As the holiday season is upon us, the Batavia Police Department would like to remind everyone to stay vigilant and take necessary precautions to avoid falling victim to fraud and theft.
With increased shopping and online activities, it's essential to be aware of potential scams and take steps to safeguard your personal and financial information.
Fraud Prevention Tips:
Be cautious of phishing emails, texts, or calls claiming to be from banks, retailers, or charities. Never provide personal or financial information to unsolicited requests.
Verify the authenticity of websites and apps before making online purchases or donations. Ensure the URL starts with "https" and has a lock icon.
Avoid using public Wi-Fi or unsecured networks for online transactions.
Monitor your credit card and bank statements regularly for suspicious activity.
Use strong, unique passwords and keep them confidential.
Theft Prevention Tips:
Keep valuables secure and out of sight in your vehicle, especially during holiday shopping.
Lock your vehicle doors and keep windows closed, even when parked in your driveway or garage.
Avoid leaving packages or gifts unattended on your porch or in plain sight.
Consider investing in a doorbell camera or smart door lock for added security.
By following these simple tips, you can significantly reduce the risk of becoming a victim of fraud and theft this holiday season. Remember, if you do encounter any suspicious activity, report it to the Batavia Police Department immediately by calling 585-345-6350.
Stay safe, and happy holidays from the Batavia Police Department!
Cornell Cooperative Extension will be closed from December 25 through January 1 for Winter Break. The office will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on January 2. May you and yours have a wonderful time during the festive season.
File Photo of Brisbane Mansion, the site of the current city police station on West Main Street, Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens
During a presentation Monday about putting the Brisbane Mansion — aka current police station — out for a request for proposal, City Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised the question of what happens if a developer takes on the project and then lets it sit idle.
His scenario seemed to mirror what has happened with the stalled Ellicott Station apartment complex on the city’s Southside, and he wasn’t the only one thinking about it.
“We don’t plan on marketing it to Savarino,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said of Ellicott Station property owner Sam Savarino.
City Council President Eugene Jankowski added that “we wouldn’t let it go into some sort of a problem” because the city would have a clawback or some kind of recourse for a developer who would not follow through after obtaining the property.
Ed Flynn, consultant and vice president of LaBella Associates, and Batavia Development Corporation Director Tammy Hathaway presented a tentative plan for what to do with the property to be vacated by the city police by the end of 2025 when the new police station is completed downtown.
They recommended putting the site up for an RFP to determine developer or investor interest in redeveloping the property and provide information about the existing conditions, characteristics and feasibility study options by an Insight Architecture report for use as apartments or a boutique hotel.
“This can provide a lot of information for the developers that they'll be looking for in terms of the existing condition of building the site, as well as what are some opportunities for redevelopment,” Flynn said. “We also want to make sure we establish some community goals for the project before it goes out so the developer knows what the community goals are for the project. And the ones we kind of have listed here are, preservation of the building and site.
"It's an important historic property in the city of Batavia; it’s very visible. A lot of heritage and history to the building," he said. "And so that's kind of a key goal that we want to maintain compatibility with downtown.”
Another goal is to put it back on the tax roll, he said, for the first time since 1917 when it was established for city government, non-taxable use.
“So, obviously, you don’t want a nonprofit to go in there, and then we want to make sure we get an experienced developer with financial resources,” he said. “So that would be part of the RFP, part of the process of reviewing the proposals when they come in, and talking to the banks and whoever they’re using for their financial back.”
What they don’t want is for someone to buy it and hold it for five years, with nothing happening to the property during that time, he said. The right developer will have the financial means and capacity to complete the renovations and be experienced in having completed other similar projects.
A tentative schedule would be finalizing the RFP by January 2025 and releasing it by February, with an application deadline of April. Staff would review submitted RFPs in May and June, have developer discussions and select a preferred developer to submit to City Council for authorization to sell by the summer of 2025. By fall, agreements with a developer would be executed, and funding would be sought.
“Because there’s probably going to need to be funding to make sure this project happens,” he said. "Then I put a list of some of the past RFPs that we have done in the city and how successful they were. And you can see all of those buildings. There's five buildings there that have been sold in the city. They were either foreclosed properties or properties on city parking lots ... at the time, we sold them zero value in terms of taxable value and available value to the city. Now they're worth 3.5 million in the city, so they're generating taxes.”
That list includes 19-21 Jackson St., Valle Jewelers, valued at $255,000; 20 Center St., Center St. Smokehouse, at $300,000; 61 Jackson St., Angotti Beverage at $315,000; 20 Main St., Tim Horton’s, $550,000; and 90 Main St., Tompkins Insurance, $1.85 million.
“And you can see the types of properties we have there. The building owners are still there. Some of these are 10 or 20 years old. They're still in the building,” he said. “They've been investing in the building. They create character downtown. They create a lot of vitality downtown. And so we’re trying to do the same thing with the Brisbane Mansion, and this is a first step in doing that.”
Hathaway said that the BDC is working with LaBella to “shrink up any vacant time” from when the police department moves out and a developer could move in and take ownership.
That’s important, Jankowski said, “because the longer it stays vacant, the more likely things are breaking down,” and “pipes freeze, and things can happen.”
Flynn asked for questions.
“Okay, so you put out an RFP, find a developer. Looks good. You turn it over to the developer. Eight months later, all of a sudden, work stops on the project. Project starts stagnating. Developers telling you one excuse after another. What recourse do you have?” Bialkowski said.
“You should have a good, solid agreement,” Flynn said. “In the agreement, there should be some kind of opportunity to take the property back if there's no action on the property.”
He deferred to City Attorney George Van Nest. However, Tabelski said that there would be clauses for nonperformance.
“Hopefully, we can get this moving forward,” Jankowski said.
City of Batavia Fire Chief Josh Graham shows the newly configured flood map with a reduced floodway on the city's Southside. Photo by Joanne Beck
For as much detail as there’s been for newly configured flood maps in the city of Batavia, there are still unknowns that city officials want to get their hands on, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.
One key detail is the list of structures being added to the 100-year floodplain. Out of the total 147 structures, “60 are potentially commercial,” which could have a huge impact on the city’s economic growth, Tabelski said during an interview with The Batavian.
She wanted to first define the difference between the city experiencing more frequent flash floods and more severe overflowing creek floods.
“Sometimes we have severe flash flooding that occurs where our storm system can't drain the water away quick enough, but then it goes down really quickly, totally separate from when the creek actually floods and goes above the banks of the creek,” Tabelski said. “And I'm just looking up some of the dates of the last flood. Since I've been manager, we have not had any creek flooding. So that's since I've been with the city, that's at least five years.
“And the maps were set in the 80s, and they were, I'll call them paper maps,” she said. “As a way they're doing it now, is with LiDAR, and that's electronic, and it takes a lot of measurements of cross sections of the creek every 1,000 feet. And then what their model does is try to predict where the water will move throughout the city, if it does press over the banks of the creek, and then that becomes your flood zone in the city.”
FEMA established a new floodplain map using the new technology and asked for feedback with a 30-day public comment period. Preliminary maps will be issued, and homeowners who would be affected will be invited to a presentation early next year to learn more and have the option to challenge the findings if they have been inserted into the flood plain.
“We also had our engineers get the baseline data from FEMA and make sure how their modeling was scientifically standard, which they agreed, but they had one finding that they believed that the floodway was too expansive and that they were asking in this draft round of proposals to reduce the floodway,” City Fire Chief Josh Graham said. “So the floodway is once you cross the banks of the waterway, that immediate area that will be flooded, I guess, that's the best way I can explain it. It's the area where the water flows in a flood. So this is what they have for the updated maps.”
So, what does this updated map signify to the city? “In terms of development in the city, it's much more difficult to get a building permit in a floodway than it is just in a flood zone, so it would hinder development efforts of any of the properties in the floodway, and that could be properties the city owns; commercial properties or residential for structures such as sheds, barns, things of that nature,” Tabelski said. “So the larger the floodway is, the more properties will have difficulty developing in any way, is one way I like to look at it from an economic development standpoint.”
When a property owner wants to get a permit for home renovations and lives in a flood zone,they would have to fill out a separate Department of Environmental Conservation permit application, she said. And there are other restrictions for commercial buildings that aren’t compliant or don’t have flood insurance — they can only invest 49% of their building’s value, either by an independent appraisal or their assessed value, she said.
“So I find this a critical issue for our businesses on Route 63 and our buildings. I mean, on Route 63, who the majority of them are in the flood zone, and when they want to make investments, they can be hindered by higher costs to become flood compliant, to be insured or to only invest up to 49% of their appraised value of their building,” she said. “And we've seen that a lot on the economic development side successfully. It has been done by Stephen Valle and his sister Carrie, with the building on the corner that houses the vegan bakery and apartments upstairs, so they were able to get an appraisal and invest in the building after that appraisal, but they are in a flood zone.”
For homeowners and renters, being added to the flood zone signals the push for buying flood insurance to ensure coverage in the event of damage from a flood, since regular insurance doesn’t usually cover that type of damage; and it serves as caution for when people are considering a construction project, since the city has an ordinance covering development in the floodplain or flood hazard area.
Other challenges exist for commercial property owners, such as the inability to invest more than 49% of the property’s assessed value. So, for 60 additional commercial properties, that’s a potential problem, she said.
Properties that are and were in the 500-year flood plain did not have to buy flood insurance, and while those 147 structures are moving into the 100-year flood plain, another 282 are being removed since the map has been recalculated.
“Under the new draft, there’ll be 917, so we end up losing 135 structures,” Graham said. “At the end of the day, there’s going to be 135 less structures in the flood zones than there are right now, 282 that will no longer be identified, but 147 new ones that will be.”
How did that happen? An electronic survey was done using LiDAR technology, a remote sensing method that uses light to measure ranges and map out the flood zone every 1,000 feet, predicting where water will move within the city, he said. That reconfigured the original number of 1,052 people and reduced the total to 917 by shifting—and reducing the footprint—of the overall floodway.
The flood zone is predominantly on the south side, with the largest flooding happening on Law and Walnut streets in recent years. If you live on the South Side, you may be, or want to become, familiar with a few common acronyms that might come in handy when dealing with flood zones and flood plains:
Property owners can challenge a finding by paying for a survey to determine if they live on a higher elevation than previously established. This is called a LOMA — a letter of map amendment — and the process will involve the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Does that mean they will no longer need flood insurance if they were required to have it while classified in a flood zone? “If your property is no longer in a flood zone, you can drop insurance with proper documentation from FEMA,” Tabelski said.“So there is a process that those properties will have to take. And that’s why, when we have FEMA host these preliminary meetings, we’ll be inviting anyone in the areas of the flood zone area, the new ones that are coming in will have to be educated now that they’re in a flood zone, and they can … go through that process, and when theproperty sells, it is my understanding if you have a mortgage on it, you’re going to need that flood insurance.”
They want city property owners to know that not only will FEMA be on hand during a meeting in early 2025 to work with folks and answer questions, but city officials also want to help out.
“Nothing's final, but there are changes coming,” Tabelski said. “You'll be getting some hands-on assistance early next year straight from FEMA, absolutely, and we'll do our best to interpret it and be the go-between and be as informed as we can to help residents.”
Batavia Development Corporation, which established the real estate company Creek Side Batavia, LLC, has put the sale of the property behind the McCarthy ice rink and along Tonawanda Creek on hold due to this change of floodway.
The Genesee Chorale presents its annual Christmas concert at 2 p.m. on Saturday at St. James Episcopal Church, 405 E. Main St., Batavia, featuring baritone Joseph Finetti.
Finetti is featured in the performance of "Fantasia on Christmas Carols," composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The chorale will also perform "Magnificat" by Taylor Scott Davis.
Health outcomes such as asthma, lead poisoning, injury, and other chronic diseases have been linked to unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions. Hazards are not only in older homes; new homes can also have hazards lurking within.
“Making homes safer and healthier can help children grow up strong, allow older adults to stay in their homes, and help people with disabilities live independently,” stated Darren Brodie, Environmental Health Director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health).
In January of 2024, the Genesee County Health Department received $1.2 million in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This Healthy Homes Production (HHP) Grant addresses health and safety hazards in homes and apartments in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming (GLOW) Counties. Health and safety hazards may include but are not limited to dampness and mold growth, asbestos, radon gas, pests, fall risks, and weatherization.
In order to be eligible for these funds, homeowners and property owners must meet all of the following requirements:
Tenants or homeowners are income eligible (funds available for vacant units, call for more information)
Existing health or safety hazards in the home
Property is current on tax and mortgage payments
Other requirements determined on a case-by-case basis
Rental property owners are required to match 10% of the total project costs. For example, a rental property owner would be required to pay $2,000 for a $20,000 project.
Rental properties must have four units or less. Recipients are required to maintain ownership of the residence for 5 years after the project is completed.
All work is completed by pre-approved local contractors with applicable certifications. If you would like to be added to our list of contractors, please contact the Genesee County Health Department or fill out the application on the GO Health website.
For more information or help determining eligibility, please contact the Genesee County Health Department at 585-344-2580 ext. 5555, or at Health.GOlead@geneseeny.gov. You can also visit GOHealthNY.org for more information or to apply.
Bruce Scofield and Tyler Scofield, owners of Scofield Transfer & Recycling, based in Stafford, with one of their new garbage trucks. Photo by Howard Owens.
Bruce Scofield says he has been waiting more than a decade for the right time to enter the residential garbage business.
He thinks now, after residents in Batavia have been left with only two trash collection options and two large corporations, the time is right.
He's launching a residential refuse business in Batavia at the beginning of 2025.
"So, let me tell you, this is how it happened. When my son graduated from high school in 2011 he says, 'Dad, he says, Let's start a garbage out business go house to house,'" Scofield recalled. "I say, 'No, time's not right. It's not right.' And I told him, 'Be patient.'"
In 2013, after Tyler Scofield graduated from college, he proposes going into the residential garbage business again.
Bruce, again, didn't think the time was right.
A couple of years later, Tyler brought the issue up again.
"He says, 'Dad,' he says, 'I want to start a side little business.' He says, 'We got this business.' He says, 'I'll before work. I'll go out and run around, and I'll do it after.' He says, 'I want to get into the garbage business.' And again, I told him, 'Son, the timing isn't right. Be patient.'"
They watched four or five small, locally owned or start-up businesses jump into the new market for garbage collection in the city of Batavia after the city canceled a long-time contract with Genesee ARC for exclusive garbage collection.
Bruce Scofield didn't want to compete in that market. Too many of the new businesses were run by people with little business experience. They're not educated enough, he said, to know what a profit margin is.
"I don't want to compete against somebody who's not in it to make money or it doesn't know how to make money," Scofield said. "Big corporations know how to make money. I can compete against people who know how to make money. Now, when the price is up there, we can come in and give great service, and we're not selling on price. We're going to have an attractive price, but you're going to know the owners."
A few months ago, Bruce and Tyler traveled to Florida to buy a one-year-old garbage truck for $256,000.
On the drive home, while Bruce is thinking about how to increase revenue to help cover the cost, Tyler raises the issue of residential service again.
"He says, 'I get a lot of calls' -- because my son answers 90% of the calls -- 'I get a lot of calls from people looking for residential service.' He says, 'They're about begging,' and me being the businessman, you know, I want to justify buying the truck. I said, 'You know what?' I said, 'The time's right.' I say, 'Now we'll get into it because there are only big corporations. There are no locally owned businesses, and the price is high. We can make money.'"
To start, Scofield is only offering residential service on the north side of Route 5, from Clinton Street Road in the town of Batavia on the east to Park Road on the west. Residents in those neighborhoods will receive mailers advertising the service. They can also call 585-343-3400 to sign up.
The cost, with taxes and fees, $33.37 per month.
The garbage business is tough, Scofield said, because paying customers don't feel like they’re getting something for their money. They're paying money to get rid of something. It's not like going to dinner and getting that sense of satisfaction when you pay the bill, or buying a new car or going on a vacation. It's garbage. The stuff you no longer want."
"They'll camp out in front of a store to get a new Apple iPhone and spend $1,500 but at the end of the week, there's no gratification in paying a garbage bill," Scofield said. "But garbage is expensive to get rid of. Garbage trucks are the most expensive. Everything's expensive, but when you take $33.37 divided by four, it's $8.34 to have somebody come to your house and pick up garbage."
That's about the price of a latte, he noted.
"They'll spend that every day, but they're very critical of how much their garbage bill is," he said. "That's the one problem with the garbage business. But for $8.34 you can get somebody to come to your house and haul your garbage away."
Garbage collection for all city residents -- even when service opens on the southside within the following month or two -- will be on Thursdays, so expect on the week of Thanksgiving, there will be no changing of collection days for holidays.
Stafford, Scofield's home base, will also get service starting in the new year, and eventually, more towns in Genesee County will be added.
"Then we're going to designate other towns on other days of the week," Scofield said. "We'll never be a Monday pickup service. We're going to always try to be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Friday is a floating day, and Monday is our other businesses."
Scofield's total investment in the new line of business so far exceeds $500,000. He also bought a brand new, smaller truck for $250,000 that can be operated by a driver only because the tote pick-up is automated.
He's also bought bright yellow totes for every customer. The yellow totes will save his drivers time carrying a list of customers or memorizing addresses.
They simply pick up every yellow tote along their routes.
What they won't be picking up is recycling totes.
Scofield is offering a recycling program for customers, one he said will ensure customers who care about recycling will actually have confidence that they're recycling won't go to a landfill.
A big issue with recycling, Scofield explained, is that many customers may not realize that they think they're recycling but they're not, and as a result, their neighbors who put only approved material into recycling bins are also not recycling.
Most people, he said, don't really understand what can go into the recycling tote. The customers who do get cheated out of recycling by those who don't, with some companies.
"One customer might say, 'Well, I'm going to go through the motions of recycling,' but they don't do it right," Scofield said. "They might put a pizza box in there. They put a coffee cup in there. If you put a container with food left in it, so if it was a peanut butter jar, it wasn't washed out, that becomes contaminated recyclables.'
Just like one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, one unwashed peanut butter jar can legally enable a hauler to send the whole load from a collection route to the landfill.
"That's like hitting the jackpot for a garbage company because they say, 'Well, it was contaminated. We can't control what the customer does,' so they're going to go through all the motions and say, 'Yes, we offer recyclables, ' and at the end of the day, they can landfill it."
For customers who are serious about recyclables, he will offer gift certificates to Tops, Dunkin' Donuts, or Tim Hortons if they bring their bags of recyclables to the Scofield transfer station in Stafford.
"Every time you bring it here, we're here to inspect it and to educate the people," Scofield said. "'This is how you do it.' I don't want my employees sorting out on the side of the road. So you get a punch card. Every five times you come out here, you get a $10 gift certificate to top Dunkin' Donuts or Tim Hortons."
The two big corporations that serve Batavia now are Casella Waste (which bought out all the small operators that set up shop when the city got out of the garbage business) and Waste Management. Casella claims on its website to operate a sorting facility and promises that all uncontaminated recyclables are recycled. Waste Management makes no such promise and indicates that contaminated loads are sent to landfills.
Waste Management states:
A container is considered contaminated when your recycling bin contains trash, the materials are soiled by food/liquids, or items are placed in plastic bags. For recyclable materials to have a second life, they must be clean and free from contaminants.
"I'm not going to go through the motions and tell everybody, 'Yeah, we're recycling, do it on the side of the roadside or send it to a landfill. I never want to be called out on that," Scofield said.
Any customers who have questions, Scofield said, are welcome to call him and he will explain the program further.
Scofield believes local ownership is a clear competitive advantage over big corporations.
He said he's passionate about his business. He takes care of his employees, keeps his trucks well-maintained and clean, and usually when customers call, it's him or his son answering the phone.
And if you call because you forgot to put your garbage out? If it's not a habitual problem, Scofield will send a truck back to pick it up. That's less likely to happen with the big haulers.
"You're never going to get an owner of Waste Management or Casella," Scofield said. "You're never going to get Casella or Waste Management to sponsor, like we do, the Genesee County Fair. We're big into the Genesee County Fair. When Le Roy needed an ambulance, we were right there to step up. That's the difference. We care about our community."
Bruce Scofield demonstrates the new automated garbage truck added to the Scofield fleet. Photo by Howard Owens.
RaeAnn Engler, left, and Richard Beatty, of Batavia, talk to Batavia Development Corp. Director Tammy Hathaway about various concepts for the city's Batavia Creek Side space on the south side and the vacant Penney's building and current spot where Bank of America's ATM drive-through sits at the corner of Bank Street and Alva Place downtown. Photo by Joanne Beck
More than a dozen people showed up to the city’s brownfield opportunity area open house Monday, offering an overall thumbs-up for increasing the housing stock while also differing on items of concern, such as devouring too many parking spots, not considering community needs, and lack of privacy from looming apartment complexes.
After perusing the renderings for the Batavia City Centre parking lot adjacent to the Bank of America drive-through along Bank Street, Richard Beatty noted what was missing.
“Looking at the existing parking lot, I'm concerned about the public market; its location right now in the O’Lacy’s parking lot is not good. I think there's a battle between O’Lacy’s and Angotti’s and the other places for parking. And it's just really not a pleasant experience,” Beatty said during the event at City Hall. “Whereas at the market, its last year's location was all right, it was much better where the police station is now. But that's gone; that issue has flown away. So, yeah, I would like to see more focus on the public market space. I think that's a good draw to the city, good draw for vendors. So I don't see anywhere in this that takes a look at that.
“It should be downtown, somewhere, somehow. And I think that's where it draws people into the city, and they're going to go to other places when they're in downtown,” he said. “I like public markets. I think, you go anywhere around Western New York, you go to public market sites, they're popular.”
The plan is to build an apartment complex along Bank Street from the corner of Alva Place south, across from the police station. That would bring more of the urban back into the city and bring it closer to the street that urban renewal removed, said Ed Flynn, vice president of LaBella Associates and project consultant.
Flynn walked through all of the plans, beginning with Batavia Creek Side right behind the ice rink on Evans Street. There’s Concept A, with buildings closer to the water and to Ellicott Trail.
“This has the images of the concepts right here the trail is right next to where the market rate apartment would be. And then over here, this is kind of the view looking where the current gazebo is, and then there’s a space for a potential cafe as well,” he said. “Another concept (B) which has all the buildings kind of right next to them, not along the trail, and a little bit more green space. And the ice rink is a little bit to the south of the current ice rink right now, still the gazebo there, still a lot of green space.”
City resident Janice McFollins liked the first concept because the buildings were more separated and didn’t seem as crowded together. She and City Councilwoman Tammy Schmidt agreed that the rendering was more appealing, and Schmidt suggested that perhaps one row of buildings could be for tenants age 55-plus and the other set for families with children.
“I just think it is very nice looking,” McFollins said. “Very neat.”
They also liked the idea of a first-floor parking garage that would be part of the development, since nothing could be built on the first floor due to the flood zone, Flynn said.
He continued on with the tour of conceptual plans.
“And then over here we have some reorganization of the City Centre parking lot, a little bit more pedestrian friendly, a bit more efficient in terms of the traffic flow. And then potential liner buildings along Bank Street for potential apartments or more innovative retail on the first floor,” he said. “And then this is an idea for the former JC Penney site, which would also do some more housing as well, or hotel.”
The city doesn’t own the Penney’s building, and that is to go up for auction by the lender, but city officials are hoping that these concepts will help provide prospective developers with ideas and some plans to pursue, he and Batavia Development Corporation Director Tammy Hathaway said.
The parking lot is owned by the city, and there will be future discussion about the bank drive-through, Flynn said.
“So I still need to talk to the bank, have some conversations with them. The idea is they have kind of liner buildings like that between (Bank of America and the police station),” he said. “So more urban, more back to rebuilding the urban grid that used to be here.”
Taking up more parking spaces concerns RaeAnn Engler, treasurer for the GO ART! Board of Directors. She has seen how busy the parking lot can get and wonders how it would handle an apartment filled with tenants in need of parking spots.
“I’m a little concerned about that, and I'm not sure exactly what it's doing to parking space for people. I don't know if there's underground parking in these buildings the way they are over by the creek, so those people are going to need to park in that parking lot,” Engler said. “And what's it going to do to draw people downtown? A concern.”
Other aspects that people liked included:
Creek Park Development (Concept A) looks great
Underbuilding parking
JC Penney/parking lot concepts
Love apartments
Concerns included:
Kayak/boat launch for Creek Park
Perhaps some sort of incentive to property owners on the west of the creek to maintain their backyards
Maybe condos
No privacy for homes across the creek, junk in the creek
What happened to the park that was going to be there?
Where is the city snow going?
How does this impact properties on the other side of the Tonawanda?
Upkeep?
Parking plan for Alva and Jefferson — don’t cut off access
Is City Centre east parking shared between residents and visitors?
All public comments will be taken back to a committee to work out the “best use of this area, reinventing the area for revitalizing it,” Hathaway said.
“If we can incorporate them into changing any of the renderings, that's what we'll do. Then we'll change them. I would say it's going to happen in January … and then we'll probably do some sort of a press release after the public comments (to say) this is what we came up with,” she said. “It's really up to a developer, but this gives us guidance for a developer as to what the committee is determined is best use for an area.”
These latest comments will be combined with input from the county’s housing study this fall, and “we will put that all together,” she said. " All of our conversations going forward with developers will incorporate those thoughts.”
Have developers expressed interest in these projects? Hathaway takes a phone call from one at least once every other week, she said. Creek Park Batavia LLC cannot be sold just yet until the flood map and newly zoned floodway are settled and city officials have more answers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, she said.
“So the city is waiting for answers to come back on the questions that they asked regarding the change in the floodway, how that impacts the area, if it was already in a flood zone, so developers know they've had to build a flood compliance,” she said. “But now you add on the extra engineering fees and everything because of the floodway. So we want to make sure that if there's any way that we can have something changed ahead of time, we want to do that.”
City Councilwoman Tammy Schmidt, left, and city resident Janice McFollins review their favorite "Concept A" of two potential plans for Creek Side space next to the Tonawanda Creek during an open house Monday at City Hall. Photo by Joanne Beck
Creekside Park Concept A
Creekside Park Concept A
Creekside Park Concept B
Creekside Park Concept B
Rendering of apartment buildings along Bank Street in downtown Batavia. Submitted by LaBella Associates
Rendering of possible use for vacant former Penney's site at Batavia City Centre. Submitted by Labella Associates
2024 File Photo of "Bye Bye Birdie" from Batavia Players at Main St. 56 Theater in Batavia. The nonprofit is having a pay-the-rent fundraiser to help pay back rent owed to the city. Photo by Howard Owens
A call was put out Sunday for members of Batavia Players to rally together and attend Monday’s City Council conference session to support Norm Argulsky and Jo Coburn as they spoke on behalf of the nonprofit.
The two members wanted council to know how much the organization means, not only to Batavia Players themselves, but also to area businesses and the community at large, in light of financial troubles and owing the city back rent, Coburn says.
“I just want everyone on council … to see all the other positive things in the community that we do. We do a lot, I don’t think everybody realizes it. We are involved in every bit of it,” Coburn said after the meeting. “We’re just asking for more time to bounce back. We are just getting known on Main Street. It’s not that we don’t want to pay it. We’re limited in the ways we can raise money.”
The Players have paid $160,000 in rent from 2020 to 2023, however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater was shut down and they were unable to perform and therefore unable to make money, she said. So they fell behind in rent.
“We’ve been in discussions with the city since November about rent renewal and repairs,” she said. “It came to our attention that maybe not everyone on council has the information about what we do.”
The city had asked Batavia Players for a five-year financial projections plan, and one was submitted without enough detail, Coburn said. Another one is being drafted to include more of what happens at the theater — newly built and celebrated at Batavia City Centre — such as open mic nights, civic organization meetings, education sessions, dance recitals, college productions, stage combat lessons, the recent Hometown Christmas festivities, a scavenger hunt collaborating with other city businesses, Halloween trick-or-treating and tours, and live performances.
About eight members of the Players, including their attorney Ted Graney, showed up to the council meeting. “We just want the city to know how deep the support goes,” Coburn said.
She understands the city’s position, and officials have been patient and supportive, she said. She hopes that they will “please continue so that we can be the flagship live performance” venue for downtown. She doesn’t want it to get contentious and hopes that both sides can work something out, including leaks that have erupted from the green room ceiling.
Batavia Players will be celebrating a 100-year existence in 2032, Argulsky said, and Batavia is "very, very luck to have a group" like it that performs 12 productions a year and brings a "cultural-plus" to the city.
The Players can only raise so much money and sell so many tickets, though, he said, and it's quite an expensive endeavor to operate a theater, and he wanted city leaders to keep that in mind. He and his fellow troupe members hope a friendly solution can be found. They are having a fundraiser specifically to raise $25,000 for the back rent through donations and sponsorships.
City Manager Rachael Tabelski said that the theater owes approximately $27,000 in back rent. The Batavian asked what the city's next steps would be, and if it would take legal action against the organization.
“We are awaiting an executive summary and five-year financial projections of the Players' plan moving forward,” she said.
City Council members said they have nothing against the theater, but that there are expenses involved in operating City Centre and unpaid bills fall on taxpayers to cover.
Jason Ostrowski pays tribute to Elton John in a concert at Batavia Downs in 2022. He returns on Feb. 27. File photo by Howard Owens.
Press Release:
Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced that tickets are now available for several indoor concerts in the Park Place Event Center on Thursdays throughout the upcoming Winter and Spring months.
All events will have General Admission tickets, and some will have VIP tickets. All tickets include $10 back in Free Play to be redeemed at Player’s Club. These shows will all begin at 7 p.m.
“As Batavia Downs continues to grow with weekend events, we’re excited to introduce a brand new Thursday night concert series that stretches from mid-December to mid-May, “ said Byron Brown, President & CEO of Batavia Downs. “With a wide range of musical acts, including Polka, Rock, Comedy and Country, we’ve got something for everyone.”
On December 19, Batavia Downs welcomes Terry Buchwald as Elvis Presley. This acclaimed musical experience showcases Terry Buchwald's talents, as he has done for many years, performing “The King” Elvis Presley’s greatest hits throughout the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. This show will have GA ($10) and VIP ($15) seating.
On January 9, WBBZ’s Polka Buzz returns to Batavia Downs. Listen to polka music from the New Direction Polka band while Ron Dombrowski hosts WBBZ’s weekly show. You may even see yourself on TV. This show will have $10 GA seating.
On January 16, “Band on the Run Live”, a Tribute to Sir Paul McCartney, will rock the Park Place Event Center stage at Batavia Downs. Take a trip through Paul’s music throughout his iconic and award-winning artistic career with the Beatles, Wings, and as a solo artist. This show will have GA ($10) and VIP ($15) seating.
On February 27, Jason Ostrowski will return to Batavia Downs to perform the greatest hits of piano-rock legends Elton John and Billy Joel! Enjoy back-to-back hits from the Piano Man and the Rocket Man live inside the Park Place Event Center. This show will have GA ($10) and VIP ($15) seating.
On March 13, 2025, Batavia Downs welcomes Frank Spadone's comedy. Frank has been featured at comedy festivals in Australia and South Africa and is a regular face at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Canada. His movie credits include “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle,” and he has appeared in several television series. This show will have both GA ($10) and VIP ($15) seating.
On April 10, 2025, following their acclaimed set during the Rockin’ the Downs Summer Concert Series, Tiny Music Band will grace the Park Place stage to perform a standing-room-only show. This tight, talented group will showcase their skills playing crowd-pleasing party hits throughout the night. This show is FREE. There will NOT be seats, but an ADA-seated section will be available for those who need it.
And finally, on May 22, 2025 the popular Zach Brown Tribute Band (ZBTB for short) will close out the Thursday concert series with a bang, playing a mixture of Zach Brown Band hits alongside country and rock classics. Known well throughout the area, this band is sure to please music fans of all genres. All tickets for this show are $15. This show will NOT be seated (ADA ticketed seats will be available).
General admission tickets are now available on BataviaConcerts.com, and the Lucky Treasures Gift Shop is located in the lobby of the main entrance of Batavia Downs. VIP tickets will be available exclusively at BataviaConcerts.com. Hotel Specials for select events are available on the Hotel Deals tab on BataviaDownsGaming.com.
Batavia Downs’ Summer Concert Series announcement will take place later in December.
The Batavia City School District is proud to announce that John Kennedy Intermediate School has earned recognition as one of U.S. News and World Report's "Best Elementary Schools" for 2025.
John Kennedy Intermediate School ranked in the top 40% of elementary schools in New York State. The ranking is based on student performance in mathematics and reading on state assessment tests, with additional consideration given to achievement in the context of socioeconomic demographics.
"This prestigious recognition from U.S. News and World Report is a testament to the extraordinary work happening every day at John Kennedy Intermediate School," said Superintendent Jason Smith. "Our students, teachers, staff, and families work together to create an outstanding learning environment, and this honor reflects their collective dedication to educational excellence. We are incredibly proud of the John Kennedy community."
"Our hardworking students and dedicated staff make John Kennedy Intermediate School a truly special place," said Principal Paul Kesler. "Every day, I witness the determination of our students and the unwavering commitment of our teachers and support staff to create an engaging, supportive learning environment. We look forward to celebrating this extraordinary achievement with our entire school community and sharing our continued success story with everyone who has helped make this recognition possible."
According to U.S. News and World Report, schools were ranked based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading, as measured by state assessment tests. Half of the ranking formula was based on the results themselves, while the other half considered these results in the context of socioeconomic demographics. The rankings included more than 47,000 public elementary schools nationwide.
After a brief but concerning setback, the Cayuga marsh bald eagle pair and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge nest camera project are back on track.
Two weeks after the nest camera, funded by Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (FINWR), began streaming on Oct. 19, disaster struck when high winds knocked down the cottonwood tree that the eagle nest had been perched in.
Since that time, the eagle pair has been busy building a new nest – fortunately within range of the new eagle nest camera.
The new nest cam project has been more than a year in the making.
In November of 2023, FINWR started planning to install a live camera at an active bald eagle nest on the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Basom.
“We determined almost from the start that history and location were very important factors,” said outgoing FINWR President Garner Light of Gasport, who was instrumental in developing and implementing the project. “Based on those factors, the Cayuga marsh nest was our first choice. That location has been used for most of the last 25 years by bald eagles. It was also more accessible than the next best nest site. No other site on the refuge met both requirements.”
Submitted photo.
FINWR consulted with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from the start to ensure that its plan complied with environmental regulations.
FINWR also found Bill Powers of the Pittsburgh area, who runs the Pixcams website, https://pixcams.com, which hosts numerous wildlife cameras nationwide. Powers offered invaluable advice and technical expertise, and Pixcams offered a ready home for the nest cam streaming.
The FINWR board approved the nest camera plans during the summer months, and the proper equipment was ordered.
The group’s target for installation was early to mid-October, and it eventually settled on October 18, which turned out to be an ideal fall day. Plan A was to climb the nest tree, uninstall a camera that had been inactive for over 20 years and install the new camera in its place. The plan had to be altered when it was determined that the tree with the nest was not safe to climb. This prompted plan B, which was to install the camera in a tree near the nest.
Treeman Tom LLC and his crew donated their time and expertise to safely install the camera and secure the cables. The new camera went live on October 19th. The bald eagle action was amazing right from the beginning, and the camera gave a front-row seat.
“For two weeks, we watched, learned and engaged in wonderful conversation on the live camera chat,” Light said.
But on Nov. 1, after several days of high winds, the old nest tree blew over.
“We were heartbroken,” Light said. “The bald eagles largely disappeared for the next two days.”
But within four days, the eagles attempted to place branches in the tree right next to the old nest tree. Since then, they have worked diligently to build a new nest, which is almost the same size as the old nest.
The original camera, which hadn't worked in 20-plus years, was so popular that visitors to the refuge were still asking to watch it.
“This is a dream come true for FINWR. We are looking forward to increasing awareness of this beautiful place called Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge,” said new FINWR President Richard Moss of Medina. “We are currently working on designing a nest cam display with a large screen TV for the visitor center.”
He added that the FINWR website, https://FINWR.org, is also undergoing a redesign that will prominently feature the nest cam.
“Special thanks to refuge manager Tom Roster, Bill Powers, Treeman Tom and his crew, DEC’s Region 8 wildlife biologist, FINWR’s Emma DeLeon and the rest of the FINWR board,” said Light.
Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Inc., has about 150 members and is a nonprofit corporation organized by volunteers dedicated to supporting the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (INWR) via fundraising, education, enhancement and preservation of the refuge and its wildlife.
Despite an unexpected shift to a one-day event due to weather, Northgate Church’s Vintage Christmas celebration was a heartwarming success this past Friday night! Families enjoyed plenty of cookies, bowls of delicious chili, and steaming cups of hot chocolate as they walked through the beautifully lit nativity scene in the woods. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this event possible. We’re grateful for the opportunity to share the joy of Christmas with our community.
James DiLullo, Aurora Callery, and Roselyn Kasmire. Photo by Howard Owens.
The long road to completing a five-minute film about a scary kitty that was shot in Batavia this past year reached the milestone of a public screening at GO ART! on Saturday night after the Christmas in the City parade.
The film isn't online yet. Producer, director and screenwriter James DiLullo said the short will be entered into a number of film festivals and those festivals typically want exclusive access, so it will be a little while before you can view the film on YouTube (embedded below).
DiLullo hosted a discussion with two of the lead actors who were able to attend the screening, Aurora Callery, and Roselyn Kasmire.
An audience member asked Callery what she drew on to inspire her character and the child actor said, "I just thought about my little sister, who loves cats. I just pretended I was my little sister."
At one point during filming, the cat playing "Kitty," Bunny "Kitbull" Buzzkill, scratched her, making a scare that looks like a smiley face, which she likes.
"She's very fat so she thinks my fingers are little hot dogs," she said.
Callery asked Kasmire, who plays a teacher, what she thought about while doing her scenes. Kasmire, who actually is a teacher in Buffalo, said in this case she didn't have to dig deep. As animated as she is as a teacher in the movie, that is how she is with her students in real life.
Town Court Clerk Below are two lists: one details the myriad responsibilities that fall within the purview of the court clerk; the other summarizes the knowledge and abilities that court clerks possess or acquire through training. These lists are provided so that a judge and municipality can intelligently discuss the benefits that a court clerk can provide. The items below can also form the basis for a list of job duties should a municipality need to fill a vacancy in a court clerk position. Primary Responsibilities A. Maintain confidentiality of records and information when required to do so B. Prepare court calendar C. Collect monies, reconcile daily receipts, deposit receipts, prepare reports for monthly disbursements, reconcile bank accounts, and prepare administrative reports D. Enter convictions on drivers' licenses and prepare conviction reports electronically transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles E. Enter criminal conviction on NCIC reports and electronically send same to Division of Criminal Justice Services F. Respond to inquiries-in person, by phone, by e-mail and by mail-and provide assistance to lawyers, litigants, media, and members of the public G. Prepare monthly reports that are electronically sent to the Office of the State Comptroller H. Prepare orders, summonses, warrants and other court forms i. Communicate with outside agencies in order to coordinate the Court's activities and provide services to litigants. Such agencies include: ii. Law enforcement agencies, such as local police departments, New York State Police, Sheriffs office, FBI and CIA, US Armed Forces, and the Office of the District Attorney; I. Other courts, including superior courts and other local town and village courts; and i. Miscellaneous county agencies, such as Community Service, Community Dispute Resolution Center, Pre-trial Release, Probation, Stop DWI program, Victim Impact Panel, and Youth Court. ii. State agencies that require periodic reporting, including the New York State Unified Court System, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Office of the State Comptroller, the Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the Office of Court Record Retention. J. Examine court documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness K. Receive and file summonses, traffic tickets and other documents for court proceedings i. Assist the Justice at the bench during all Court proceedings Knowledge of: 1. The functions and organization of the Unified Court System ii. Basic legal terminology, codes and abbreviations iii. Court forms, practices and procedures, including those set forth in the Uniform Justice Court Act and the Uniform Civil Rules for the Justice Courts (22 NYCRR Part 214) 2. Ability to: i. Prepare judicial orders and decisions ii. Effectively communicate information orally and in writing iii. File and retrieve materials, extract data from various sources for entry onto court form iv. Research and interpret laws outlined in court documents and litigants' motions and other papers v. Perform mathematical tasks in order to compile court activity reports, total receipts, accept payments, and verify bills vi. Refer to appropriate documents, statutes, citations or other sources in order to respond to specific questions from attorneys, litigants and members of the general public vii. Interpret policies, statutes, rules and regulations and apply them in specific contexts viii. Establish work priorities ix. Constructively manage conflict with court users Qualifications: Highschool diploma recognized by the NYS Dept of Education or appropriate equivalent. Along with 4 years of college, specialization in criminal justice, law, business administration or related field. -OR- 2 years college with specialization in Business Administration or related field. Please email your resume to abrownell@townofbatavia.com no later than 12/16/2024. Pay is based on experience.
