Business

The micro-enterprise loan/grant program, which has been used by a number of businesses in downtown Batavia over the years to help them get started or expand is now available to any business in Genesee County, the Chamber of Commerce announced today.

The program provides cash for small businesses (five or fewer employees, including the owner) in a loan (75 percent) and grant (25 percent) format so businesses can hire more people, buy new equipment or make other business improvements that will lead to greater employment.

The program is designed to augment private funding sources when traditional loans are either unaffordable or unavailable.

Full press release after the jump:

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce announced today the availability of a micro-enterprise loan/grant program (75% loan, 25% grant) for small businesses located in Genesee County.  The program is designed to augment private funding sources when other funding is unaffordable or unavailable.  While standard commercial lending policies will apply, interest rates and repayment terms will feature affordability and flexibility generally not offered by banks.

Eligible borrowers must be micro-enterprise business owners with five employees or fewer (including the owner).  Funds may be used for any legitimate business purpose including, but not limited to, capital equipment, inventory, and working capital. 

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce is an equal opportunity organization and therefore will not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, political affiliation, disability, or any category designated by Federal law. 

For applications and/or program details, contact the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce at 210 East Main Street, Batavia, 585-343-7440.

I took this picture last week, but I have the same thought every time I reach the intersection of Main St. and Lake St. in Le Roy: What good is Walgreens going to do for Le Roy? What where village planners thinking when they agreed to see two buildings that fit the village torn down and replaced by one that intentionally doesn't fit?

The Walgreens will do nothing to help the existing businesses in the village or help fill up the 10 or so vacant store fronts there.

The parking lot in front of the building is designed to make Walgreens a drive in, buy, and leave location.  The black metal fence further imprisons Walgreens customers, sending a clear message: Don't park here and walk to the village.

A new company coming into an existing business district couldn't send a more hostile message to the local community than this parking lot and fence.

Patrick Weissend, after 11 years as director of the Holland Land Office Museum, is changing jobs. He is joining the Bank of Castile as branch manager in Medina.

His 11-year-term puts him well ahead of the three-year average for museum directors in New York, but said the Bank of Castile offer was a great opportunity.

"I've been here for 11 years," Weissend said. "I love it here. It's a great place to work and great place to be and a great place to grow, and this opportunity came along and it can be like the opportunity of a lifetime that I can't pass up.  It's not something I applied for -- well, I did apply for it eventually -- It kind of just fell into my lap, so I had to take advantage of it."

Weissend, a Stafford resident, said he will continue to live in Genesee County and stay involved in community activities, as well as getting more involved in the Medina community.

Prior to becoming a historian, Weissend was an accountant.

The personnel committee will meet soon to discuss finding a successor, Weissend said. Meanwhile, he has three more weeks as director with HLOM.

"I have this feeling of both sadness and this feeling of excitement," he said. "You know, the sadness at leaving this place, which has become such a part of my life. In a sense, I enjoyed being Pat from the Holland Land Office Museum. It's weird that I'm not going to be that person any more. It's kind of like gone away, that person that I was, and now I'm going to be a new person. A lot of people have been reacting, shocked, shocked that I'm leaving. Some of my board members didn't believe me. Even my own mother said, 'I thought you would be there forever.'"

Genesee County may be losing out on the big Yahoo! data center deal, but that doesn't mean the county isn't out of the hunt for high tech jobs, according to GCEDC spokesman Chad Zambito.

Zambito told WBTA today (audio) that there are two big projects, with one being a strong possibility, that could get started in the western part of the county.

"Hydropower has been very important for us,'  Zambito said. "We've got two sites here in Genesee County that fall into the hydropower zone. It's about three-and-a-half cents a killowatt an hour. It's been a big difference right now. It's the only thing we're seeing moving is high tech looking at hydropower."

Also today, I e-mailed Zambito and asked him for his thoughts on why Yahoo! apparently picked Lockport over Genesee County.  Here's his response:

Our understanding is that an official announcement has not been made. That being said, we would certainly be happy to have them in the region but would obviously be disappointed to see Genesee County passed by. In comparison, the possible site in Niagara County may benefit from more industrial development as compared to our Green Field sites here in Genesee County.

Some 40 companies in Genesee County that receive Empire Zone tax breaks seem to be doing what the program intends -- create jobs -- according to a press release from Empire State Development.

But many others across New York are not, so today authorities notified about 1,600 companies that they are likely to be decertified.

No Genesee County companies made the "bad" list. Three companies are apparently being asked to supply more information.

For more on the new site law and the letters, check this Democrat and Chronicle story.

Here's the list of Genesee County companies who were notified they will retain certification:

Paramount Computing Associates, LLC
Altamar New York, Inc.
Tompkins Trust Company
Precon Thermoforming, LLC
PCore Electric Company, Inc.
Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc.
Delagrange Properties
Vantage Equipment, LLC
Lapp Insulators, LLC
LeRoy Plastics, Inc.
Fontrick Door, Inc.
K2 Plastics, Inc.
C.H. Wright Distributing Corp.
Wright Associates, L.P.
Summit Lubricants, Inc.
Liberty Pumps, Inc.
Icon Design, LLC
Automotive Corp, Inc.
Prime Materials Corp.
Regency Hospitality, Inc.
Chapin International, Inc.
Oxford Hospitality, LLC
ProTech Automation, LLC
United Parcel Service
Tompkins Insurance Agencies, Inc.
Duro-Shed, Inc.
Oxbo International Corp.
Yancey's Fancy, Inc.
Provitello, LLC
Paul Marshall Produce, Inc.
Ad Tech-Graph, Inc.
K-2 Industries, Inc. d/b/a Pavilion Gift Co.
O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc.
Wellsville Carpet Town, Inc.
Brothers International Food Corp.
Allied Building Solutions, LLC
Traco Manufacturing, Inc.
Highway Safety Devices International Corp.
Graham Corp.
Pyramid Prosthetics, Inc.

The following three companies have been asked for more information:

Millwork Solutions, Inc.
Genesee Gateway Development, LLC
Pembroke Park Development, LLC

Here are the three lists for the whole state in PDF format:

• Retention
• Questions
• Possible Decertification

It seemed like a good idea at the time: Le Roy resident John Garner happened to own an old DOT variable message sign, so he offered it as a promotional device to the organizations and businesses of the village.

We reported on the sign in January. The sign was placed on Route 19 and promoted local businesses and community events.

Just as spring started to get sprung, the sign disappeared.

Yesterday, Ann Walters, owner of the Hobby Horse on Main Street, told me the Department of Transportation asked that it be removed.
 

"What a marketing technique," said, Walters, who regrets seeing the sign disappear. "I wish I could say I thought of it."

She said it did help bring business into the village.

Walters impression was that the DOT didn't like one of their signs being used to advertise businesses, and there were concerns about it being a distraction, that the sign should be used only for its intended purpose, which is providing traffic information for drivers.

"How can you control use of a sign when you sell it?" Walters asked. "If you want to control it, you don't sell it."

Garner couldn't be reached for comment (Walters identified Garner as the owner of the sign).

DOT regional spokesman Lori Maher said there's an explanation -- not necessarily simple, but an explanation nonetheless -- for the DOT's position.

The state controls the right-of-way on state routes, which is 66 33 feet (66 total) on either side of the center line (though there are numerous exceptions and variables, so that measurement may not apply on this section of Route 19). There are also strict regulations dealing with commercial sites in visual range of a state road.

Even if the sign was outside of the right-of-way, Maher said, it would still violate sign advertising rules.

"The whole purpose (of these regulations) is to restrict the proliferation of signs containing all kinds of messages, which becomes clutter and a safety issue," Maher said. 

The rules are both state and federal and have their roots in the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, she said.

For more information on the NYS sign policy, click here.

Genesee County is apparently on the short list of potential locations for a new data center for Internet giant Yahoo!, according to the Buffalo News.

If Yahoo! located the center in Genesee County -- or Orleans -- the new facility would generate only 50 to 100 jobs, but it might spur new high-tech growth in the region, according to the article.

Yahoo likes the region for three reasons, Schumer said.

It has a well-educated labor force. And because the data center would house computer systems and other equipment, the company likes the cooler climate, Schumer said.

"In this case, our cool Western New York temperature benefits us," Schumer said.

The company also needs a good supply of electricity, and it prefers clean energy, the senator said.

Of course, when Google was looking at WNY for a data center, it couldn't come to an agreement with NYPA on electricity for the facility.

Genesee County farmers may soon have an opportunity to see their products sold in urban farmers markets in New York City, thanks to a bill unanimously passed by the State Senate last month.

The program creates a revolving loan program to help entrepreneurs open farmers markets in NYC's urban neighborhoods, providing residents in those neighborhoods with fresh farm products from New York State farms.

“One of our goals as a state must be to put quality New York produce from our farms on the plates of New York consumers,” said sponsor, Senator Darrel J. Aubertine (D-Cape Vincent), a retired dairy farmer who continues to raise livestock and grow crops on his farm in Northern New York. “This legislation is an important step toward achieving that. By giving consumers the opportunity to buy the highest quality and freshest products from New York farmers, we are giving our farmers new opportunities to sell their products, bringing healthy foods to underserved communities, and helping our environment by encouraging people to buy local.”

Hat tip to Lorie Longhany for finding this bill.

Three shopping plazas, including Tops, have been put up for sale by the conglomerate that owns them.

The Buffalo News reports the sell-off are part of a larger effort by Developers Diversified Realty Corp. to unload 52 shopping plazas in 20 states, valued at about $1.9 billion. Fourteen are in Western New York.

Also slated for sale locally are Batavia Commons and B.J.'s Plaza.

Personally, I find eating at a locally owned restaurant more satisfying. The menus items are generally more interesting, the food preparation more unique, more flavorful and more of my money is staying in the local community.

Starting tomorrow, it's the Greater Rochester Area Local Restaurant Week.

Sponsored by by LocalFoodService.com and the Greater Rochester Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, the week is designed to raise awareness of local restaurants, with participating restaurants offering special discounts.

In Genesee County, participating eateries are: Alex's Place, Sunny's Restaurant and Lounge, D&R Depot Restaurant and Red Osier Landmark.  A complete list of participating restaurants can be found here.

Whether a participating restaurant or now, Genesee County is fortunate to have dozens of outstanding locally owned, independent restaurants. So this week, eat out at least one evening and skip the chains. Pick a local restaurant, maybe one you've never been to before, and treat yourself.

And look on The Batavian this week for Deals of the Day from Larry's Steakhouse, T.F. Brown's and Main St. Pizza Company.

Maybe it was the time, as one speaker noted, but for as controversial as the Masse Gateway Project has seemed, the turnout at tonight's public hearing was disappointing. Only five people got up to speak.

Below are videos of each of the speakers. Note that I didn't necessarily capture the entire speeches of each person, though in some cases I did.

 

Calista Miakoda, a second-hand clothing and accessory boutique, opened today on Ellicott Street in Downtown Batavia.

Owner Kaitlin McGratf is 19 and spent her whole life in Genesee County, growing up in Bergen.

She's dreamed of owning her own clothing store since she was 12, she said, which is when she picked the name for the business. She doesn't remember which language the words come from, but Calista means "most beautiful" and Miakoda means "night sky" (roughly).

"My dad always owned his own business," Kaitlin said. "I don't like working for other people too much, and I thought it would be fun (to own her own business). It's (clothing) has always been a hobby of mine."

The regional real estate market may be picking up steam, but the impact is muffled in Genesee County, according to Howard Cohen, owner of FearyCohen Realty in Batavia.

Cohen said since the Batavia area is considered a bedroom community -- meaning a lot of folks commute elsewhere to work -- it doesn't get big ups or downs in the market that metro and resort areas do.

"We have a stable market," Cohen said. "Most people tend to stay in the area, even when they buy up."

The Democrat and Chronicle reported this weekend that a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers is heating up home sales.

"The tax credit is making homes go off the shelves," said Garry Britton, an agent at Nothnagle's Fairport office.

Homes priced below $150,000 in good condition are moving swiftly, followed by those under $200,000.

The tax credit is available for first-time buyers, and returning buyers who haven't owned a home for at least three years, who purchase a home by Dec. 31. It allows them to get a tax rebate of up to 10 percent of the selling price, up to $8,000.

Existing home sales for January through March were 1,648 compared to 2,112 in the first quarter of 2008. That's a drop of 22 percent, according to the report released Thursday by the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors. The median house price of a house was $105,000, with half higher and half lower in price, which represents a 3-percent decline.

The data spans a 12-county area from Seneca Lake to Genesee County and Lake Ontario to the Southern Tier.

The tax credit may help improve those numbers, but it probably won't have much impact locally, according to Cohen.

"We don't have a lot of first-time buyers here," Cohen explained. "We're still in a bit of a slump, but sales are a little stronger that in the last period of 2008."

The folks at Bob Harris Realty said they are optimistic that the tax credit will help boost sales, plus buying typically picks up in springtime.

Real estate advisers say to avoid low-ball offers in these categories and to expect a negotiating window no greater than 5 percent.

Ken Mistler gave me a deluxe tour this morning of the gym at the corner of Jackson and Main he hopes to open in about six weeks.

The picture above is of a staircase that will lead to the lower level work out area and men's locker room. Mistler said a previous tenant built the staircase, but when the city would not let the business put an entrance to the building on Jackson, the staircase was floored over.

I copied the photo off the Facebook page Ken set up for Next Level.

Mistler seems to be putting forth the effort to create a first-class gym. The building is being completely renovated with new electrical (an upgrade required by new building codes implemented since the building's 1967 construction), new heating and cooling and such attention to detail as ceiling lights that defuse light so that people laying on a bench lifting weights won't have a bright light shining in their eyes.

There will also be a full sevice coffee bar accessible from Main Street.

The four-level building will also eventually serve as Mistler's home. He's building a residence on the fourth floor.

When I saw how much work is left to be done, I expressed surprise that it would take only six more weeks of work to get the facility open, but Mislter said the hard work is done (he did much of the jack-hammering in the cement floors himself to improve drainage (did you know there is an artesian well under that part of downtown?) and lay in new plumbing in the basement).

Previously, Ken told me a number of membership have already been sold -- and who can argue with the price? People can join for as little as $20 per month.

Mistler's gym looks like it's going to be a great addition to downtown, helping to bring a lot more people into the center of the city on a regular basis.

Author Lorna Bartlett was the guest of Present Tense for a book signing on Saturday, and she left an apparent fan of the charming shop on Washington Avenue.

She writes in her blog:

What a terrific store! Housed in a gorgeous old Victorian home, the shop (inside and out) is painted in wonderful colors. There are several rooms filled with books, a selection of coffee and teas, children's toys (and books!), candles, hand-sewn purses (I was really tempted by those), pretty teacups, a gallery of original photographs, magnetic poetry kits, and lots of other marvelous things. I admit, I did succumb to temptation and bought a package of Who Dunn-Its sticky notes.

If you missed the signing, Bartlett left some signed books at the store. 

Check her post for more details about her afternoon at Present Tense and some pictures she took of the store.

Buffalo attorney Jim Ostrowski lost the first round in his legal fight against New York State grants and government loans to businesses, but he's pushing forward with his crusade against "corporate welfare."

GCEDC's VP of marketing and communications, Chad Zambito is concerned that efforts such as Ostrolwski's could undermine economic development tools such as empire zones and damage efforts to bring business to Western New York.

"What it really does is it sends ends a message to site selectors nationwide that New York is really unfriendly to business," Zambito said. "It certainly sends a message to business people who might be looking at New York State that we might not be the most stable environment."

Zambito said Ostrowski's effort, if successful, would hurt the state because of New York's excessive tax burden.

Ostrowski doesn't buy it.

"That’s a really bad argument," Ostrowski said.  "If you look at Pennsylvania and Ohio, to reduce our taxes to their level, we would have to cut $40 billion out of the budget. Now corporate welfare only moves around about $1.5 billion per year, so it’s not an effective tool to compete with other states (with lower taxes)."

 

A lawsuit filed by Ostrowski on behalf of a number of people claims that New York's state Constitution forbids government loans and gifts to private enterprises, and for good reason.

Part of the lawsuit reads:

Prior to 1846, the State of New York provided large loans and grants to private
business allegedly for economic development.

When many of these projects failed, state taxpayers were left with a fiscally
unstable state government and much higher taxes to pay off loan guarantees.

To remedy this problem, the state constitution was amended in 1846 to ban loans
to private firms.

The voters approved the amendment, 221,528 to 92,436.

In 1874, the provision was expanded to include a ban on giving the money of the
state to private firms.

State lawmakers sought to amend the Constitution in 1967, but voters defeated the proposal by more than two million votes.

"In the years that have passed, state officials have acted as though the 1967 amendment had become law," the lawsuit reads.

Ostrowski lost his lawsuit, but the decision is now on appeal.

"There is no scientific or economic study that has ever shown these (economic development) policies to be effective," Ostrowski, adding later, "The main question is what gives these bureaucrats that run these agencies any expertise at all what business projects to pursue. Those decisions should be made by entrepreneurs in the market place."

The ECEDC has a number of promising projects on the board, however, has three major projects on the board, including Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, Upstate Med & Tech Park and Commercialization Center, and the Science, Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Park in Alabama. There is also the possible revitalization of the Harvester Center area, which could also potentially use some extra government funds.

Zimbito doesn't think the lawsuit is any threat to these ongoing projects, but he does think it runs counter to the stimulus incentives being laid out by the Obama Administration.  The suit, if successful, could prevent New York from getting further stimulus aid, with that money going to other states instead.

"The stimulus money is taxpayer dollars to spur investiment and stimulate the economy," Zambito said. "That’s based on a lot of grants and a lot of low interest loans. So I’m not sure how that’s going to play with all this stimulus money that’s coming through state channels. I think that would put a damper on it, and by the sound of it it would put a halt to stimulus dollars as well."

Naturally, given that this is New York, Ostrowski may not even need to win the appeal to achieve the same effect. According to this Dave Catalfamo column, the governor is doing his best to kill of empire zones by making them uninteresting to migrating businesses.

Manufacturers, which are already in danger of joining New York’s Karner blue butterfly on the endangered species list, are now required to generate $10 in economic activity for every $1 in state tax breaks. And the state is ... demanding non-manufacturers to deliver a 20-to-1 return.

Finally, when thinking about government money going to private enterprise for large scale projects, it's always best to keep the downtown mall in mind.