Batavia City Schools continue to exceed state averages for the graduation rates for children with special needs.

Trisha Finnigan, director of special education and alternative education, updated the school board on special education in the district during Tuesday night's board meeting.

For 2015-16, the state average graduation rate of 55.39 percent. The City Schools rate was 60.9 percent.

That's consistent with prior years, going back to 2005-06 when the state was 37 percent and the local rate was 46.4 percent. In 2014-15, the state rate was 50.48 percent and the local rate was 57 percent.

Also, Finnigan said, the district is having some success with students that state doesn't count as "graduated," though she thinks they should be counted.

"The truth is, and I've talked about this before, is that, for example, some of our students that have some pretty significant cognitive limitations and can't earn a Regent's diploma. They now earn what's called a skills and achievement commencement credential. It's evidence that we've prepared them for, ideally, employment or work toward a realistic postsecondary plan. We don't get credit for those in our graduation rate and it actually counts against us. It's something that any time I can give feedback to the state about, I do."

Students also have until their 21st birthday to graduate, but when a student needs more time, the state doesn't count those eventual successful graduations in the district's graduation rate for special education.

"I think many of you had pleasure last year to meet a young lady who needed until January after her senior year to graduate, but she did it," Finnigan said. "That counts against us."

In other measures, 80 percent or more of special education students in Batavia are spending at least 66 percent of their time inside of regular classrooms. That exceeds the state standard of 58.2 percent. 

Owners of an East Main Street welding business made a compelling argument before the City Planning & Development Committee Tuesday night and, as a result, are one step away from achieving their goal to convert a former auto repair shop into a storage facility.

“Absolutely,” said PDC Chairperson Duane Preston, when asked if Daniel and Joyce Mattice, owners of Tri-County Welding at 649 E. Main St., had a strong case for a proposal to transform five of the six bays of the former Mazur’s Auto Repair into retail storage units.

“Since he has the right to put a junkyard in there, this is definitely the softer of all choices,” Preston said. “Now it will be an enclosed building, cleaned up, with no dust, no junk and little traffic.”

The Mattices purchased the Mazur building at 643-645 E. Main St. through foreclosure last year and have put around $40,000 into upgrading it, while renting out the front of the building – office space -- to Anything Your Heart Desires floral shop.

They said they unsuccessfully tried to get someone to rent the auto repair shop before coming up with the idea of storage units. City zoning laws, however, do not permit storage units in an Industrial-1 zone, meaning that the Mattices had to seek an area variance.

Their request was recommended for disapproval by the Genesee County Planning Board last week, but their presentation last night – buoyed by statements from attorney Michael Del Plato – convinced the PDC that their plan could work.

“This is an opportunity to protect your property, and they should be able to take advantage of it,” Del Plato said, noting that there are many businesses in that area. “We can’t legislate through City Council every potential use; the local boards have to help us out here.”

Del Plato called the variance request “minimal” in scope with “much less density” than the building’s previous use, and noted that the business is in an “Industrial zone surrounded by commercial uses.”

Joyce Mattice said she had signed statements from the surrounding business owners in support of their venture, ensuring the PDC that there would be no hazardous materials or tires on site.

The PDC voted unanimously to approve the variance. The request now goes in front of the City Zoning Board of Appeals on Sept. 28, needing four out of five “yes” votes for final approval.

Preston said the Mattices’ request comes at a “transitional period” (in relation to zoning) in that the updated Comprehensive Plan is nearly finalized and will be addressed by City Council.

“In this case, we took into account the particular area and the makeup of the neighborhood,” he said.

In other action, the committee:

-- Approved a site plan for a proposed 2,700-square-foot addition at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse campus on East Main Street, which would be used as a methadone clinic to treat people with opioid addictions.

This action comes on the heels of a similar recommendation by the Genesee County Planning Board.

GCASA Executive Director John Bennett and project architect Raymond Murphy presented the plan last night, reiterating the immediate need for such a facility in light of what Bennett terms a “national epidemic.”

The new clinic, with an April 2018 opening target date, will be funded by an $820,000 grant from the state Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, Bennett said.

Plans are for it to be open in the morning from Monday through Saturday for people to take their prescription and head off to their daily tasks.

The addition will result in an increase of 38 parking spaces on the campus, raising the total parking capacity to 72 spaces.

-- Recommended approval of a 20,075-square-foot, one-story addition to an industrial use building at O-At-Ka Milk Products on Cedar Street.

The $2.5 million addition would be placed adjacent to the existing warehouse space to the west and south on the property. Work is expected to start in less than a month.

As of this morning, Dennis Kenney is the new interim principal at Batavia High School.

Kenney fills the vacancy left when Scott Wilson accepted a position in Churchville.

The school district reviewed several candidates to replace Wilson on a permanent basis but has decided to extend the search.

Kenney will serve as principal until Dec. 22.  

The school board approved his contract in executive session at the start of last night's meeting.

A resident of Warsaw, Kenney has 40 years in education and recently retired as a principal at Iroquois Central Schools, where he worked for 12 years.

His first 18 years in education was with the New York State Division Youth, which is now Child and Family Services, working in residential facilities with kids who had serious emotional issues and learning disabilities.

He's also been a principal at Barker, an assistant in Albion and Canandaigua and served for two-and-a-half years as superintended in Perry.

He has three sons and was on vacation in Virginia Beach with eight of his grandchildren when he got the call from Superintendent Chris Dailey asking if he would be interested in interviewing for the interim position.

"They'll find me a very visible high school principal and very approachable," Kenney said. "I'd like the parents to know that my door is always open, and staff, to come and see me on anything. The students, too. I think we have a great school district here and the high school has a great faculty, good assistant principals, and we're going to work together and keep moving forward."

When district officials asked voters to approve a $27 million capital improvement project they promised the tax levy would go up "0.00 percent" and with the approval of the annual tax warrants tonight, Batavia School District trustees kept the promise.

In fact, because assessed values have gone up about 3 percent for properties in the school district, the 2017-18 tax rate for property owners will go down 79 cents, or 3.54 percent.

The new rate will be $21.46 per thousand of assessed value, Business Manager Scott Rozanski told the board.

It's the second year in a row the district has lowered the tax rate by more than 3 percent.

In six of the past 10 years, the school district property tax rate has gone down from the previous year. Accounting for those years the rate has gone up, the average annual increase is .07 .70 percent.

UPDATE: Scott Rozanski provided these PDFs:

• The 15-year history of the tax levy.
• The 15-year history of the tax rate.

He also told us:

The only thing in the District's control is the levy.  The tax rate is determined by a number of factors outside our control (assessments, equalization rate and county adjustments from prior year such as omitted taxes and exemption removals) 
Also, this will be the fourth consecutive year that taxpayers will receive a rebate check from NYS as a result of our compliance with controlling the taxes (tax freeze).

Just one clarification, the ten-year tax levy increase is 0.70 percent (not 0.07 percent) - as written online.

Genesee County is leading the state in shared services among municipalities, Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told members of the County Legislature on Monday.

As an example, he pointed to paving work on South Main Street Road this week.

Hauling in asphalt are trucks from Pavilion, Byron, Elba (two), Batavia (three), Stafford (two), Alexander and Bergen.

The crews will also resurface Byron Road this week.  

The $570,000 project is paid for by a state grant.

The South Main project is 3.8 miles and Byron is 4.5 miles.

"It seems things like just keep getting better and better," Hens said. "We have a great mix of (town) superintendents."

She is scheduled for surgery at 5 p.m. at Strong Memorial Hospital, according to Kurt Fisher.

Carrie Fisher has been at Strong since August on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine. Fisher developed cardiomyopathy during her second pregnancy with her son, Trevor, whom she delivered on July 11. Her heart was weakened and could no longer sustain her.

The whole family and the community have pulled together to help Carrie, Andrew, and their children get through the difficult time.

"We would like to let everybody know (that the transplant is taking place) who have helped us out," Kurt Fisher said. "Thank you."

Submitted photo.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $500,000 in federal funding for the Town of Batavia in Genesee County. The federal funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program. Specifically, the Town of Batavia will use the funding to create a new Southwest Water District. The new water district will bring public water service to 40 residential users who do not currently have access to safe drinking water.

“This federal investment is great news for the Town of Batavia,” Senator Schumer said. “With support from the USDA’s Rural Development program, Batavia will be able to create a vital new water district bringing public water service to dozens of residents. I am proud to announce this federal investment and will continue to fight to make sure that rural communities have the tools they need to grow and prosper.”

“This investment ... will help facilitate a critical project that will bring safe and reliable water to dozens of residents in the Town of Batavia,” Senator Gillibrand said. “These funds will provide the necessary resources to build a brand new water district, which will help deliver clean water and enhance residents' quality of life, and protect public health in the area.”

“We are so grateful and excited to receive this funding that will allow us to make a vital resource available to the community," said Greg Post, Batavia Town Supervisor. "Access to clean water will both enhance the personal health of many individuals and spur development in this area.

"Senators Schumer and Gillibrand have long supported us and we express extraordinary gratitude to all elected officials, the USDA, and stewards at every level who have made it possible for us to receive funding for an initiative that will so greatly benefit our community.”

USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. The Rural Development agency is committed to improving economies and lives in rural America, through loans, grants and loan guarantees. They support local businesses, individuals, and communities by promoting economic development, offering loans and providing technical assistance.

A delay in securing financing through the New Market Tax Credit program for developer Savarino Companies has held up the state of the Ellicott Station project, which is the $18 million redevelopment of the former Della Penna property on Ellicott Street in Batavia.

Julie Pacatte, economic development coordinator for the Batavia Development Corp., said today that Savarino expects to close financing on the project in November.

The original target date was August. (For an explanation of financing for the project, click here.)

This week, survey crews are on site so preliminary engineering work can begin. The surveys will help with floodplain-related design work.

Once financing is done, environmental remediation work can begin. 

"Hopefully, we'll get some favorable days and favorable weather during the winter," Pacatte said. "There's also some work to do inside on Resurgence Brewery. By spring, we should be in full construction mode."

There will also be a workforce recruitment project beginning in the fall, in cooperation with PUSH Buffalo and the Genesee County Work Center aimed at finding jobs for hard-to-place workers.

Savarino, Pacatte​ said, is also inviting local contractors to bid on subcontracts. Bid specs will be available on the Savarino website once the purchase of the property is completed.

Press release:

The local Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County is seeking donations for their project assemblying personal care bags for victims of domestic violence.

Zonta Club of Batavia will be assembling the packages in late October and working with the local YWCA to distribute them.

Items needed for the care packages are: Toothpaste, floss, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hair brush & accessories, razors, shaving cream, feminine products, deodorant, journals, pens, Q-Tips, socks, loofahs, nail polish.

All donations need to be regular-size bottles, please no travel size. All donations can be dropped off to Beth Kemp at T-Shirts Etc, 37 Center St., Batavia.

You may also choose to donate monetarily to assist with purchasing the items needed.

All checks should be made out to: Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County and mailed to Zonta Domestic Care Project, 3977 W. Main Street Road, Batavia, NY 14020.

Press release:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that the 2017-18 Western New York trapping season for fox, raccoon, coyote and other upland furbearing animals opens on Oct. 25 and closes on Feb. 15.

The start of upland trapping will be delayed until Nov. 1 at the John White Wildlife Management Area (WMA), and the trapping season for mink, muskrat and beaver at this WMA will run from Nov. 25 until Feb. 15.

The start of muskrat and mink trapping at the Oak Orchard and Tonawanda WMAs will run from Dec. 2 to Feb. 15.

Beginning Oct. 2, trapping permits will be issued for the Oak Orchard, Tonawanda, and John White WMAs for the 2017-2018 license year.

Permit applications can be obtained weekdays from Oct. 2 to Nov. 30, by appearing in person at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Office on Casey Road between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or by writing to the DEC, Bureau of Wildlife, 1101 Casey Road, Box B, Basom, NY 14013.

Trappers who obtain a permit will be required to report their harvest and trapping efforts on each area.

After last year’s extreme drought, water levels on these areas are back to normal conditions this year, but there are new areas of dense vegetation in several marshes. Wetland muskrat and mink trapping maybe limited to dike trapping in a number of marshes to allow the muskrat population to continue to recover from the drought, especially in marshes where increased muskrat numbers will benefit marsh habitat conditions. Full access for trapping will be permitted in the remaining marshes.

Additional information will be available by Oct. 2, and when trapping permits are issued.

The maximum number of traps a trapper can set for muskrat and mink in water on the three areas is 25. To accomplish this, DEC issues 25 numbered tags to each trapper that obtains a permit. A tag must be attached to each trap used on the areas. Any trap that does not have one of these tags attached is an illegal trap.

In addition, an individual trapper can only operate traps that contain tags with their assigned numbers. Traps set for upland trapping and beaver will not require numbered tags and will not be considered in the trap limit. The trap limit provides a more equitable distribution of the harvest and prevents trappers from monopolizing the better trapping areas.

Management of the muskrat population promotes prime emergent marsh habitats used by waterfowl and uncommon marsh birds such as the black tern and least bittern. The trap limit and possible additional trapping restrictions allow DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife personnel to better regulate the muskrat harvest according to water availability, habitat needs and population.

DEC reminds hunters and trappers that gas and electric motorboats are prohibited on Oak Orchard or Tonawanda WMAs.

The City of Batavia Republican Committee will be hosting a Chiavetta’s Chicken BBQ from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m on Sunday, Oct. 1, at the Town of Batavia Fire Hall, 8382 Lewiston Road.

Dinners are take out only and include 1/2 chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, roll and butter.

Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased from any committee member or at the event.

Now that the cupola atop the Old County Courthouse can be lit in any color in the spectrum, County Manager Jay Gsell is proposing the County Legislature adopt a policy on how and when it can be lit for special causes and occasions.

"What we're trying to do is establish a fairly general policy so it doesn't all the sudden become a free for all," Gsell told members of the Public Service Committee during Monday's meeting.

The policy would reserve county, state, and national holidays as well as days designated for "long-established causes" that county is associated with, such as domestic violence awareness, breast cancer awareness, and STOP DWI.

Otherwise, other groups can submit a written request, using a newly created county form, to request to light the cupola in appropriate colors for the specified event or cause.

Whether to grant the request will be at the discretion of the county manager or his designee.

The lighting for the cupola, which is controlled by a computer on the third floor of the courthouse, was donated by Batavia-based Lighting Design Innovations earlier this year.

It was lit -- in red, white, and blue -- for the first time in May.

The committee recommended approval of the resolution by the full Legislature.

A truck is reportedly tangled in wires in front of the Alabama Fire Hall on Lewiston Road, Alabama.

It's unknown if the wires are power lines.

The driver is reportedly still in the truck.

The Batavia City Schools community is mourning the loss of Lorne Brudz, a student at Batavia High School, who passed away this morning.

The death was announced today on the school district's homepage and Superintendent Chris Dailey sent a letter to parents.

"Our entire school community is mourning the loss of this wonderful young man," Dailey wrote in the letter.

Dailey informed parents that counselors, teachers and support staff are available to assist students, teachers, and parents. He suggested parents talk with their children about the death as it affects people in different ways.

The school district was not informed of the cause of death.

The financial outlook for the multifaceted County Highway Department looks pretty much unchanged for 2018, Superintendent Tim Hens told members of the County Legislature on Monday.

Hens presented a department review during the Public Service Committee meeting.

"We're proposing a fairly flat budget and general fund contribution to County Highway," Hens said. "It is actually exactly the same as it was in 2017."

After two winters of mild weather, the county hasn't used much salt recently and with low oil prices the past few years, the cost of asphalt has remained low. Even with hurricane Harvey that hit Houston, causing a bump in fuel prices, Hens expects costs to return to their pre-Harvey level before long.

"I don't expect oil and gas to really fluctuate too much," Hens said.

A pressure point however is the county's bridges and culverts. 

The county has 100 bridges eligible for federal aid. The typical lifespan of a bridge is 50 to 75 years.

"About half of our Federal bridges are what are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete," Hens said.

Ideal, the county should replace two bridges with the help of federal aid every year. For the past decade, the average has been one bridge every two years.

"It's a pretty big deal for us to not get federal aid," Hens said.

As for culverts -- which Hens defined as anything with a span of five to 20 feet -- there are 278 in the county. 

Over the past two years, nine of the 30 most in need of replacement have been replaced.

A contract has been awarded to two concrete companies for castings for culvert pipes, so there are 10 under construction now.

For roads, Hens said aid will assist in the reconstruction of Pratt Road and Searles Road next summer.

County Highway and several local town highway departments are working together under a shared-services agreement this week on South Main Street Road, Town of Batavia.

Hens also said when roads are getting repaved, or overlayed, the surface is milled as well as the shoulder and the millings are then ground up so they can be recycled for bedding on the shoulder and expanded shoulders. The roads are being widened by four feet on the shoulders.

"We're winding up with 30-foot roads, which is safer for drivers, is safer for kids on bikes, and people walking. It's a pretty big improvement. It's going to take a long time to get through all the roads, but it will be a big benefit to the county when we're all done."

The project started three years ago.

As for parks, Shannon Morley has been doing a great job as the environmental educator at the interpretative center on the County Park & Forest in East Bethany, Hens said.

Reservations have held steady for use of pavilions at the parks, though crews had quite a bit of work after the March windstorm repairing damaged pavilions, as well as cleaning up trails in the County Park.

With funding being cut off for the Americorps program, the county won't benefit from those helpers at the County Park this year, Hens said, but efforts are underway to work with another program, the state's Student Conservation Program. That's more expensive but the folks with ACORN have raised money to help cover the cost.

It may also be possible to get volunteers from SUNY Brockport.

Hens said the first year of the new ice rink at DeWitt Recreation Area went well, but he thinks for the kids to get the most out of it, it needs to stay open later. When kids get out of school at three or four, and it gets dark at 5:30 p.m., there isn't much time for them to skate. Hens said he is looking into providing some lighting so they can skate longer into the evening.

The biggest news out at the County Airport is a plan to resurface the runway in 2019.

The current runway is 40 years old, Hens said.

The airport continues to be a moneymaker for the county, even with less travel, meaning lower full sales, because of weather this past year.

Typically, the airport has generated $100,000 to $200,000 a year in surplus revenue, but Hens is projecting $65,000 to $75,000 this year.

In the past few years, there have been several improvements to the airport, including a new terminal and new hangars. Since Hens has been highway superintendent, there has been a $27 million investment, most of it federal funds, in the airport.

The investment is paying off, Hens said.

" Our hangars are full and we are way ahead of forecast for what the FAA thinks we should have in terms of based aircraft," Hens said. "In fact, we've got another 8-bay T-hangar waiting in the wings to go up and then another one beyond that, so hoping we can base more aircraft here."

Local officials are being invited to Batavia City Hall at 1:30 p.m. Thursday where Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to make an announcement.

What Cuomo will announce is not revealed in the invitation, but the City of Batavia did submit an application to Cuomo's office for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative contest, which carries a $10 million award for one municipality in each of the state's economic development regions.

While winners have been announced in other regions, the winner of the contest in the Finger Lakes region has not yet been announced.

Local officials cannot discuss the reason for Cuomo's visit.

Robert E. Wright, 35, no permanent address, is charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration, criminal possession of a narcotic/drug with intent to sell, criminal possession of a narcotic/drug, unregistered motor vehicle, driving without insurance, aggravated unlicensed operation and two counts of unsafe tires.  Wright was arrested following a complaint at 8:46 a.m. Saturday in the area of 563 E. Main St., Batavia, of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a car. At the scene, Wright led officers on a brief foot pursuit. He was also wanted by the Department of Corrections. Wright was ordered held without bail.

Tonya M. Cragg, 38, of Church Street, Tioga, Pa., is charged with criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Cragg was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance at 8:46 a.m. Saturday in the area of 563 E. Main St., Batavia. She was released on an appearance ticket.

Carla Faye Ewell, 59, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate headlamps. Ewell was stopped at 12:40 a.m. Sept. 9 on East Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Earl R. Benson, 51, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and driving on the wrong side of the median. Benson was stopped at 9:56 p.m. Sept. 8 on East Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Christopher Lindsay.

Madison Alyssa Scheurlein, 19, of Overlook Drive, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Scheurlein allegedly stole two items from Kohl's valued at $72.

A larceny of cologne just occurred at the Rite Aid on West Main Street Road, Batavia. The suspect fled the store and left in a vehicle, unknown type or description, but possibly black in color. Unknown direction of travel.

The suspect is described as a white male, 6' tall, wearing tan shorts and top and "Adidas flip-flops." Store personnel say they have the theft on video. Law enforcement is responding.