted and skilled — and middle-income senior-specific housing options. 

Explore the impact of the opioid epidemic on older adults. 

“We have begun to identify the growing needs related to opioid use. Much of the impact is related to the need for grandparents to raise their grandchildren and the impact on the often unreported financial exploitation and even thievery of older adults by their children/grandchildren to support their addiction,” she said. “We attend the Opioid Task Force and are working with GCASA, DSS, and other providers to identify local need and determine potential strategies to help support older adults in the process. We also participate in the Enhanced Multi-disciplinary Team (E-DMT) that addresses elder abuse and financial exploitation.”

New York State is seeing a bump in older adults that will continue to increase over the next decade, she said, with a 30 percent increase from the current senior population, according to a recent report from the Fiscal Policy Institute.

And perhaps not surprisingly, one of the most significant trends happening amongst older adults is the desire to remain at home and therefore receive services in the home, which is why locally and statewide, there has been a shortage of home health aides, Fox and state OFA officials have said. 

How has that shifted the offerings for folks?

“Doing things like modifications of homes where we can, if we can keep somebody in their home is a huge cost saving, as opposed to putting them into a higher level of care. But we also do a lot of things like housekeeping, incontinence supplies, and laundry service, which really talks about the needs for someone being able to remain independent,” Fox said. “So through some of that unmet needs funding that came through the state, we ended up with a large portion of that, just because my predecessor did a really great job of keeping track of all the people we had. And I don't think … that's ultimately going to go away simply because those people are waiting for home health care. And while they're waiting, sometimes they're going to a higher level of care. Sometimes they are, in fact, maybe they're moving away, and there just aren't enough home health aides to be able to go around. And that was before the pandemic, and I don't think that's going to change; that trend is still continuing to happen.”

Reservations for the public hearing and life-saving program are encouraged and can be made by calling 343-1611. Walk-ins are also welcome for both events.

The main phone number to the Genesee County Jail (585-343-0838) is experiencing issues, with an estimated resolution for some time on Wednesday, October 4.

Please dial 585-343-0839 in the interim.

Press Release:

The Jerome Foundation is seeking nominations for the Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County. This will be the 38th year the award has been presented. 

The first award was presented to Dr. Sydney McLouth. Award winners for the past four decades have included healthcare workers, builders, teachers, and many community volunteers.

The award recognizes outstanding men and women whose volunteer efforts have improved the physical, emotional or spiritual well-being of the greater Genesee County area. 

“We are fortunate to have many caring and committed volunteers devoted to the sick or to those in need, and helping build a stronger, healthier community for all of us”, said Justin Calarco-Smith, president of The Jerome Foundation.

Nomination forms are available online at www.thejeromefoundation.org or by calling 585-356-3419. Organizations or individuals may nominate candidates. Consideration will be given to actual accomplishments achieved through volunteer service and subsequent improvements to quality of life. 

Nominations should be submitted on or before October 13. The 2023 award winner will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, December 1 at Terry Hills Restaurant.

A request for $100,000 in funding for the purchase of a motel for transitional housing by John Bennett of UConnect Care, was fairly quickly moved onto Wednesday’s Ways & Means meeting after Genesee County Legislator Marianne Clattenburg voiced concerns about what she deemed questionable use of taxpayer funds Monday.

Bennett, chief executive officer of the longtime-named agency Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and recently renamed UConnect Care, laid out his case for using grant funds that are earmarked for opioid-related purposes to purchase The Attican, a 29-unit motel in Genesee County. 

Perched at the top of a hill at 11180 Alexander Road, the motel would serve the needs of the agency by housing singles and single parents with small children in need of safe housing while they are transitioning from rehab for anywhere from a few days for up to three months, Bennett said during Monday’s Human Services meeting.

Bennett said that he’s got funding of $600,000 from grants, $100,000 from GCASA, or UConnect, and is requesting $100,000 from Genesee County to top it off for the total $800,000. His proposal will move to the Ways and Means meeting at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, which is chaired by Clattenburg.

The facility would probably operate with a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) and paid for with a five-year grant from UConnect, other resources and Genesee County, he said. 

“We plan to have a maintenance person living there. We’ve done our due diligence,” he said. “We maintain our properties. It’s a new adventure for me; it’s a little bit of a stretch, but it’s the right thing to do.”

His agency had a grant with some beds prior to COVID and the pandemic, and now no longer operates those, which were for crisis housing situations for folks to stay up to seven days, he said. 

There are people using The Attican for temporary housing now, which can get expensive, but it accommodates their current lifestyle, he said.

Legislator Gary Maha asked if Bennett would be returning at some point down the road to ask for more money. Bennett didn’t think that was the case, as most of the funding is in place for the purchase offer, and “we have the means for programming,” he said. 

He painted scenarios of a single mom with kids who may be struggling with other issues as well as drugs; individuals couch surfing without a stable home of their own; or other issues that make for an unsteady way of life.

Maha agreed that “you don’t see people sleeping under a bridge or under a park bench here; it’s different,” versus in larger cities where homelessness is literally on the streets. It’s more about unstable housing, Bennett said. 

“These guys will catch me in the parking lot and thank me. Having some crisis housing for people, it’s huge,” he said. “We have a lot of people that have been using our system for a long time … they put some sobriety together, struggle, and relapse. We’re that safe place for them to be.”

County Mental Health Director Lynda Battaglia offered her support for the idea, emphasizing that housing is an issue for lots of people, not just for those with addictions, but with mental health issues, coming out of the hospital, were homeless and now need a place to stay.

“They can go there. And we struggle with housing. We have a couple of respite beds that it's usually like a 30-day minimum stay. And those are full all the time, and we have a waitlist. So that individual is going out of the hospital, we have to work with DSS, we have to try to find something,” she said. “The thing about somebody that needs housing, and they're trying to recover, and they have mental health issues and all of these other issues just working against them somehow. It just sets the foundation for them to then take some additional steps forward to live a productive life, a healthy life.”

She asked Clattenburg how she thinks she would be able to begin all over again without anything. What would you do? Battaglia said.

Clattenburg pivoted to the housing ratio in the city of Batavia: 51 percent is rental versus 49 percent owner-occupied homes. 

“So if the grand plan is to change more housing, into supportive housing, and take a property off the tax rolls, and change the whole nature of this community, then you're not going to have my support. There has to be some give and take here,” Clattenburg said. "And now we're not going to have any women in Batavia, and it’s going to be all men. So I don't know what that does to the dynamic of the public safety atmosphere. Do you have a pilot in the city of Batavia for any of the other properties that you have, but you’re going to have a pilot for this one? That’s a whole other question.

“I mean, I understand that years ago, you know, you’d get this kind of crisis we’ve all had in a family, but this used to be part of the family’s thing. But now the government has replaced the family. So, I don't know how we ever get ahead of all of this. I just don't know,” Clattenburg said. “And I just don't know if throwing programs and programs and programs, that we're ever going to get there at some point. Myself, as a representative of this community, has to say no, we need to be thinking of our people too.”

Bennett and colleague Luke Granger said their purchase offer would be $800,000 for the motel. Clattenburg asked about its assessed value, which Granger said he thought was $297,000. 

The online assessment records actually state that it’s assessed at $292,000. Built-in 1984, the two-story property was last sold in 2006 for a net sale price of $300,000, and its taxable value is $292,000. 

Regardless of that discrepancy, Clattenburg seemed incredulous that they wanted to spend $900,000 (she was later corrected that the purchase offer was going to be $800,000) for property assessed at $297,000.

“I don’t think that’s a good use of taxpayer money,” she said. “I’m not anti-this organization, because I do think you do some good things. But I do think that there's some problems that I just can’t look the other way. I just want us to be aware of that. And to know that it's an issue in the city of Batavia.  And it's just so frustrating to have this be an issue in your organization for so long, and to go from one building to two to three, that, you know, all these services, and just, I’m sure it's heartbreaking to you too, that we just don't seem to be getting ahead of this, it just seems to be getting worse. And that’s the frustration.”

Bennett said that he has been doing this for “a very long time” and that it would be easier for him not to take on such a project at this point than to get involved. But he believes in the agency and its mission.

“People have feelings about us, and they either love us or hate us. We're pretty polarized. And the truth of it is we provide a very good service. And our organization has done very good work. We take good care of our properties in this community, we employ a ton of people, we have close to 200 employees that do the work, right, and now we're going to be in a motel unit,” he said. “But think about if you had the motel here and you had case management, so we're gonna teach management and people there to help people and to guide them and to also make sure that people aren't causing trouble. So I mean, it is more than just housing, too. It is other support services that these folks don't have right now. And so we’re it for them sometimes. And I know that, believe me, I know that there's a huge need out there for lots of people right now. So we're just trying to help our little piece of the world.”

After the meeting, Clattenburg said that she purposely attended this meeting to get more information about the plan for this purchase. “I just had a lot more questions,“ she said.

“And it wasn’t really answered the way I thought. So I’m just, I’m kind of stunned with the difference in the assessment and the price,” she said. You know, these are taxpayer funds, and we did go through a lawsuit to get funding to help with this crisis. I realized that these are the professionals who are giving us recommendations, but I think it’s our job to question things. And I’d like to know where we’re headed with this.”

The property is listed as for sale on LoopNet. That listing does not include an asking price. Realtor.com gives the estimated market value of the property as $970,343.

During the meeting, she raised the issue of the city of Batavia’s disparity of owner-occupied homes versus renters, at 49 percent to 51 percent, respectively, and fewer properties on the tax rolls. Taking The Attican off of Genesee County’s tax roll by converting it to a nonprofit housing entity is not something she wants to see.  The Batavian asked if she’s concerned about where we are with housing in the city.

“Absolutely,” she said. "I come from the perspective of being on council and being the council president, and seeing those issues come up. You know, it just seems like we are, with the Savarino property devolving into what it was, people want to live and work here and raise their families, and it feels like they're just getting pushed out of that. So I have to be here to advocate for everybody.”

Bennett said that the plan would not move forward without the county’s support. He would work with county Manager Matt Landers and wait to hear the outcome of the Ways & Means Committee meeting. 

If the committee agrees to the request, it will vote on a resolution that will go to the county Legislature for final approval. That will be to award the Genesee Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. (GCASA) $100,000 “to respond to the homeless housing crisis in the County with a focus on people with opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders,” according to the resolution, for the purchase of the motel known as The Attican.

Bennett said Monday that he had not yet spoken to the motel owner about an offer and purchase, as he had wanted to obtain approval for the county funding before doing so. The owner is listed as Aum Shree LLC. 

131 Oak Street, Batavia. Solid and spacious ranch home that has much more room than appears from the road! 3 good size bedrooms and full bath on first floor and 1 additional room with full bath in basement if needed-or could make great work/man cave! The living room is very inviting with tongue and groove wood walls and cozy gas fireplace!! Kitchen is bright with lots of great cupboard space and breakfast bar for food on the run! Basement also has secondary huge finished room that would make great play space or hobby room-definitely loads of possibility offered here for the money!! Location is perfect for quick work commutes, within a minute of thruway or Main Street and within walking distance to eating, shopping, Schools, parks and Stadium! Back Yard is partially fenced in back but will surprise you how deep it goes-almost park like and with BEST VIEWS of games and entertainment at Stadium!

5484 Horseshoe Lake Road, Stafford. Solid and well maintained country ranch! Located on pretty rural road but close to everything you need-shopping, restaurants, and quick access to all major routes for quick commutes! Also located in Batavia School System and minutes from College. This 4 bedroom 2 bath brick ranch will sure to please and surprise you with its spacious layout and great homeyness! The kitchen is updated with great cupboard space, first floor laundry at your fingertips and large but cozy family room with wood burner overlooking private pretty backyard. There is also an enclosed 3 season back porch for peaceful evenings as well as sunny and welcoming front porch with trex decking to welcome your guests! There is a deep attached garage as well as 8x10 back shed for all your extra storage needs. This home is ready for immediate occupancy and is easy to slip in and see!

UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) has promoted Christen Foley to the position of project director of the Western New York Prevention Resource Center.

The Batavia resident will oversee the implementation of training programs and technical assistance to community drug and alcohol prevention coalitions in the eight-county region. Foley, (photo at right), with the support of two community development specialists, is responsible for collaborating with the prevention providers, coalitions and community groups that make up the WNYPRC.

One of six prevention resource centers in New York State, the WNYPRC is based at UConnectCare’s offices on Clinton Street Road in Batavia and is an initiative of the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports.

Its focus is on engaging community stakeholders in the development of new coalitions and supporting established community coalitions as they work to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Additionally, the center provides technical assistance, training and support to communities and coalition partners.

“The WNYPRC encourages the use of the Strategic Prevention Framework, which is a public health, outcome-based prevention approach,” Foley said. “This seven-phase approach helps coalitions assess the community’s needs and address them accordingly. The key is to respond appropriately by utilizing the data that reveals each community’s specific needs.”

Foley was hired by UConnectCare in 2019 to lead the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force. Her efforts helped expand the task force to various segments of the community and resulted in it receiving the 2020 Community Star from the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. The award is given annual to only one rural entity in New York State.

Shannon Ford, services director of Communications and Development and director of Prevention at UConnectCare, said Foley is “a natural fit” for the project director role.

“Christen was able to refine her community engagement skills with the GOW Opioid Task Force and will now be able to help community coalitions across the region,” Ford said. “Most people don’t understand the science behind substance use disorder prevention and coalition activities. Christen and her team will help community coalitions effectively reduce underage substance use using evidence based approaches.”

Foley has been attending trainings and workshops since her appointment to the new position in June, including the Foundation in Prevention Ethics Training and the CADCA Mid-Year Training Institute, the latter a four-day conference in Dallas.

“As a result, I will now be certified to host and facilitate the six-hour, in-person Foundations in Prevention Ethics course for our prevention providers, coalitions and community partners,” she said, adding that she also is working towards becoming a certified Substance Abuse Prevention Skill Training Trainer.

She said she plans to host an ethics training next year and will be working on establishing coalitions in Genesee and Orleans counties.\

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for UConnectCare.

Alabama Fire is responding to 2557 Towne Place, near Macomber Road, in Oakfield, for the report of smoke coming from a vacant house.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: A chief on scene reports nothing showing.

UPDATE 11:17 a.m.: Responders, which now includes an engine from Oakfield, can respond non-emergency.