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Free Wi-Fi and free electricity for electric cars were all but shot down Monday night during a budget work session at City Hall.

Meanwhile, Council members remain divided on whether to hire a new assistant city manager.

The argument for: There are too many tasks on City Manager Jason Molino's plate and after years of budget cuts, the rest of the city staff is overloaded as well.

The argument against: The money shouldn't be spent. If something is worth doing, current staff can handle it or it can be outsourced.

An assistant city manager would take on numerous tasks in the city, but one of the primary focuses of the job would be handling the complex array of tasks and regulations associated with lower flood insurance premiums for local residents in floodplain areas.

"If we're going to get any of these things done, we have to put forward the effort and we have to put forward the focus to get these things done," Councilman Pierluigi Cipollone said. "We can't ask the other departments to pick up the slack. We've already cut back to get out of the financial hole we were in. We cut back personnel and I think we've cut back as far as we can. We've gotten out of the financial issues we were in. Now we need to build the quality of life we all want."

Councilmembers Patti Pacino and John Canale both expressed support for the assistant city manager position.

"We really, really need this extra person," Pacino said.

Council members Rosemary Christian, Kathy Briggs and Eugene Jankowski spoke against the position.

"We can't do everything at once," Briggs said. "Prioritize and contract out the rest."

Christian said she thought Molino was budgeting too high a salary for the position.

Molino was originally hired as assistant city manager eight years ago at $59,000 a year.

"I'm opposed unless we can come up with the position for less than $60,000 a year," Christian said.

Molino said if the position had existed for all of the last eight years, the regular pay increases granted to non-union staff would have brought that salary up to $63,000, which is at the low end of the range proposed for the potential new hire. The top end is $77,000.

Jankowski said he doesn't think it was communicated clearly when the new position was first proposed exactly why a new assistant city manager is needed. The opportunity to clearly communicate the need has been lost, he said.

"There is a misunderstanding (in the community) for some reason," Jankowski said. "I've gotten numerous complaints about the proposal. Even though it may be justified, that ship has sailed. The public has made up its mind. We don't have time to correct that in a reasonable budget period this year."

While the assistant city manager position may be up in the air, there is not likely to be any extra free Wi-Fi signals floating through Batavia's ether any time soon.

And if you own an electric car, forget about stopping in Batavia for free juice.

Christian was ready to kill both proposals flat out last night and tried to drum support for a vote. Only Canale spoke in favor of the electric car charging stations and there was no support for free Wi-Fi.

"I'm in marketing," Canale said. "The attention we could get, the publicity we could get would be good for Downtown at a very minimal cost."

Briggs said taxpayers shouldn't subsidize free electricity for electric car drivers.

"The electric companies are looking to do this sort of stuff," Briggs said. "Let them do it on their own and see if they can make a dime on it. I don't think the taxpayers should pick up the tab."

Added Christian, "I think BID should handle it. I don't see why taxpayers should handle it."

The opposition to free Wi-Fi included the notion that most people who want always-on Internet have smartphones and tablets now, and that if businesses think free Wi-Fi will bring in customers, then businesses should pay for it (the city's proposal, to be clear, doesn't include putting free Wi-Fi in business locations, but in public spaces such as Jackson Square).

Pacino said, and Council President Brooks Hawley agreed, that the council shouldn't rush into any decision on either item, so council members decided to hold any vote on scrapping the proposals for another day.

In another part of the budget discussion, Christian said she would like to see at least half of any VLT money that comes in this year used to lower taxes next year.

VLT funds are sporadically distributed by the state and comes from profits generated by the video lottery machines at Batavia Downs.

Molino said that really wouldn't be a very good idea.

"I would not recommend using that money to offset your taxes, because while you may use $150,000 of it to offset your tax rate next year, what happens when you don't get that money in a future year?" Molino said. "Now you've got a $150,000 hole in your budget. So now you're increasing taxes or cutting services to make up for it.

"That is the exact reason, in a different format, why the city's financial position worsened over time. It was using things like the sale of property, assuming you were going to sell property and make $200,000 a year off of that. That's a lot of property to sell and you budgeted that year after year after year. In order to do something like that, you need to ensure you're going to have a steady stream of revenue."

A request by newly elected City Councilman Eugene Jankowski to amend council rules clarifying how and when council members can contact city staff received little support from the rest of the council Monday night.

And when City Manager Jason Molino said the current rules already allow a council member to do what Jankowski was asking, Jankowski said he was satisfied with Molino putting that on record and let the matter drop.

"I guess I'm happy with it," Jankowski said. "If the rules already say that, then I guess there was some misunderstanding because I was told that when I e-mailed department heads and requested a meeting, instead of being provided a date and a time, I was told I must go through your office."

Jankowski's position is that just because he's been elected to council, he shouldn't lose the right of any citizen of the city to go to a member of city staff, particularly department heads, and ask questions.

What Jankowski said he doesn't want to see happen is give council members the leeway to give orders to city staff or intefer with the conduct of their jobs or get involved in union issues, but he does believe council members have the right and obligation to gather information.

Molino said the rules are in place to ensure proper supervision of employees.

"There's one person responsible for their work, and that's me," Molino said. "That's what you hold me accountable to."

Jankowski is a former lieutenant in Batavia PD, served a time as interim chief and was forced to retire when Molino and Chief Shawn Heubusch decided to restructure the department last year and eliminate all lieutenant positions.

The former cop and city manager have a long history of being at odds with each other and Jankowski wasn't happy about being forced out of his job.

Jankowski received the most votes in November's council member at large election.

He said he did go through Molino to schedule a meeting with Heubusch to discuss, among other things, the proposed "neighborhood sweep" proposal. Jankowski, who initially proposed the idea, said he came away from the meeting believing it's a good idea, though perhaps inappropriately named.

"There may be complaints we should look into, maybe complaints of a sensitive nature, maybe it's a complaint about him," Jankowski said. "If we ran right to him and told him or had to go through him it might cause some sort of problems. It might not be appropriate."

Only Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian spoke up in favor of Jankowski's proposal, but she also said she's never had an issue going to any department head and asking questions. She just does it and nobody has ever told her to stop, she said.

"If you have a question you should be able to talk to any department head," Christian said. "We represent the people of Batavia. We don't represent Jason. Sorry Jason."

Molino said there's never been an issue with council members going to department heads and asking questions.

"There's nothing in the rules that prohibits you from contacting department heads and asking questions," Molino said. "When you ask questions, sure I find out about it, but I usually follow up with, 'did you get your answer, can I do anything more?' "

Christian said that's exactly what happens.

The Oakfield-Alabama Central School District has announced schools are cancelled for Tuesday due to anticipated dangerous wind chill. After school and evening activities are also cancelled.

Also cancelled, Batavia City schools, St. Joe's, YMCA preschool.

 

Within minutes of the fire call about a blaze in the bedding department of Bed, Bath & Beyond, in Batavia Towne Center, the store was filled with heavy black smoke that was roiling out of the front and back doors.

The visibility was low, making it difficult for the first firefighters on scene to get to the fire location.

"There was heavy smoke, but once the crew got in there they confirmed a working fire," said Town of Batavia Fire's 1st Assistant Chief Dan Coffey.

Much of the bedding department was destroyed by fire. The rest of the store's inventory and fixtures suffered heavy smoke and water damage.

The store's sprinkler system did activate, which Coffey said helped suppress the fire, but it took firefighters to actually knock down the flames. The rest of the next couple of hours on scene was spent clearing out smoke from Bed, Bath & Beyond and Petco.

"We got a quick knock down and then we were trying to clear smoke and improve the visibility of what we were doing," Coffey said.

There were employees -- Coffey didn't know how many -- who were evaluated for possible smoke inhalation.

Both stores remain closed.

"The fire investigation has already started and there's significant fire, smoke and water damage in there, so I imagine it's going to be some time (before Bed, Bath & Beyond reopens)," Coffey said.

Coffey described the bedding fire as pretty hot, with the material able to pack a heavy fire load.

"If you've been in there, you've seen, the bedding is stacked from floor to ceiling on those storage racks, so there's a tremendous amount of heat," Coffey said. "It's certainly a concern for us."

Adding to the fire-fighting difficulties was the icy weather. The air was biting and the fire hydrants frozen shut.

Three tankers from neighboring departments were requested to the scene, something that wouldn't have been necessary, Coffey said, if the hydrants hadn't frozen.

Assisting Town of Batavia at the scene were City of Batavia, Alexander, Elba, Oakfield, East Pembroke and Darien.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Investigators are conducting interviews, examining the physical evidence and it's possible store surveillance tapes may provide a clue to the cause.

"It's way to early," Coffey said soon after the smoke had cleared. "We're trying to talk to employees who were in the area at the time and try to determine the cause."

UPDATE 11:47 p.m.: Investigators have been on scene through the evening and into the night. There is no definitive cause, officials say. The Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation.

(Initial Report)

The front door soon after the fire was pronounced knocked down with the store still filled with heavy black smoke. Normally, you would be able to see into the store from this angle. Pictured, East Pemborke's Stephen Smelski.

Heavy smoke at the back of the building.

A frozen fire hydrant.

A Town of Batavia volunteer, Mike Jones, prepares Ladder 25 for extension of the platform.

Firefighter Scott Maloy shortly after exiting the building.

A firefighter tries to get one of the frozen hydrants going.

Firefighters at the back of the building.

Smoke being cleared from the storage room.

A firefighter on the roof of Bed, Bath & Beyond. Pictured, Jason Holman.

Firefighter Andrew Mullen waiting by the back door for other crew members who will head back in to make further checks on the fire scene, with most of the smoke cleared from the store.

East Pembroke's engine in front of the store as crews begin to roll up hose.

A fire is reported in the bedding department of Bed, Bath & Beyond, on Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia.

It's the second call in Town of Batavia's district. Batavia and East Pembroke responding.

UPDATE 4:54 p.m.: The fire was reported out about 10 minutes ago, but there's still heavy smoke showing from the building. The fire hydrants are frozen so tankers have been requested from Batavia, Oakfield and Alexander and possibily other departments. City fire is one scene.

UPDATE 5:58 p.m.: The store has been ventilated. The town's assignment is back in service. Code enforcement is on scene.

UPDATE: 10:55 p.m.: Town of Batavia is still on scene and the fire investigation is ongoing.

A two-car minor injury accident is reported in the area of 7939 Bank Street Road, Batavia.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

A responding chief warns of icy and drifting snow conditions.

UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: Two patient sign-offs. "We have more of a traffic problem than anything else," reports a chief. One vehicle will need a tow.

UPDATE 3:31 p.m. to clarify family information.

A family of three has been displaced and is being helped by the Red Cross after a structure fire early Sunday morning heavily damaged their kitchen and another room at 33 Central Ave., Batavia.

The fire started, said City Fire Chief Jim Maxwell, after a resident left cooking oil unattended while it heated. She intended to make chicken wings.

The fire was reported at 12:42 a.m.

The biggest concern, Maxwell said, was that the resident said her daughter may have been trapped in an upstairs bedroom.

Firefighters conducted two searches of the residence and were unable to locate the 16-year-old.

It turned out she was not home and was located and found safe a short time later.

All Batavia platoons were dispatched to the fire, with a total of 20 firefighters responding. No mutual aid from neighboring departments was requested. The fire department was back in service at 3:30 a.m.

The fire did extensive damage to the kitchen and an adjoining room. The structural damage was significant enough to require a code enforcement officer to condemn the house.

The fire caused $20,000 in damage.

Brycea Bolster and her family have been relocated to a local hotel for three days.

They also had three cats and a dog. The pets are all safe.

The property owner is Deborah Ruhland.

Press release:

Anyone searching to find directions to Genesee Community College's main campus in Batavia are advised to avoid using the online Google Maps utility. Despite many attempts by the College to have Google correct the problem, Google Maps continues to direct visitors trying to reach GCC's main campus to the College's Albion Campus Center located 30 miles north of Batavia in Orleans County.

"We have contacted Google multiple times to rectify this problem and are continuously told that it takes weeks for their algorithm to correct misguided directions. In addition, Google claims its tech support cannot manually intervene to remedy the problem," said Donna Rae Sutherland, associate director of Marketing Communications.

"It's been incredibly frustrating and also rather dangerous. Buses of athletic teams, performing artists and potential students have all gone 60 miles out of their way traveling in haste back down Route 98, which is often very blustery with poor visibility during the winter months."

The problem has been an ongoing for approximately a year with short periods of time when Google Maps accurately listed the Batavia Campus, but currently the right side panel posts a map and information to the Albion Campus Center without even mentioning the main campus is in Batavia. Google's proprietary software uses unique algorithms to provide mapping information automatically. Unknowing visitors are logically following Google's posted directions without clicking through to find the right campus and its proper location.

Sutherland recommends Web searchers utilize MapQuest and the College's Maps and Directions Web page available at: http://www.genesee.edu/about/visit/maps/ This gives users door- to-door directions to any campus location and also explicit directions to the main campus in Batavia.

"Most other online utilities are able to find us perfectly, but with Google's ongoing problem we strongly advise people to steer clear of using Google Maps to find GCC."

Charles Paul Mitchell, 34, of Sanders Road, Stafford, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Mitchell is accused of causing unwanted physical contact with another person during an argument.

Maya Simone Washington, 40, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Washington is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Eric Swede, 25, of Perry Road, Pavilion, is charged with disorderly conduct. Swede was arrested after Batavia PD was dispatched to Sport of Kings restaurant at 3:45 a.m. Sunday for a report of an intoxicated male causing a disturbance. Swede was issued an appearance ticket.

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Batavia City Schools, Alexander, Oakfield-Alabama, Pembroke and St. Joe's have all announced closures this morning due to weather.

A wind chill warning is in effect through tomorrow morning. The expected wind chill is from 25 to 30 below zero.

Winds and snow are also creating hazardous driving conditions.

Brian Moran, with 194 career wins and 14 sectional titles, announced at Le Roy's annual football banquet Sunday evening that next year, his 26th leading the Oatkan Knights, will be his last as head coach.

"At the end of next year, I'll be 55 and I'll have either coached or played since I was 12," Moran said. "When we hired Brian Herdlein (left in photo), we had a conversation with him as a district about taking over for me. He's been in the program long enough and it just feels like it's time for him to take over the program."

Le Roy will return to the gridiron with a pretty talented team for the 2014 season, which should give Moran a great opportunity to notch his 200th career win, a milestone he said is in fact something he'd like to achieve.

"You think about it when you're young, getting to 200, but when you get here what you think about most are the memories," Moran said. "People don't realize as you get older, those are the things that are important. I've had a lot of great memories with a lot of great coaches and players and the support of our community, which just makes it a privilege to coach here."

Each senior player, such as Brandon Van Grol, above, received a small football helmet on a plaque. In each case, Moran shared a word of praise for each player.

The Le Roy Fire Department held its annual installation dinner Saturday night and presented its annual awards.

Above, Chief Tom Woods, Mike Green (Fireman of the Year) and 2nd Assistant Chief Tim Hogle.

Christina Marinaccio and Mike Green received the Chief's Award for a boat rescue near Red Bridge.

The department's top responders for 2013.

Photos and information submitted by Chief Tom Woods.

At times, last night, it seemed almost impossible for Notre Dame's Tim McCulley to miss a shot from beyond the arc.

The senior standout hit six three-pointers on his way to a career high 35 points for the game and a 82-63 victory for the Fighting Irish (11-3).

"He had a big game," Head Coach Mike Rapone said. "He shot the ball well, but he also passed the ball well. He kept everybody involved. He moved the ball around. That's what he's capable of doing. He's really a multidimensional player. He sets up a lot of guys, too."

McCulley is closing in on a career 1,000 points.

Prattsburg never really threatened Notre Dame and the Irish pretty much closed the game out in the third period, outscoring the Vikings 29-21.

With a little more support around point guard Isaiah King, the Vikings (now 7-8) might have made more of a game of it.

King scored 22 points, but also created numerous scoring opportunities for his teammates with smart, on-target passing and a few key steals. He gave the Irish fits until he fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

"We gave up too much dribble penetration for my liking," Rapone said. "Thirteen (King) hurt us on the dribble penetration. He's a good ball player, but we've got to stop that better than we did tonight.

"He's quick and he's strong," Rapone added. "He's left-handed and you don't see a lot of left handers so kids have trouble adjusting. He caused us quite a few problems."

Rapone said the Irish are maturing as a team and he likes what he's seeing. Even in the loss earlier this week to University Prep, Rapone said he thought the team played well.

"We're starting to come together as a team," Rapone said.

In addition to his 35 points, McCulley 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Josh Johnson scored 14 points, including a pair of threes. Alec Covel had nine points as did Jason Hart. Caleb Nellis had eight. Dylan Fix, coming off the bench in the closing minutes, scored on a layup, bringing a big cheer from the home crowd.

For Prattsburgh, Baird Cameron was the only other player, besides King, in double digits scoring, with 11.

In the stands for the game was Jim Burke, a Section V Hall of Fame coach who amassed 517 wins leading the Prattsburgh boys for a number of years (Burke also had 177 victories coaching girls varsity). The only coach in the room last night with more boys varsity wins was Mike Rapone, who has 617 wins and counting.

Josh Johnson

Isaiah King and Charlie Herbert

Prattsburgh Head Coach Brian Putnam had a few disputes with the refs in the 4th quarter, eventually getting a technical foul after complaining about the foul call (which could have gone either way) that was King's fifth, causing him to foul out.

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A Batavia man was pronounced dead at the scene of a head-on crash in Canandaigua at 2:54 p.m. yesterday, after another driver reportedly suffered a medical condition, causing him to black out.

Barry E. Scutt, 57, of 17 Vernon Ave., Batavia, was driving a 2007 Ford Focus westbound on Route 5 just west of Cooley Road, when his car was struck head-on by a 2006 Honda Ridgeline driven by Steven A. Kloos, 68, of 6034 Grimble Road, Canandaigua.

Witnesses reported seeing the Honda leave the roadway on the westbound shoulder and strike a mailbox and road sign. Calls were made to 9-1-1 reporting a reckless driver. The car then continued westbound in the wrong lane for about one mile before colliding with Scutt's vehicle.

Scutt's Ford Focus suffered heavy damage and members of the Cheshire and East Bloomfield fire departments performed an extrication.

Scutt was wearing a seat belt and his air bag did deploy.

He suffered head and chest injuries, which appear to be the cause of his death, according to the Ontario County Sheriff's Office.

Kloos was not wearing a seat belt, but his air bag did deploy. He suffered chest, pelvis and leg injuries.

He was extricated by firefighters and after being treated at the scene by medics from Canandaigua and Fingerlakes Ambulance he was flown by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Kloos was cited for failure to keep right, reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

Batavia was hit with a couple of inches of snow this evening, but the weather has cleared a bit more now. Photo of East Main Street at Jackson taken about 8 p.m. when snow was still falling.

In Corfu today, the big event was the annual Winterfest, which includes vendors selling and demonstrating various wares, live music, outdoor hockey and snow play, and a K-9 demonstration featuring Deputy Chris Erion and his dog "Destro."

Above, Krystal Chavez and her 6-year-old son Kristian check out items created by members of the Pembroke Woodturners Guild while Mark Williams watches.

Players had to keep clearing snow away from the ice hockey rink in order to keep playing.

Deputy Chris Erion and Destro during a demonstration of what Destro is able to do.

Destro alerts on a "bad guy." If Erion gives the command, Destro will let a person know he better watch it. The "bad guy" was played by a Corfu police officer.

Peter Lotz with Venus, a goshawk. Venus and the other birds below were brought to Winterfest by Kkyhunter Birds of Prey, a company that provides wildlife educational programs and displays throughout Western New York.

 

If you've ever driven down Route 33 heading into Corfu, you've seen this barn.

When I left Le Roy at 2:30, there was no snow falling. As I arrived in Corfu at 3:15, it was coming down pretty good.