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Editor's note: This is a continuation of a series about what's happening in the city of Batavia

An attractive, modern entrance; sturdy and leak-free roof; thriving retail shops alongside well-established medical practices, and an onslaught of patrons wanting to visit, shop, eat and enjoy a welcoming space.

Not exactly what many locals envision with the current City Centre. An Urban Renewal nightmare. A property that’s co-owned and managed by the city of Batavia and individual merchants. City Centre hasn’t gained a reputation in recent years as a place to enjoy. Not in the concourse, with buckets catching drips from a roof and a deadened atmosphere from vacated properties and decreased foot traffic.

But that can — and will — change, city officials say. With a fair amount of work done so far — Phase I of a roof replacement, with Phase II in the works — there’s more to be done, Public Works Director Brett Frank said.

Each of the four silos that serve as entry and exit ways into the Centre are to be redesigned. He doesn’t have a definite timeline but said the process begins with design, and once that comes back and it all gets approved, the city will go out for bid on the project. He is also making sure that the cost is within the city’s construction budget, he said.

“Basically, the design of the silos is that it’s just your entryway into the City Centre … those are supposed to be architectural features that draw people in. The design is kind of up in the air right now. If it's something that, maybe, could possibly be more in line with the redesign that's taking place with the brickwork of City Hall — the hallways, Insurance Center to Islands Hawaiian Grill,” he said during a group interview with The Batavian. “But that's all kind of up in the air. So we're not exactly sure what we will get back from engineers; I'm sure either way, it's gonna look improved from what we have now. It will make it more inviting.”

Called silos because they are cylindrical in shape and stand separated from the mall with a set of doors to trap the outdoor air, these points of entry for visitors have been less than welcoming. Buckets stationed just inside the doors, and then throughout the mall, have made for jokes rather than an impressive image.

Time for a Rewind
After years of being embroiled in litigation, both the merchants and the City of Batavia agreed to a settlement in October 2017. The city agreed to repair, maintain and pay for items within the 46,000-square-foot public concourse and the merchants agreed to pay a yearly property maintenance user fee to the city.

Fees are $2.06 per square foot of each merchant’s individual property, which means different totals for each merchant, depending on the size of the business. Tabelski likens it to a condo or neighborhood association fee.

Part of the city’s agreement has meant employing one full- and two part-time employees to make the necessary repairs and maintain the concourse. These city positions are paid for with the user fees, Water and Wastewater Superintendent Michael Ficarella said.

“They do anything from mopping floors to changing lightbulbs to taking care of ceiling tiles,” he said.

It may not have been what everyone wanted, but it’s now about making the best of the situation, City Manager Rachael Tabelski said.

“So the agreement, as of the effective date (Oct. 24, 2017), affecting the mall, including the development and operating agreement, and the common facilities agreement of 1987:The city shall, for purposes of mall redevelopment and repairs, retain ownership of the mall concourse … the members of the Mall Merchants Association, their guests, customers, invitees shall continue to enjoy the rights to access the mall concourse, as has been customarily provided to each merchant. The mall concourse will be open to the public at reasonable times,” Tabelski said.

“So that's kind of the obvious portions of it. And then this section of the settlement agreement is called capital improvement. The city needed to develop a scope of work and bid specification to repair and improve the existing roof silos and skylights at the mall concourse collectively called the roof repairs," she said. "In the agreement, it was noted that they would keep the merchants apprised through the development of the scope of work, provide copies of these specifications and provide the proposal to the merchants for review.”

The Here and Now 
According to the agreement, roof repairs were supposed to be completed by March 31, 2021. One large roof project had to be broken into two parts so that the city could pay for and finance it. The first chunk cost more than $763,000 and Phase II will be approximately $218,000, Frank said. 

“So far, it's been rooftop unit number nine, that's been the biggest one,” Frank said.

He and Ficarella promised there would be no more buckets dotting the internal mall landscape. 

Pre-COVID, the city had been awarded $1 million from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, and had plans to repair/replace the concourse roof, redesign and construct new silos, and paint the floor and walls, thereby improving the entire interior look of the concourse, Tabelskis said.

But after COVID and the ensuing pandemic hit, a lot happened in the construction world.

“As we had gotten into the project and COVID occurred, and these crazy construction price overages and inflation had occurred, we kind of settled to the point where we probably were only going to be able to do the first phase,” she said.

“That's how we ended up with phase two of the mall roof replacement. Because it was originally, like 2019, and then the second phase was (scheduled to be) from 2020 to 2021,” she said.

Aside from those repair expenses, it takes about $225,000 to operate the mall and concourse space, Tabelski said. That pays for anything needed, and the general fund “does not in the traditional sense have to support the mall, because we're able to operate it by using the user fees,” she said.

The concourse stage has been used for seasonal and impromptu concerts when the weather turns bad, and Batavia Players have occasionally performed or run their acting lines while standing on it, Ficarella said.

The stage still is still useful, he said, as a concert venue during inclement weather, Christmas in the City, and other prospective special events.

Funding for the first phase is from a funding reserve, and about $120,000 is being taken from that $1 million for the silo design process. The remaining money will go for actually redesigning those silos. The city also has received a National Grid Urban Corridor Grant to help with economic development projects in the city, Tabelski said.

“We can apply some of those funds to the project as long as we're doing exterior work, and improving what we call the kind of the urban corridor of a City Centre as well. The budget was going to go a lot further four years ago, when the grant was awarded. But as we got into COVID, and changes in leadership at the city, we're finally getting back to getting the project moving. It's just the season we live in now that the money's not going to go as far as it used to.”

That doesn’t mean that an interior facelift can’t happen, she said, as “there's definitely the ability to start to look at budgeting for flooring and painting improvements.”

Moving Forward
There have certainly been the naysayers suggesting that the mall just be torn down. So how do city officials get people excited about a structure described as wasteful, an eyesore and dead?

Perhaps some perspective steeped in reality would help. The mall has a Merchants Association with individual property owners who run their businesses, medical practices and personal services out of that space. The city has no claim to those properties and therefore cannot just go in and tear it all down.

Tabelski also wants to remind folks that these are viable businesses that have invested money, time and effort into their mall properties. At one time, several years ago, there was talk of slicing off a portion of the mall and restructuring some of that building. That was then, this is now, Tabelski said.

“I would say those are definitely plans that are out there. But because of the nature of the condo-ized situation at the mall right now, the city's trying to make the best use of the property we have, and bring people down to this corridor and work with what we have,” she said. “So the taking down any portions of the mall is not on the table right now.”

Up next: Moving Forward, continued

Go here for prior coverage about the city and mall settlement 

Photo of mall silo in Batavia; Valentine-themed buckets in 2020. Photos by Howard Owens. Dare to dream? These front entrances of Gemdale Plaza and Castle Mall are showy with lots of light and windows. Photos of "Mall Entries" by Sruthy Sukumaran.

Sometimes no action can be a good thing, especially when it comes to construction sites.

Project Executive Mark Bollin, of The Pike Company, shared that during his Genesee County Jail progress report to the county’s Public Service Committee this week.

“As it relates to safety, there have been no lost-time accidents at all. And all the contractors continue to abide by the OSHA requirements and their own safety plans, contracts, bonds and insurances,” he said. “All prime contracts have been fully executed, the contract for the special inspections and testing has been finalized and executed. With the stormwater prevention plan, there's been no issues.”

Those housekeeping details have helped to ensure a good flow of communication, he said.

“Communication is going really well, with the county, engineers and contractors.”

Foundation work has included stockpiling and stabilizing topsoil, creating an infiltration test pond, underground utilities and fire and water infrastructure is a little over half complete, at 55 percent, he said.

Senior Project Manager Carl York said that backfills were to begin this week, and all contractors are working on a three-dimensional model of the building to make sure everything fits according to plan.

In addition to the actual physical work, however, there has been that critical element of open communication and cooperation, York said.

“Ever since we started the job, and quite intensely the last month, all the contractors have been working on the final baseline schedule. The general contractor has been meeting with each of the contractors to get their information, and we've had separate meetings where everybody's together and everybody goes through the schedule and agrees on the logic in there. That same schedule has been sent to Pike scheduling department for review and comment and is now finally been finalized,” York said. “This is going extremely well. The meetings are very well attended, it’s very positive. We’re getting a lot done. It’s a very positive process right now.”

Rainy weather — though needed for brown lawns and thirsty crops — caused contractors to lose three and a half days of work. It’s “nothing out of the ordinary,” Bollin said.

Construction trailers are all in place, and remaining contractors are to bring in their trailers over the next couple of months, usually around August, York said. National Grid has yet to provide its design for getting power out to the site, he said.

“It's still in design and up in Albany, so we're still facing that. National Fuel did come out and walk the site. But they have not provided us anything for their design yet for the gas coming over to the proper foundation,” he said.  “All of the contractors and the design team are all working on the 3D model of the building, looking for clash infections and making sure that everything's going to fit. We're about a third of the way through that whole process.”

“If we didn't include that in the original bids, we didn't know what we're going to be encountering. Once we saw what the site was going to be like this was the best thing to do to create a stable work area so that the site's not muddy and progress would not be delayed by rain like this,” he said.

County Legislator Shelley Stein asked him what the greatest challenge has been. With little pause, he said “material availabilities.” Obtaining necessary materials has been difficult, and at times “we can’t even get sample kits,” he said.

“I’m most concerned about the National Grid and getting power to the site. Our switchgear getting here, and then the rooftop, those are our biggest worries. I mean right now that we've got time budgeted in the schedule for this, but if they start slipping, then those are all critical items that will directly impact the schedule.”

The new jail, adjacent to County Building 2 and Genesee County Animal Shelter on Route 5 in Batavia, is still on track for a March 2024 completion, Bollin said.

Photo: Mark Bollin, left, and Carl York discuss the progress of Genesee County Jail during the Public Services meeting this week. Photo by Joanne Beck.

This past year’s 4-H livestock auction contained some pretty lucrative creatures, Jocelyn Sikorski says.

The event raised “a quarter million dollars,” and included a pair of pricey foul.

“Two chickens sold for $752. I said, ‘how big are these chickens?’” she said during her report to Genesee County’s Public Service Committee Monday. “I’m excited and looking forward to next week.”

That auction was at the end of the 2021 Genesee County Fair, and, as a result of the pandemic, organizers had opted to go another way with a hybrid model. Sikorski, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Genesee, believes that was key to offering bidders more flexibility to view the animals and bid on them, versus only being able to attend in person at a particular time and date.

“When COVID hit … in 2020 we had to go completely online for the auction, and our auctioneers were able to work with us and do that. So last year, we did a hybrid. Bidding started and people could actually see the livestock online prior, and start putting in their bids,” she said. “And (the auctioneer) actually operated it both live and virtual last year during the event, and I think that really boosted us.”

There was no fair in 2019, and Sikorski also believes that “people wanted to be back out in the community and supporting what was going on in Genesee County, and, really, the county fair last year was the first really big event.”

Before the pandemic, the auction was done in person at the fairgrounds on Route 5. After the success of this past one, the auction will once again be offered in hybrid form, Sikorski said.

The 4-H Market Animal Auction Program allows youth to raise poultry, beef steers, dairy steers, hogs, lambs, and goats for the purpose of selling in the auction at the fair, her report states. Youth gain hands-on experience raising animals while learning important life skills, and the program is “highly supported by local businesses and families,” it states.

Gross sales were “record-breaking,” with a total of $256,723.50 that came from the sale of 35 beef steers, four dairy steers, 16 goats, 52 hogs, 12 lambs and 36 pairs of meat chickens. A 4 percent commission is kept by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee to cover costs incurred with the program, and the remainder goes to the youth participants, she said.

Organizers are anticipating strong participation in 4-H during this year’s fair, and a new cycle will begin on Oct. 1.

The participation of kids with hogs, dairy steers and goats has increased from 2021, and the program is expanding to include rabbits this year. Entries include 79 hogs from 39 youth, which is the largest category of animals in 2022. Participation numbers for hogs, dairy steers and goats are increased from 2021, with beef, lambs and chickens remaining level. The program is expanding to include market rabbits this year, according to Sikorski’s report.

The live auction is to begin at 6:30 p.m. July 28 at the main show ring. To check it out online, go to 4-H Auction   

The fair, hosted by Genesee County Agricultural Society, runs from Saturday through July 30, with pre-event horse shows from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and fair queen pageant at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 22. Daily offerings include a balloon display and demonstration, pig racing, pony rides, Niagara Down Under, chain saw carving, radio-controlled car races and Johnny Muttville Comix.

Music entertainment includes Savage Cabbage on July 23, Wail-On Tribute to Waylon Jennings on July 24, karaoke on July 25 and 26, and Audibull on July 30. Many other attractions include a small fry tractor pull, racing at Genesee Speedway, a midway of rides, and many 4-H animal shows.

For the schedule and other details, go to Genesee County Fair or call the "Fair Phone" at (585) 344-2424.

In other news, Sikorski said that the Ag in the Classroom is becoming a “strong and powerful program,” with four public — Batavia, Elba, Byron-Bergen and Oakfield-Alabama — and one parochial -- St. Joe’s — school districts participating.

“I’m glad to hear it’s coming back,” Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said. “The kids really liked that program.”

File photos by Howard Owens.

Call it a glitch, snafu or small bump in the works, but when the city’s power plant stopped pumping out water this past weekend, it was a good test for city and Genesee County officials, Tim Hens says.

A “controller issue” involving a sending unit in a control panel “died” Sunday, he said.

"We had a, I wouldn't even say it's a near miss, I think I'd say it was a direct hit yesterday with the water plant in Batavia," Hens said during Monday's Public Service Committee meeting. "They had a controller issue ... there's basically a signal when the clear wells fall it sends a power signal to the pumps to turn off. The sending unit in the Control Panel basically died and defaulted to the off position. So there was no power going to the pump. So for about a two-hour period yesterday afternoon, there was absolutely zero water coming out of the Batavia Water Plant." 

The county highway superintendent said that water storage tanks were being used in lieu of working pumps. He called the incident a “hiccup,” however he used the scenario as a warning that there’s not a limitless supply of water. He presented it to the committee because Genesee County owns the water plant and the City of Batavia is responsible for operations per a water agreement between the two entities.

Legislator John Deleo asked how long could the existing water supply have lasted before it emptied out. Hens estimated eight hours. There was “a lot of cooperation” between the city, county and town, he said, and backup plans that included reaching out to Erie County if needed.

When the pumps stopped working, water levels dropped in the tanks pretty quickly, Hens said.

“We called the Water Authority, and they increased their pumping at North Road up to about 3.5 million gallons, which is the highest we've ever pushed through there,” he said. “We were ready to pull the trigger with Erie County to open that valve up too, but by the time we had gotten to that point, the city figured out that sending unit and basically short-circuited it, and it's been running on manual ever since.”

Once the pumps were back working, the city was able to recover their tanks fairly quickly to normal levels, he said. The Batavian reached out to City Manager Rachael Tabelski Monday evening for further comment, and she said the incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

"Pumps that pump finished water into the system malfunctioned and threw an alarm because the sensor could not detect water in the clear well," she said. "To stopthe issue with the sensor alarm, city water plant employees cut the power to the pumps. When the power was restored, the pumps failed to restart."

Nelson Weibel, chief operator of the water plant, was able to re-engineer the system for it to become functional again, she said.

Three each of former and current employees, Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Michael Ficarella, Tabelski and an electrician were called in to help troubleshoot the problem, which Tabelski said seemed to be fixed by 5 p.m., although a second failure occurred "that was quickly remedied."

A sensor company technician visited the plant Monday and provided a demo sensor system as a temporary fix until the unit is replaced, Tabelski said. 

If those pumps had not been restored when they were, city customers may have been affected in three to six hours, she said. 
There was also coordination with the city Fire Department and county Emergency Management Services to prepare a water drafting plan in the event of a fire.

Tabelski was grateful for the "skill, dedication and ability" city employees demonstrate to solve critical problems under pressure, she said.

"I would like to highlight the dedicated city employees who are trained and licensed to provide drinking water to residents and businesses," she said. "We have operators on staff 24/7 ensuring the quality of water from the plant is safe, and I would like to personally thank them for their hard work and dedication."  

 Meanwhile, officials are hoping the rain “tamps back the demand a little bit and buys us a little bit of time,” Hens said.

“This is the kind of stuff that we've been worried about for years now. In this case, we were lucky that it was only a two-hour (period) and we got through it. But really, other than getting as much water as we can from Monroe County, there is no other Band-Aid. We can't just put another pump somewhere and pump water,” he said. So if it had gone on for any extended period of time yesterday or into the night, we would have probably lost, we would have been able to replace probably half of the capacity of the plant, but we would have been short about 2 million gallons.”

“That’s why we’re asking people to not water their lawns or wash their cars. I don’t know why people are trying to fight Mother Nature,” he said. “No matter how much water you use, you can’t fight dry ground.”

In past years, the county’s pleas for reduced water usage were heeded, and it made a tangible difference, Hens said. With a concerted effort to use less, “it can knock off about 300,000 gallons a day.”

Watering one’s home lawn uses up to 2.5 gallons per minute, which would be 150 gallons in an hour. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but it’s not just one household setting up the sprinkler, he said. With a population of just under 60,000 county residents, a modest estimate of 500 households regularly water their lawns. That’s 300 gallons for two hours multiplied by 500, which is 150,000 gallons.

And then say those residents are watering three times a week, for a total of 450,000 gallons of water each week. If this practice is done throughout the summer, which is approximately three months long, or 12 weeks, that adds up to 5.4 million gallons of water going into the ground. That’s not counting watering one’s garden or vehicle.

While the county is doing its part, he said, Hens is also taking personal responsibility to reduce water usage.

“Since I'm the one preaching to not to use water, my vegetable garden is the worst vegetable garden on the East Coast right now. My tomato plants are only about four inches tall,” he said. “So I'm doing my part … I'm not even using the water at my house.”

Just before the pandemic hit, Daniel Sprague decided to take his craft to the streets.

You could say that he went with a twist on the pop-up shop: his product was music and he plays wherever he can.

Two years later, Sprague, of Batavia, is still at it. He can be seen wearing white face paint with black circles drawn around his eyes and black lines across his lips from his nose to his chin. Black nail polish and black pin-striped pants with thick silver chains dangling off his pants, long black fingerless gloves, and no shirt finish off his look. No longer Sprague, this musician with a hint of goth is Danny Christ, his stage name.

“I’m just happy to play anywhere,” he said. “I’m happy to be putting my music out here. I play my own material and some covers; a whole lot of genres … mostly pop, punk, and (heavy) metal.”

His soft-spoken manner and air of courtesy belie the hard-core rock star image. In other words, he seems like a nice guy separate from his persona.

The 33-year-old grew up in Bergen and picked up a guitar when he was around 17, he said. He plays in a few bands, including Natives A.D., and the music shifts over to “strictly folk rock” for another group he’s in.

Once COVID swept in and everything closed down, that meant no more open mic nights or live performances in bars, he said. He is open to playing parties and pretty much “any street corners,” just to express himself and share his music with others.

Not only is he passionate about music, but he is willing to — literally — walk the walk. He has no vehicle and walks to his performance spots while carrying a duffle bag, his guitar and a rechargeable amp, which powers up his sound.

Sprague — or if you prefer Christ — takes the bus to destinations farther away, such as Buffalo or Rochester. He means it when he says he will play anywhere. As for his stage name, it’s not meant to be an anti-Christ message or anything like that, he said.

While standing on the corner of North and Bank streets Sunday, it was obvious he was no stranger to locals. Some people beeped, yelled his name, asked how it was going, and one woman stopped to pass him a few dollars.

“Keep spreading the joy Dan,” she said as she drove away.

Those supportive messages are important to Sprague, he said.

“It always makes my day. I’m always happy when people enjoy it,” he said. “I get this reaction everywhere I play.”

The Batavian asked him what he wants people to know as they drive or walk past him and wonder what this dude in black is doing on a street corner?

“I don’t want them to be afraid. I hope to inspire them to do what they want,” he said. “I want to set an example to always follow your dreams.”

Check out a snippet of his song, "Apocalypse."

For more information about Danny Christ, go to stevil.bandcamp.com

Daniel Sprague, aka Danny Christ, performs his tunes Sunday at a street corner in Batavia. Photos by Joanne Beck.

Previously:

Morgan Griffin, with a blue and white design on her face and while clutching several plastic animal figures, was happy that she made a trip from Rochester to Batavia Saturday.

The 11-year-old  came with some family members to EverPresent Church’s Fun in the Son carnival. The event greeted visitors with a balloon arch at the entrance, and had several tents set up with games, food and drink, colorful bounce houses and a petting zoo with goats.

“I loved it,” Morgan said. “All the excitement and how nice the people are. They did a good job.”

Her family knows someone in the church and heard about the event, so they took a drive to check it out. Morgan visited every tent and won the toy animals as game prizes.

Much closer to the scene was April Allison. She lives nearby and happened to spot the activity in the City Centre parking lot.

“I was dropping my boyfriend off at work when I saw the balloons,” she said. “So we walked over here.”

Her daughter Adara, who’s going into the fourth grade at John Kennedy Intermediate, liked the bounce houses best. They were checking out the petting zoo after spending a couple of hours there.

Jill Turner of Batavia had seen an online post about the Nortons seeking vendors who might want to help out, so she responded. She has four miniature goats and offered a small petting zoo. They were enclosed in a mobile fence that opened for visiting children to pet and feed them.

“I thought it would be good to bring my goats and do a good deed,” she said.

The zoo was a popular spot. Several children and their parents stopped by, including Adara and her mom. They had seen most of the exhibits, but weren’t quite finished, Adara said just before suggesting the next booth to visit.

“Snowcones,” she said, as the sun beamed down in 80-degree weather.

Pastors Jason and Michelle Norton, leaders of the church, wanted the event to “be a blessing” for the community, and they felt it was a mission accomplished.

Jason worked the refreshment stand while Michelle made announcements from behind tables full of raffle gift baskets. It had been going very well, she said, and Jason had sold more than 150 hotdogs with about an hour remaining before closing time.

From the moment the official beginning hit — 11 a.m. — “we were a steady busy flow of families all the way ’til 3 p.m.,” Michelle said.

“From what we gathered, the children were super blessed; they were so excited and delighted with all the prizes they won, and I know the church family was thrilled to be able to serve our community,” she said. “People were asking us about our church, almost everyone that came had a chance to go through the church and we had well over 100 kids get their faces painted, along with hundreds winning multiple prizes.”

While one goal was to offer some fun entertainment for kids and families, the Nortons also wanted to introduce the church to the community, and vice versa. Jason estimated that "well over 500" people attended, and considered it a huge success.

Mary Hecht sat in the middle of all of the action as she sold tickets for the games and other activities. She’s been going to the church for several years, she said.

Everyone involved has been very pleased, she said.

“We’ve really been very busy; God really blessed us,” she said. “ We were all praying this morning before it started. This has been really nice for the community, it’s been really nice.”

The event was a success on so many levels, Michelle Norton said, including to serve as a fundraiser.

“We raised half the funds for a much-needed heating and air conditioning unit that we need to install, and we made some great connections and some more networking,” she said.  “Our plan is to do this annually. We are playing around with the idea of taking the Fourth of July the day that we have our festival, as long as GO ART! is not doing it anymore.”

The plan is to expand upon what they offered this year, she said, by adding carnival rides, vendors and possibly food trucks.

"We want to turn that parking lot into a full-fledged carnival with some live music, and I think it will happen by next year,” she said.

For previous coverage about the church, go to EverPresent

Top photo: The entrance to Fun in the Son at the City Centre parking lot next to event host EverPresent Church; Morgan Griffin, 11, of Rochester; Visitors at the petting zoo, provided by Jill Turner, center, and Pastor Michelle Norton making announcements during the event Saturday in Batavia.

 

If necessity is the mother of invention, then what is a mother with a dilemma?

She’s an entrepreneur like Alisa Pastecki who opens up shop to help her and fellow moms out.

And Thoughtful Kids Consignment Shop was born.

“I have a one-year-old and a four-year-old, and this was out of an abundance of need for myself because living here in Batavia we didn't have any consignment options. And when I was living in Buffalo previously, one consignment shop that I did like to frequent was on Hertel Avenue, and there was just, there's no parking. It would not be easy to bring two kids in tow with, you know, boxes of clothes to sell,” she said during her shop’s ribbon-cutting grand opening Friday at Harvester Center. “So this was just out of an abundance of need for myself, and I think for the community and other moms like myself.”

While raising her children, Pastecki began to notice the collection of things that she didn’t want to throw out yet also didn’t have many options of where to put them to good use, she said. A consignment shop is a clearinghouse for such gently used goods in which the donor receives a portion of the sales for those items directly given to the store. Pastecki will buy them outright or offer a percentage of the total once sold. 

She chose a street-level spot that’s tucked between a children’s bounce facility and a coffee shop. With help from her husband Douglas and other family members — the grandparents babysat Gloria, 4, and one-year-old Walter — they worked to paint the walls and floor and add custom displays “so that we could get open as soon as possible,” her husband Douglas said.

“It started with a small idea of what are we going to do with all these clothes, we’ve got other parents who are the same as us, who just have all these clothes that need to find a home. And she came up with the idea of doing a pop-up shop or some way an outlet to help people, you know, basically make money and save these clothes from ending up in landfills,” he said. “It's very exciting to go through the process because this is our first time going through starting up the business. So it's been very exciting to see it come to this day of the grand opening. We had so many consignment partners … mothers and families had clothes and needed a place to go.”

They carved out a 600-square-foot niche of assorted children’s clothing, footwear, dolls and other items for newborns up to large kids’ sizes.

Once Alisa had the idea last fall, she just kept inching toward her goal.

“This idea started off probably back in November of last year. And so this started as a pop-up business and grew to be something that I needed a lot more space for. And so that's where the storefront came in,” she said. “And the Harvester, I thought, was the perfect spot to do it, being a business incubator and all. I would say that Thoughtful Kids is quality, savings and community. All three good reasons to shop.”

Pastecki is a native of Tonawanda and moved to Batavia about nine years ago. She met her husband here — he works at Oliver’s Candies — and was familiar with some consignment options in the Buffalo area. But once having her first child she wanted something that would be closer and more convenient for kids’ items.

In addition to her brick-and-mortar store, the 38-year-old plans to offer some pop-up shops in the Western New York area to provide opportunities for fellow moms to buy and sell items as well. It’s a simple concept: “you take stuff and sell it,” she said. People can either drop off their goods or she will pick them up for busy parents, she said.

“So I will drive to their homes. I’ve done Orchard Park and Hamburg in a day. I’ve done Batavia any time, obviously, since I’m local. And then I can really go anywhere, from Rochester to Buffalo,” she said. “The plan is to be permanent here and see where this takes us. Being a business incubator, I don’t know if I’ll ever grow out of the space. But I’m really happy to be at the Harvester right now.”

She is a first-time business owner with a background as a sales executive with a network engineering company. She worked with consignment contracts for telecom equipment.

“So this is kind of a lot of the paperwork and a lot of the things I do for my consigners, it is very similar to what I was doing on a much larger scale for telecom companies all over the world,” she said. “So it kind of fit perfectly when  I was home with my kids during the pandemic.”

Benefits of shopping at her place include saving money — an estimated 50 to 70 percent off retail; buying quality, brand name fashions; positively impacting the environment; experiencing an easy consignment process; and the best reason of all, she said, is to support “a small, local, female-owned business."

Hours listed for the next two weeks are 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 23, 2 to 6 p.m. July 25 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 29 at 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia. For more information, call (716) 984-0515 or go to Thoughtful Kids 

Top photo: Alisa Pastecki shows some of the children's clothing at her new shop on Harvester Avenue, Batavia. Family members help Alisa and husband Douglas, behind her to the left, with the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for Thoughtful Kids Consignment at 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia. The couple's children, Gloria, front near mom, and Walter, being carried, in back row, enjoy the celebration Friday.  Photos by Joanne Beck.

July is the time for reorganization, and that means newly elected board leaders — and one new position — for some of the eight public school districts in Genesee County. These changes are in effect from July 1 to June 30, 2023.

Alexander Central School: Brian Paris will continue as president, and Molly Grimes, sworn in for her second five-year term, was elected vice president, Superintendent Jared Taft said.

For more information about the Board of Education, go to: Alexander 

Batavia City School District: John Marucci went from vice president to president, and John Reigle was elected as vice president during the board’s meeting on July 7. Newly elected member Korinne Anderson will fill the vacancy left by Michelle Hume.

For more information about the city’s Board of Education, go to Batavia  

Byron-Bergen Central School:  According to the district’s website, Debra List is president and Yvonne Ace-Wagoner, vice president.

For more information about the board, go to Byron-Bergen 

Elba Central School: Michael Riner was elected as president and Travis Torrey as vice president, said District Clerk Donna Harris.

New board member Mercy Caparco filled a vacancy left by longtime board member Michael Augello, who had served 10 years on the board as a member and president.

For more information about the board, go to Elba   

Le Roy Central School: Superintendent Merritt Holly reported that Jackie Whiting was elected as president and Rich Lawrence for vice president.

For more information about the board, go to Le Roy

Oakfield-Alabama Central School: Justin Staebell remains as president and Jackie Yunker Davis as vice president, Superintendent John Fisgus said.

There is a bit of news for the district’s board, though, he said. A new position was approved as part of the budget vote in May.

“For the first time in Oakfield-Alabama, we do have a student ex-officio board member that sits on our board as a student body representative,” Fisgus said. “His name is Aiden Warner, and he will be going into his senior year here.”

For more information about the board, go to Oakfield-Alabama 

Pavilion Central School: According to the district’s website, Marirose Ethington was elected president and Jeff Finch as vice president.

For more information about the board, go to Pavilion  

Pembroke Central School: John Cima was re-elected as president and Ed Levinstein as vice president, Superintendent Matthew Calderon said.

For more information about the board, go to Pembroke

 

John Marucci has a message for his district citizens.

He is an open book, he says. And the newly elected Batavia City Schools board president intends to lead the board with a commitment to “honesty and transparency.” That means don’t be afraid to contact him when necessary.

“Please reach out to me should you have any questions or concerns. I’m here to assist the members of the district in any way I can,” he said to The Batavian. “I’ve lived in Batavia for eight years and absolutely love this community. I look forward to serving you in this new capacity.”

What do you see as priorities for the board president?
My priorities as BCSD Board of Education president include ensuring that Superintendent (Jason) Smith and our school administration have everything they need to successfully execute the programs and initiatives outlined in our recently passed budget,” Marucci said. “I’m proud to work alongside my fellow BOE members, who are very committed to supporting the BCSD and doing what's best for our students, staff and community.”

Marucci was recently sworn into his new role, which officially began July 1. Each board term runs through June 30 of the following year. This is Marucci’s second three-year term, and it expires in 2025. He will be coming in as the board leader with prior experience as the vice president for a year. As 2022 progresses onward toward 2023, he looks forward to working through the budget process and planning for the future, he said.

He’s also excited to be able “to work in a closer capacity with Superintendent Smith,” he said, adding that he thinks Smith was a “fantastic hire” who is going to do great things for the city school district.

“I think he's done a phenomenal job during his first few months with us and I can't wait to see what he does in the future,” Marucci said.

What goals would you like to set for the board and its role with the district for this next year?
“The BCSD BOE actually sets our goals collectively each fall,” he said. “We have an upcoming retreat planned where we'll all come together a

nd collaborate on what we hope to prioritize for the upcoming school year.”

Marucci has been a resident of Batavia since July of 2014. Three of his children are Batavia High School graduates and a son is in the Class of 2025 at the school. Marucci has served on the Batavia Bulldawgs Board and as a coach for seven years. He is a recipient of the Jim Ellegate Memorial Award by The Niagara / Orleans Football Association for “The Love  of the Game and More Importantly The Love of Children." He previously served as the head coach for the BCSD Modified Wrestling Team and also assisted in coaching Batavia Little Devils Youth Wrestling Club. 

Giving credit where it's due
Aside from his own personal and professional goals, Marucci wants to thank former board President Alice Ann Benedict for her leadership during the last two years. Being a veteran board member who also served on the board for several years before this stint, Benedict provided an education for other members, he said.

“She is a seasoned member of the Board of Education, and I certainly learned a lot about being president by sitting beside her. I was always impressed with how she ran meetings, how professional she was, and (how) she presented herself and the district,” he said. “I’m extremely happy that she has another year with us on her current term, where she'll continue to be able to contribute her knowledge and passion for education and the district.” 

Benedict’s term is up on June 30, 2023. Member John Reigle, whose term is up in 2024, was voted in as vice president during the group’s recent reorganizational meeting. 

Reigle was appointed to the board in August 2020 to fill a vacancy.  He and his wife, Ashlee, have three children – one who graduated in 2020, another who attends BHS, and one who attends John Kennedy Intermediate.

A lifelong Batavia resident, he earned a football scholarship to South Dakota Tech upon his graduation from BHS, and he played there for three years, studying business before returning home. He is currently the manager of Timebuyer Auto Sales and has remained active in youth sports as a founding member and commissioner of the Batavia Bulldawgs Youth Football and Cheer program. 

Reigle believes that, with his relationships with the district families, teachers, and faculty members, that "I will contribute towards the continued success of our district both academically as well as with our extracurricular activities such as athletics, arts, and music," he said. 

It’s a topic that has come up before: maintain a residency requirement or not for a new hire?

City Council has discussed the topic over the years — usually when a qualified candidate has everything city officials are looking for, except for living in Batavia. The City Code has required that the city manager and assistant manager, plus other department head positions, maintain their residence in the city.

Former City Manager Jason Molino raised the issue when seeking an assistant manager and police and fire chief. He pointed to the fact that sometimes qualified candidates walk through the door but don’t meet that one requirement. It becomes a question of filling the vacancy with someone perceived as the right candidate or with someone less qualified but who lives in the city.

It really didn’t make for much discussion; most everyone was fully on board with the idea. There isn’t a danger of setting a precedent, Council President Eugene Jankowski said, because a former council agreed how to handle the situation.

“Several years ago, when Jason Molino was still here, he talked about the difficulty of finding talented people to work here because of the residency requirements. So at the time, the discussion was, let's take it on a case by case basis, where certain lines will not be crossed,” Jankowski said to The Batavian after Monday’s meeting. “Like, as far as city manager, that person will have to live in the city.”

At other times, though, there are “certain circumstances that are beyond people's control,” and when they are good and talented people, council will try to make an exception if that's appropriate, he said.

“In this particular case tonight, that was one of those cases. We have a talented individual, very actively involved in our community, from the community, and he just happens to live a few miles outside the city,” Jankowski said. “I mean, he's definitely one of the residents, just visually not in the city. But he spends a lot of time here. So taking all that into consideration. from my perspective, I thought it was a wise move, to keep that talent here and bring it out into the city. And maybe hopefully, over time, when his kids get through school, he'll want to live in the city, he'll move back.”

Council approved the move unanimously 9-0. Councilman Bob Bialkowski was the only one to share the ideal he’d like to see happen.

“Personally, I like to see anybody getting a paycheck from the city living in the city,” he said.

Tabelski explained that it was only after an extensive search that she made an offer to Fix, who is the current president of Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

She understands that the residency requirement is in the city Charter, but on the other hand, “we have a really qualified person who really wants to come in and do the job,” she said.

“And I recruited him after showing him my neighborhood revitalization thoughts. And that's what piqued his interest, because I had recruited Eric the first time around for assistant city manager, and he declined me graciously, but we've kept a relationship ever since. And then this time around, we had a lot more conversations and I recruited him again. And the sticking point was that his family is established in Le Roy, and the residency requirement goes with the position,” she said. So I think, not speaking for council, but I do think they felt comfortable after understanding that this is, you know, Eric said, ‘it's just where I lay my head. I'm in the city of Batavia every single day. And my parents are here. My family is here, other siblings are here.’”

One of Tabelski’s objectives for the assistant role is to focus on neighborhood development to build up each pocket of Batavia to become a strong, safe and sustainable area on its own. Fix gravitated toward her objectives, stating that he wants to do something that will make a difference and be a tangible change he could see, she said.

“Not that he wasn't doing that with the chamber, but he doesn't want to see the city's neighborhoods get in any more way or shape of decline,” she said. “So I'm excited, absolutely excited to work with him. He is a very thoughtful leader and he catches on to things very quickly, and I think he'll hit the ground running.”

If, at some, point Fix was to become the city manager, that waiver would not automatically go with him, she and Jankowski said. The manager position’s residency requirement to live in the city of Batavia will remain, they said.

“So this way, it gives us some control. When we're able to keep it as if it was a blanket no residency requirement, I think it would be more difficult to get somebody maybe to live here in the beginning of their career,” Jankowski said. “This way it gives them something to draw them in. And most of the ones that have moved here, there's been no complaints.”

Fix was hired at a salary of about $103,000.

File photos: Erik Fix, City Councilman Bob Bialkowski, and City Manager Rachael Tabelski. 

More than 50 groups, from high school marching bands and this year’s Little League champs to Shriners in their tiny cars, the Hitmen Brass Band, American Legion colorguard and floats each from three different alumni classes, the 2022 Oatka Festival will remind spectators what they’ve missed during the pandemic.

After two long years of social distancing, this year’s festival promises folks two full days of parade entertainment, assorted yummy food tents, a fishing and a duck derby, the reunion gathering of Class of 1965, ’67’ and ’77, a music tent, children’s activities, a car show, photo contest, and craft and food vendors.

The fun kicks off Friday evening with a dance for LeRoy students that runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for grades one to six and 8 to 10 p.m. for grades seven to 12. The festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the banks of Oatka Creek and in Trigon Park.

“It’s Le Roy’s little state fair, just a little community get-together," said Scott Ripley, chairman of the parade committee.

It’s an understatement to say planning such an event takes time.

“I start calling people for the parade in January; you've got to book them early," Ripley said. "The parade is awesome, I love the parade. It lasts for a good hour.” 

His first year helping out was in 2012, and he recalled how he and his wife Mary Margaret handed out coupons for a free cookie from her prior bakery shop. They handed out 500 of them, he said. The parade typically draws much more than that, as people line both sides of Main Street.

Ripley has also served as parade announcer and has become well-versed in most aspects of the event, from the “fire department’s potatoes” to a surprise at this year’s duck derby.

He was happy to book a return visit from Downbeat Percussion, which was last there about six years ago. The group’s first performance was in 2013, and it has expanded throughout New York State, including for the Buffalo Bills, and in Canada for parades. Downbeat’s website states the group “will energize your parade with our world-class performers and entertainers.”

“So that's gonna be exciting to see the original percussions of the Buffalo Bills,” Ripley said.

The parade is to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, and anyone that walks in unregistered — but is ready to go — will still be accepted, he said.

Other groups include the Mighty St. Joe’s Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps, a crowd favorite, and The Hitmen Brass Band, a fun and talented group of musicians, who dress the part in colorful pin-stripe zoot suits. Formerly from Attica, they were founded in 2002 by World Drum Corps and Buglers Hall of Fame Member David Martin. 

Ripley just registered two more groups this week, including Limerock Speedway and an auto-detailing company. A first-time float from Le Roy’s Historical Society will pay homage to Ingham University, which once graced the banks of the Oatka in Le Roy, New York and was the first women's college in New York State and the first chartered women's university in the United States.

Back to those potatoes, which the fire department buys whole, slices, and fries into a golden crispy french fry. There’s also Le Roy Rotary’s hotdogs, plus pizza, pulled pork, chicken barbecue and beef on weck.

Kids will have plenty to do, Ripley said, with a mini petting zoo, a child-friendly mechanical bull, a rock wall, Mr. Scribbles, a boot camp challenge and a two-lane balloon slide.

Is your child photogenic and like Jell-O? Snap a picture and enter it for the Toddler’s First Picture Eating Jell-O contest. There will be a public vote of the entries during the festival, and the winner receives a basket full of Jell-O products. Entries must be submitted by Thursday.

Vendors will be selling their wares of glass fixtures, T-shirts, rugs, Farmers Market produce, baby booties, washcloths, meat and more. There will also be a K-9 demonstration, a used book sale and music by various artists, including a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. A 50/50 raffle promises one winner $500 on Saturday and another winner of half the grand total pot on Sunday. Both drawings are set for 5 p.m. each day. That grand bounty is at least $1,000 “for sure,” Ripley said.

For more information about the festival schedule or related events, go to oatkafestival.org.

2018 File photos of Le Roy's Oatka Festival. Photos by Howard Owens.

Here are two videos from 2019, when Le Roy was able to last host the Oatka Festival.

 

Matt Gray and his folks, Bob Gray and Sharon Valyear-Gray, sat in the audience during City Council’s conference meeting Monday evening. Matt was waiting to hear what came soon in the business meeting that followed: a unanimous 9-0 vote to approve his pitch as Batavia Sports Facility Management to fully embrace operations at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena.

"I'm very proud of him," Valyear-Gray said.

City officials’ reactions ranged from happiness to nostalgia.

“This is fantastic,” councilman Paul Viele said. “It’s good to see local people interested in the ice rink.”

Councilman Bob Bialkowski and President Eugene Jankoski were excited about the prospects of having a local Batavian on board.

“It’s great, just great to see community involvement,” Bialkowski said.

The contract is with Matt as owner of Batavia Sports Facility. It’s a five-year contract, with up to three five-year renewals. Matt, who has partnerships with Eli Fish Brewery and Matty’s Pizza, has an eye toward the snack bar with thoughts that perhaps some of that familiar food and drink would be served there.

"We do plan, in the very near future, some upgrades to the existing snack shop. We do have a five-year plan with quite a bit of capital improvements to it … so we do hope that we can extend the snack bar into more of a sit-down area inside the rink,” he said.

Since he was in kindergarten, Matt played ice hockey at the Evans Street arena, all through high school and even when he attended college locally, he said. So it’s fair to say that he’s been actively involved with the ice rink and Ramparts hockey team for more than a decade.

“But even more than that, I’ve been active for the last five years or so with development of that area,” he said during a quick interview with The Batavian after the meeting. “So not only am I interested in doing the necessary improvements to the rink  - it is aging, it’s over 40 years old — but it also could be an economic catalyst for the entire downtown area. My goal was to see it used to its fullest, not only for more of the residents of the city and town of Batavia but also drawing more people in from (outside of the local area).”

Matt’s proposal is “super exciting,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said to The Batavian after the meeting. She was a teen in the early 90s and remembers Batavia as “really a fun place to come to.” The city had amenities such as an arcade of games, a swimming and wading pool and a fairly active ice rink.

“I think we’re bringing the 80s and 90s back,” she said.

Matt clarified that he doesn’t have an official partnership with Robbie Nichols, owner of Batavia Muckdogs and CAN-USA Sports and operator of Dwyer Stadium. But because of Nichols’ extensive background in the business of sports, he and Matt have been discussing various ideas for the rink.

“He did reach out to me with his expertise and his experience in order to be part of this, both for marketing and someone I can go to for just knowledge on risk management,” Matt said.

Activities planned for the rink include special events, dog shows, rollerskating, youth and adult floor/roller hockey, gym classes, home shows, indoor basketball and soccer, gun shows, all in addition to open skates and ice hockey leagues.

Batavia Sports Facility is taking over for former operations company Firland Management, which did not renew a contract in July.

Previously: From beer and pizza to ice, Batavia entrepreneur proposes his next venture

Photo: Batavia entrepreneur Matt Gray walks out of a City Council meeting Monday evening with the approval from all nine council members for his proposal to operate and manage the ice rink as Batavia Sports Facility Management.

Following years of jokingly being addressed as a key dignitary for the Redfield Parkway neighborhood, Jim Owen finally got his wish.

The native Batavian, former teacher, coach, active citizen and well-known figure around town was dubbed the title Mayor of Redfield during City Council’s meeting Monday.

After reading some of Owen’s history, Council President Eugene Jankowski presented the 1961 Batavia High School grad with a proclamation to recognize his “many years of dedicated service within the city and the Redfield neighborhood.”

“The City Council of the city of Batavia hereby extends this proclamation to Jim Owen for his devotion, dedication and service to the city of Batavia and names him the Mayor of Redfield Parkway,” Jankowski said.

If you don’t know Owen, an affable guy with a sense of humor, a coach’s perseverance and a teacher’s knowledge of Batavia’s history, then you must not have attended a ribbon-cutting, school event, business opening or a myriad of other activities that Owen has made certain to attend.

Long regarded for his involvement on his two lane street wedged between the veteran’s hospital and West Main Street, Owen probably could have run for Mr. Batavia. He’s the friendly face and sociable personality at, well, most everything.

Unofficially, Owen has been called mayor by many who know him, and he has gladly accepted the title.

James (Jim) Owen grew up with his family on Redfield Parkway and made the seasonally decorated street part of his life for nearly 80 years. It's lined with Christmas trees in winter, jack-o-lanterns in the fall and baskets of flowers in spring and summer. He’s the son of Frank E. Owen (whose name now graces Batavia High School’s auditorium), and Natalie Walker Owen. Jim lived on the parkway with his siblings, Kathy and Robert.

After graduating high school, Owen attended Morrisville Institue of Technology, followed by Rochester Institute of Technology. He was first hired as teacher in Sacketts Harbor and later at Hamburg Central School, where he enjoyed his work and coaching cross-country for 35 years.

He retired from Hamburg Central in 2003. Owen then returned to his beloved 2 Refield Parkwy home, obtained a job as a substitute teacher at Batavia City Schools and assisted with “all things Redfield.” Those who do know Jim Owen call him mayor for his exhaustive participation in his neighborhood and informal role as ambassador in the community, his proclamation states.

In December 2021 GO ART! dedicated its library to the Owen family, which includes his father Frank, a music teacher who developed much of the music program at the city schools. A man of humility, Jim Owen has been first to point the attention elsewhere, primarily to his late sister Kathy for all of the work that she did in their neighborhood and beyond, and to his family.

After offering his “warm thanks” to council for the honor, he reminded the audience — which included a group of his Redfield neighbors — that “you are not only honoring me, you are also honoring Kathy Owen, the queen of Redfield Parkway, and the Owen family.”

He took a trip down memory lane while providing a little history lesson about his neighborhood. The corner lot, number 2, was previously owned before being sold to his parents “by a very prominent lady at that time,” he said. That was none other than Edna Gruber Reeves, a well-known “professional madam.”

His dad, Frank, made sure to handle the closing of the property sale at an attorney’s office, as he thought it was much more proper than to be seen walking out of Edna’s place.

After everyone had a giggle, Owen thanked neighbors Mike Riggi, Michael Dibacco and Linda Conroy for coining the term “Mayor of Redfield Parkway” for Owen, and the many others who kept that moniker alive all this time.

“Now it is official,” he said. “Thanks to the City Council and all the people that made this day special.”

Top photo: Batavia resident Jim Owen, aka "the Mayor of Redfield Parkway," shows the proclamation given to him during City Council's meeting Monday at City Hall. Above, City Council President Eugene Jankowski reads the proclamation to make Owen's title official. Photos by Joanne Beck.

Over the last six-plus years, plans — and hopes — for a new and improved Healthy Living campus have certainly been put to the test.

A zoning change, suggestions for less cement and more green space, lighting up Wiard Street and rethinking an entry/exit from Summit Street, plus the constant push to raise money for the $33.5 million project may have given pause but never a fullstop since 2016.

Officials and community members celebrated Monday what United Memorial Medical Center CEO Dan Ireland described as making “this vision a reality.”

Ireland and about 100 others gathered at 213 East Main St., Batavia, one of the parcels between Main and Bank Street that will be the future 78,000-square-foot facility.

“This is a pivotal and historic day in our community’s health and wellness journey,” Ireland said. “We are breaking ground on an innovative, forward-thinking model of integrated health and wellness that will transform downtown Batavia. From a healthcare perspective, this facility and model of care that it represents will exemplify how healthcare can evolve to support the healthcare needs of the community today and for the next generations.”

“The Healthy Living Campus is the future of health care, where medical and wellness programs are integrated under one roof. It’s made possible through our community partnerships, and it’s helping patients get all the care they need and deserve in one place. 

He recalled the high level of effort it has taken during the past nearly seven years of planning, collaboration and diligent work to reach this point. He credited Rochester Regional Health’s staff teams, community partners, GLOW YMCA and “most importantly you” for arriving at the day shovels were symbolically plunged into the earth.

Not only was the event about a new facility, but also about an “innovative and integrated” system of what and how care is delivered. Meal planning, building healthy habits, assessing mental and physical health, and taking preventive measures for well-being are just some of the services to be offered.

Add in state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a new pool, an indoor track, a teaching kitchen, and an adventure room play area for children.

Top it off with 22 exam rooms and two medical procedure rooms for primary care, telemedicine appointments, behavioral health and crisis intervention support, cancer prevention, chronic illness, and community education services, and the site is a one-stop-shop for many health concerns and fitness goals, officials said. There will also be a drop-in childcare center.

“Today is not just a celebration of a new building or clinic, it’s the celebration of a community coming together to reimagine health and wellness of the future and transform our downtown," Ireland said. "It’s celebrating you and your friends and neighbors who have worked tirelessly over seven years to advocate, plan and collaborate to make this vision a reality. Without your voices, your ideas, your support, we would not be here today at this milestone. We are embarking on this exciting new chapter of health and wellness in Downtown Batavia.”

The project’s birth was a few city managers ago, when talk of an expanded Healthy Living campus at times seemed pie-in-the-sky for some. Seeing it finally come to fruition is “a big load off our minds,” City Council President Eugene Jankowski said.

“I’m excited to see this project begin,” he said. “There were a lot of setbacks, and it’s really easy to call it quits.”

He thanked all involved for remaining steadfast on the journey and “moving forward to positive outcomes” in the city’s future.

Robert Walker, CEO of GLOW YMCA, remembered picking up the phone back then and becoming engaged in the concept. Almost seven years later, this plan “has truly changed the path of both organizations,” he said.

“Your leadership and support have impacted me tremendously,” he said.

He cited the YMCA’s mission statement: To develop the spiritual, mental, and physical wellness of all people in an atmosphere of Christian fellowship and thanked individual and collective community members for their determination to come together, strive for improvement, and see this project through.

“The GLOW YMCA and Rochester Regional Health Healthy Living Campus is a place for children, adults, and families from all walks of life in our community to come together and improve their lives — spirit, mind and body,” Walker said. “The state-of-the-art campus will not only be a benefit for the health of our residents, but also for the health of our local businesses, transforming downtown Batavia.”

Perhaps equally notable to the support for the project is the timing now, in the midst of a post-pandemic, RRH CEO Dr. Richard Davis said.

We’re all about reimagining what healthcare can and must be in the 21st Century, we’re focusing on those strategic themes and talents of literally 20,000 of our team members … delivering the right care, in the right place, at the right time, to achieve the right health outcomes for the right value,” he said. “Healthy Living is a shining example of what truly is an innovative model.”

The strengths of two organizations — RRH and YMCA — are being brought together to offer the best of each one alone as an essential service to the city of Batavia, he said.

Officials also included Rob Rodriguez, NYS secretary of state, Senator Edward Rath III, Tom Houseknecht, on behalf of him and his wife Lynn, and Paul Battaglia, chairman of the YMCA Campaign Committee.

“I know when we started this quest in 2016 … many people thought this was an impossible dream. Now … this dream is coming true,” Battaglia said. “Today we’re not just celebrating the groundbreaking of a building, but celebrating the health of our community. This is a transformational project that is going to completely change the downtown area. It’s going to bring people downtown, create excitement and vitality that we believe will have a significant domino effect on the local businesses there. We could not be prouder of this relationship.”

The Healthy Living project was made possible with state, federal and community fundraiser monies, including an NYS economic development health care grant of $11.6 million, a $4.1 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, and ongoing fundraising efforts by more than 50 GLOW YMCA and RRH volunteers.

Officials expect construction to be completed in 2023.

Top photo: Officials take shovels in hand for the symbolic gesture during the Healthy Living campus groundbreaking ceremony Monday at 16 Bank St., Batavia. United Memorial Medical Center CEO Dan Ireland, Rob Walker, CEO of GLOW YMCA and Rochester Regional Health CEO Dr. Richard Davis say a few words during the event. Photos by Howard Owens. Renderings of the project provided by RRH.

Just as the deadline for public comments was coming to a close Thursday, local municipalities were giving their reasons for opposing a request for what they believe is an excessive amount of water from City Well D.

The Department of Environmental Conservation is at the center of the request from Seneca Power Partners and opposing sides of the city and town of Batavia and Genesee County. DEC Communications spokeswoman Andrea Pedrick told The Batavian Thursday that “the public comment period ends today. DEC’s next step is to evaluate the application and any comments received to determine next steps.”

“The letter of opposition will be reviewed the same as any other public comments sent to DEC regarding this application,” Pedrick said. “It would be speculative to speak ahead of this review process.”

Seneca Power Partners surprised the municipality leaders with the permit request to draw 715,600 gallons of water per day from the city’s well for the company’s Batavia Power Plant at 163 Cedar St., Batavia. Such extraction of water daily could greatly affect the water supply for local citizens, the opposing letters stated in much more elaborated terms. (See Batavia company seeks permit for water, faces opposition)

The opposition ...
Batavia Town Supervisor Greg Post agrees with the reasons cited by city and Genesee County officials for opposing the application. In addition to letters sent by the other two municipalities, Post also sent a letter with additional ramifications if the request is granted.

One topic that has not been considered in the application or related reports is “the collateral environmental impacts,” Post said.

He has witnessed how excess demands on the aquifer downstream, primarily east and north of the city’s wellfield, he said. DeWitt Park, Seven Springs Country Club, Rochester Zen Center, Retreat at Chapin Mill, Horseshoe Lake, and Genesee County Fish and Game Protective Association (at Godfrey’s Pond) all depend on the water supply from this aquifer to maintain wetlands, ponds, lakes, and headwaters of Bigelow Creek “in the same manner consistent with the past several centuries," he said.

Post disagrees with SPP's environmental assessment that there are “no known significant individual or cumulative adverse environmental impacts” from the large withdrawal of water for Batavia Power Plant each day. Reports used as supporting documentation for SPP’s request were based mostly during low usage of the aquifer than more current times would show, Post said.

“Our concern is that any further demands on the aquifer that sustains this region’s people, industries, commerce, agriculture, and the ecological system should be looked at in more depth than the current assembled application,” Post said. “I would strongly ask that all parties demand the time to more thoroughly investigate the consequences of this permit issue.”

Genesee County is still weighing its options for how and if to respond if DEC grants the request, County Manager Matt Landers said. He wasn’t certain whether public hearings would be a future option, and the county is “handling the situation directly with DEC” right now while keeping the public informed through press releases of its correspondence with the agency, he said. To his understanding, “the permitting decision is solely in the hands of the DEC.”

“We obviously hope our letter speaks for itself to the DEC and they deny the application for the permit,” he said. “We are hopeful that an additional strain on one of the main sources of water in Genesee County is not put in place. Putting additional strain on the County’s ability to deliver safe, clean and reliable water to the residents of Genesee County is certainly not in our best interest.”

County Legislature Chairwoman Rochelle Stein said the county would like to “encourage NYS DEC to consider our comments of opposition to the request.”

“We will work in cooperation with our municipal partners as the review process evolves,” she said.

In response to The Batavian’s request for a worst-case scenario if the request is approved, Stein said that could be a “possible reduction of available raw water … for our residents and further water restriction possibilities.”

The applicant ...
In its application, a 662-page document stating its case with several supporting documents, Seneca Power Partners said that the use of water is “an integral part of the energy production process and is proportional to production.” More water is needed to produce more electricity. A simplified route the water takes looks something like this:

Water + heated by natural gas = steam = spins a turbine = goes into a generator = energy converted to electricity

The steam often evaporates and cannot be collected after the process, applicant John Trendowski, on behalf of the company, stated. Batavia  Power Plant tries to minimize its water usage and repairs any leaks within the system in a timely manner. Any wastewater generated will continue to be discharged to the city of Batavia sanitary sewer, treated by the publicly owned wastewater treatment plant for eventual discharge to Tonawanda Creek, Trendowski said.

As production increases, the need for additional water will also increase as there will be more evaporative losses. The facility will track water intake from the well and the city, as well as water discharged to the city of Batavia wastewater treatment plant, he said.

“Although after-efficiency processes may reduce water usage slightly, energy production is a water-intensive process. This project was selected from evaluated alternatives because Batavia Power Plant has struggled economically in the energy market over the last several years. By using the well located on the property on Cedar Street, the Batavia Power Plant can limit its intake water from the city of Batavia,” the application states. “The generation of electricity requires significant amounts of water for cooling purposes, which is proportional to energy production. By reducing the amount of potable water required from the city, the facility can alleviate some of these expenses.”

The water withdrawal by the city to supply water to Batavia Power Plant has occurred since 1996, and based on a hydrogeologic report for Batavia wellfield, “withdrawing water directly from Well D should not have an effect on the water supply for municipalities or industrial sources in the area,” the permit application states.

The application points to major tributary watersheds that connect to Niagara River and Lake Erie, including Tonawanda Creek, which is 1,538 river miles. The creek itself is not the best source of consumable water due to its high turbidity and need for treatment, city officials said in their letter of opposition.

In the letter accompanying SPP’s permit application, Brian Gregson, development manager of Seneca Power Partners, and John Trendowski, senior principal with C&S Engineers, Inc., are the primary representatives for the request.

Not familiar with Seneca Power Partners has seemingly operated under the public radar, with no company signage to indicate it’s even there (on Cedar Street near O-AT-KA), sparse information online, and few, if any, public mentions.

The permit application is now in the hands of the DEC for a final decision.

Top photo: National Grid transmission lines near the power plant; the plant on Cedar Street in Batavia; an aerial view provided within the application; power lines running from the National Grid lines to the power plant. Photos by Howard Owens.

Restaurants? Check. Brewery? Check. Quality apartments? Pizza shop? Of course.

After successfully dipping his hands into a varied professional portfolio, Matt Gray is now going into the ice business.

His bid, along with CAN-USA Sports, LLC, to manage operations at the city’s ice arena will be up for discussion at City Council’s conference meeting next week. It’s set for 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

Earlier this year the city sought requests for proposal to take over the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena since Firland Management did not seek to renew its contract, which expired June 30. Listing a set of requirements and expectations for who the appropriate candidate would be, the city wanted a manager to help grow the use and presence of the Evans Street rink.

Apparently, according to a memo from City Manager Rachael Tabelski, Batavia Sports Facility Management, led by Gray, hit that sweet spot.

The company “submitted a proposal that is focused on increasing the long-term usage of the rink by actively targeting new local participants through marketing a broader selection of offerings, such as sunrise health programming, a summer roller public skate, curling and private party rentals,” she said.

“They are also focused on increasing the number of events held at the arena to attract large volumes of out-of-area users to realize the potential of the facility as an economic engine for the city,” Tabelski said. “These will include trade show, sports tournaments and concerts.”

Gray has an extensive background of serving on boards and putting his money where his mouth is. He owns Alex’s Place, has a partnership for Eli Fish Brewing Company and Matty’s Pizza, plus operates a property management company with retail properties and a mixed use building — with the brewery and seven market-rate apartments — in downtown Batavia. He also has a partnership for five restaurants in North Carolina. For the past 25 years, he has managed nine start-ups, developing several brands from concept and launch to a fully mature and operational enterprise.

Gray currently serves on the city’s Planning and Development Board, is vice president of Genesee County Economic Development Corporation and other current roles are on Batavia Development Corporation Small Business Workgroup, Batavia Business Improvement District Promotions Committee and as a USA Hockey Level 4 coach.

The entrepreneur has also served with other groups, including the Downtown Revitalization Initiative Committee, Batavia’s Creek Park Youth Hockey Economic Development Committee and is a founding member of the city’s Community Garden. He is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Genesee.

Speaking of money, Batavia Sports Facility Management has also proposed collaboration with the city to help with capital improvements at the ice facility “and expend funds from their own budget,” Tabelski said in her memo. That means doling out $140,000 toward capital expenses for:

• Replacement of most fixtures for the concession area
• Converting half of the office space to dry storage
• Upgrade surfaces for a “warmer and inviting space” to serve as a party room
• Install new LED lights throughout the facility
• Add new inventory of roller and inline skates for summertime public use
• Make improvements to the audio/visual system
• Expand the food stand with dedicated seating in a sports bar concept
• Invest in curling equipment

Tabelski has recommended that City Council approve an agreement with the Batavia management group.

Might there be craft beer and pizza in the arena’s future? Gray was not available for comment Friday.

2022 File Photo of Matt Gray, Batavia entrepreneur, who has now proposed management of the city's ice arena.

When Batavia native Jason Norton returned from a life out west with wife Michelle, they had a goal in mind to live in a more rural environment and slower-paced country life.

After settling into their first home, the couple spotted a cow in a neighboring yard. Rural it was.

“We’re home,” Jason said.

That was in 2000. Zoom ahead to this year, and they have been pastors of Everpresent Church at 4 Batavia City Centre for five years. Although most churches suffered loss of attendance due to COVID’s shutdown, the Nortons feel blessed that their small congregation was able to withstand the parameters of social distancing and only closed for 11 weeks.

The couple — and parents to 6-year-old Camilla — are in rebounding mode. Michelle said that some statistics show that 50 percent of the people that stopped going to church during the pandemic haven’t returned. She and Jason are “very community oriented” and family-friendly. The non-denominational, Bible-based church has previously been involved in outreach and she wants to resume those efforts.

The church will be hosting an event, Fun in the Son, catering especially to children with 10 carnival-like games; facepainting; a petting zoo with bunnies, a goat, chickens and ducks; bounce houses; a basket raffle; and hotdogs, chips, pop, snow cones and waffle cakes.

It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 16 in the parking lot at Alva Place and Bank Street.

“It’s our way to get back out to the community,” Mrs. Norton said. “We're very family oriented. We are very kid oriented. And we just wanted to create this event to bring families back out together, because I noticed the community has a lot of things for adults, but not a whole lot for families together.”

A sheet of 25 tickets is $5, and kids can throw axes — little plastic ones that stick to the target — get a ping pong ball in a cup and other similar games. The sheet also includes a raffle ticket for each a girls and a boys bicycle. Other prizes will be given away throughout the day, such as gift cards to McDonald’s, Subway and Pizza 151.

Every child is to get at least one small prize, Michelle said, and those collected prizes can be turned in for bigger prizes.

This will be a church event that’s not so much about church, or preaching, she said. Fun in the Son is an opportunity for people to meet and get to know the Nortons and their church family, she said. Jason added that many events of the past are no longer around — St. Joe’s parade and carnival, and other town and village fundraising events — and he’d like to see activities return for families to enjoy.

Proceeds from the event will go to support “much-needed building repairs” at the church.

“Our church needs a new heating unit. And so we're doing a fundraiser,” Michelle said. “Whether we make money or we break even, it doesn't matter, because, like I said, we want to do it anyways for the community.”

The congregation has 35 to 40 members, and the Nortons would like to see it grow. They offer a Tuesday prayer service, Wednesday Bible study and Sunday service. Everpresent’s mission is “to foster an atmosphere of genuine love, where people can encourage one another and grow in their gifts and talents.”

“We love our community,” Jason said. “We just really want our community to know we’re here, and there will be a blessing.”

For more information, go to Everpresent Church. 

Submitted photo of Pastors Jason and Michelle Norton and their daughter Camilla.

Neither the outgoing nor incoming president was at Batavia City School board’s reorganizational meeting Thursday, but the remaining board members voted to put John Marucci in the role.

He was sworn in via Zoom. Marucci was the board vice president, having served three years, and had previously said that he “thoroughly enjoyed serving the students, parents and staff of the BCSD.”

Marucci, a resident of Batavia for five years with one son in the school system, is an active coach for the Batavia Bulldawgs Youth Football organization, and is head coach for the Vartsity team. He was previously head coach for the BMS modified wrestling team and helped coach Batavia Little Devils’ youth wrestling. His term ends in July of 2025, and has said that serving Batavia’s youth is a main reason for his participation on the school board. 

Marucci was not able to answer questions from The Batavian about his new title and position Thursday evening, as he is visiting family out of state. He will be available to do so on Wednesday, he said.

Former president Alice Benedict’s term is up in July 2023 after being appointed in May 2020 to fill out a vacated position. Benedict is no stranger to the Board of Education, having served from 1995 to 2006, and for three terms as president.

Board member John Reigle, whose term ends in July 2024, was elected vice president.

Two public hearings — about the Code of Conduct and hiring a second school resource officer — followed the reorganizational meeting. No one from the public spoke at the hearings, and both topics were approved later by the board.

Superintendent Jason Smith said that the Code of Conduct has received a thorough review by the school attorney “to make the code in line with current law and or current recommendations.”

“Our attorneys gave us some key updates that needed to be modified other than updated definitions for bullying, or harassment, to comply with the current Dignity For All Students Act,” Smith said. “Some modifications there, I think, we added definitions as to what is a tobacco product, what under the influence means and … illegal substances, that has been clarified as well.”

They have also revised the definition of "weapon," and when and if students would face certain consequences. Section three’s language was clarified and cleaned up, he said, to state that “students have a right to learn in a safe and supportive school environment.”

“A lot of the pieces that were in there have been removed because it's covered with the Dignity For All Students Act, and we modified some language regarding privacy and public restrooms and locker rooms, and expectations for that as well,” he said.

Section five reflects “a nice presentation in June by (BHS Principal) Paul Kesler and his students” about the dress code. Their work and attorney input focused on a gender-neutral dress code that didn’t particularly target guys or gals.

Other revisions included cyberbullying and virtual learning code of conduct, plus the addition of some legal updates to the prohibition against discrimination, harassment and or bullying. Long-term suspensions were considered, and families have the right to appeal the board on a five-day suspension.

“In the rare event that those are challenged or appealed, that clarifies that language,” Smith said. “It also clarifies long-term suspension appeals.”

Click here to view the Code of Conduct 

The school board also approved the move to hire a second resource officer for the district and a related contract with the city of Batavia.

“The proposal is to use additional COVID funding previously designated for learning … and use some of those funds. And we can gradually build a budget over time (to afford the positions when COVID funding is gone),” he said.

Given the tragedies this spring of mass shootings at a school in Texas and earlier much closer to home in Buffalo, the awareness of staff and families has been heightened of such possibilities. Smith received several emails from families and staff members regarding the district’s safety, he said.

Reigle said there’s been support for the current resource officer and now for a second one as well.

“It's nice to work in conjunction with somebody who is looking out for your safety,” Reigle said. “So we're in support of it.”

Each officer costs the district approximately $100,000 in salary and benefits, which will be paid to the city for use of two police department employees.

City and Town of Batavia and Genesee County officials have joined forces to oppose a request for water that could potentially affect the flow for area residents.

The three municipalities called upon environmental analyst Guillermo Saar of the state Department of Conservation to consider the burden a request --  to draw 715,600 gallons a day — would put on Batavia and Genesee County if granted. Seneca Power Partners, a company at 163 Cedar St., Batavia, with an unpaid debt of more than $1.5 million in back taxes, made the request through a permit application to DEC’s Division of Environmental Permits.

“The major users of the Well Field (Genesee County, Town of Batavia, and City of Batavia) oppose this application and seek to help Seneca Power Partners find an alternative means to access untreated water for their operations. The aquifer directly feeds the Batavia Water Treatment Plant (owned by Genesee County, and operated by the City of Batavia) as a major source of drinking water,” the letter stated. “While the Tonawanda Creek also contributes as a source of drinking water, the quality and turbidity of the Creek make it a much less desirable source. Any excess extraction of water from the aquifer will force the Batavia Water Treatment Plant to rely more heavily on the Creek, and that will, in turn, increase the cost of municipal water treatment and decrease sustainability.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski was not given any advance warning about the request from Seneca Power Partners, she said.

“This application to tap into the aquifer was a surprise, and there was no previous conversation with the City about utilizing Well D,” she said to The Batavian Wednesday evening. “As the letter, you received stated, the aquifer is a protected natural resource that provides water to many residents and businesses and needs to be scrutinized at the highest levels for the best outcome for all parties.”

According to a letter sent by the three municipalities, the amount requested, 715,600 gallons per day is 75 times more water usage than the current average of 9,513 GPD. This will “burden the aquifer's ability to supply the Batavia Water Treatment Plant,” the letter states.

“The aquifer has seen historic low levels of source water in the last decade, a pattern that has not reversed itself,” it states.

Other supporting reasons for opposition is that Genesee County has issued water conservation notices to residents two years in a row, in June 2021 and again in July of this year. The notices warned that “the water level in the aquifer that feeds the City of Batavia Water Treatment Plant is approaching historic lows,” and “the deeper the water is below ground level the more inefficient the well pumps are..” It was the third consecutive year the county asked residents for a voluntary water restriction.

The City of Batavia Water Treatment Plant provides nearly 50 percent of the county's water needs. . Without an adequate source to supply the residential, agriculture, commercial and industrial users, they face the potential for water shortages, inadequate flows for fire suppression, and a risk of hydrological issues, the letter states. 

“In an emergency, if the county were to bring in water from other outside sources there would be an unknown hydrologic mix that could severely impact residents that have lead and galvanized pipes,” it states. “This could lead to a serious social injustice for the most economically disadvantaged citizens.” 

In the letter, it states that while the applicant claims that “they are operating in a socially responsible manner, their past activities indicate otherwise.” The company faced termination notices for water service in 2020 and 2021 for failure to pay its water bills, and is currently on the path to foreclosure of its plant and pipeline for failure to pay real property taxes since 2017. As of June 15 of this year, that tab is now at $1,528,402.32.

“How can we trust a company who blatantly ignores its water and tax bills with the responsibility to draw water from a protected aquifer?” the municipality leaders asked.

A final consideration is that Seneca Power Partners “has failed to consider other sources of water that would be more resilient and responsible." For example, O-AT-KA Milk Products, less than 100 yards away from the property line, discharges 1.0 mm gallons/day of non-contact water through its permit discharge and is “willing to entertain a discussion about rerouting a portion of this water to Seneca Power Partners.” As this is non-contact cooling water, it might be a suitable and more sustainable option to pursue, the letter stated.

“Therefore, and in light of the objections outlined above, we oppose the permit application to the DEC and ask that the DEC act in a manner to protect the aquifer and Batavia Water Treatment Plant,” it stated. 

The letter, signed by Tabelski, Genesee County Manager Matt Landers and Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post, was complemented by another letter sent by Genesee County Legislature and signed by Chairwoman Rochelle Stein.

Genesee County leaders are opposing the request due to a troubling trend of a declining water table; the misrepresentation by SPP of how the request would actually affect the city, town and county residents; and a request that is significantly higher than the historic daily average water use by SPP.

“Due to these three reasons listed above, Genesee County is strongly opposed to Seneca Power Partners’ direct well water withdrawal permit application,” Stein said. “We hope NYSDEC staff understands our position and puts the needs of an entire county above the interests of a private company.”

Press releases about this matter were sent out by the city and county around 4:15 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday, respectively. Questions emailed to Landers and Stein were not answered Wednesday evening. Tabelski said that she would discuss some of the questions with the city attorney and also referred the matter to DEC. Emailed questions to DEC Regional 8 Director Tim Walsh were not answered as of Wednesday night.

See related article about the permit process for DEC.

The Batavian asked Genesee County and City of Batavia officials about the process required for Seneca Power Partners' request to draw 715,600 gallons of water per day from the city/county water system. More specifically, The Batavian wanted to know if there would have to be public hearings about this request, as it seems, according to responses from the city, county and Town of Batavia, that such a draw could severely affect local residents.

City Manager Rachael Tabelski referred us to the Department of Environmental Conservation for those specifics. 

According to DEC’s website, the following are steps to be taken for permit applications:

Step 1: Submit an Application

General Requirements for Applications

A complete application includes a properly completed department application form, location map, project plans, supplemental information required by 6 NYCRR Part 621 (leaves DEC website), Uniform Procedures Regulations and the specific program implementing regulations pertaining to the specific permit(s) sought for the project.

If a project requires more than one DEC permit, the applicant must submit all applications forms and information simultaneously.

If variances from permit standards are sought and provided for by the specific regulatory program in their regulations, the application must include a request and statement of justification for such variances.

Other application requirements include an environmental assessment in accordance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), and a cultural resources assessment in accordance with the State Historic Preservation Act (SHPA).

Application Assistance

Contact your DEC regional Permits office with questions about completing the application form and other required information for your application.

Keep plans flexible until DEC staff review your proposal and comment on its conformance with permit standards. Be willing to adjust your project. On occasion, minor changes in layout can avoid disagreements and delays and, in some cases, eliminate the need for a permit.

Applicants proposing complex, multi-residential, commercial or industrial projects are strongly encouraged to schedule a pre-application conference. This meeting with DEC allows the applicant to clarify project objectives and obtain DEC's recommendations. Such feedback can improve the project environmentally and shorten the application procedure.

Submitting Your Application to DEC

Applications are to be submitted to the Regional Permit Administrator. Applications may be submitted by mail, private carrier, or in person.

DEC encourages applicants to submit applications and supporting information electronically, and to submit paper copies as soon as possible. DEC is not yet able to accept electronic only application submissions except in limited circumstances. Contact your DEC regional Permits office for additional information on electronic submissions.

Step 2: Application Review

The Department must inform you of whether your application is complete according to the following time frames:

60 days from receipt of the application in the case of hazardous waste management facilities, certain wastewater discharges and certain air permit applications.
15 days from receipt of the application for all other permit applications.

If the application is incomplete, DEC's Notice of Incomplete Application will tell you what else is needed. When you respond, the above time frames for the DEC will again apply.

To prevent multiple information requests and reviews by DEC, prepare a thorough, accurate and fully justified application.

Step 3: Public Notice

The Uniform Procedures Act recognizes major projects and minor projects for each permit type.

If your project is major, then the project is subject to public review, as follows:

A Notice of Complete Application is published by the Department in the Environmental Notice Bulletin (ENB). You must also publish this notice in a local newspaper.
The Notice of Complete Application sets a public comment period. This is usually either 15-, 30- or 45-day period after the date the Notice is published, depending on the permit type requested.
Based on any comments received and on staff's review of the project against permitting standards, DEC decides whether to hold a public hearing. For more information, refer to the Guide for Public Hearings.

Minor projects do not usually require a public notice.

Step 4: Final Decision

The Uniform Procedures Act requires DEC to make its final decision in the following time frames:

Minor Projects:
DEC must make a permit decision on minor projects within 45 days of determining the application complete.

Major Projects:

If no hearing is held, DEC makes its final decision on the application within 90 days of its determination that the application is complete.
If a hearing is held, DEC notifies the applicant and the public of a hearing within 60 days of the completeness determination. The hearing must commence within 90 days of the completeness determination. Once the hearing ends, DEC must issue a final decision on the application within 60 days after receiving the final hearing records.

The Regional Permit Administrator normally issues permits for projects not requiring a public hearing.

Generally, the Commissioner makes the decision if DEC holds a public hearing.

An email sent to DEC Region 8 Director Tim Walsh Wednesday evening was not immediately answered.