Photo by Tom Rivers: The water tower by the Albion Correctional Facility on Route 31 is part of Albion’s water infrastructure. The correctional facilities are charged $4.35 per 1,000 gallons of water.

ALBION – The Village Board said an significant increase is needed in what it bills for water, but the board hasn’t determined just how the higher cost will be spread among village residential users and wholesale customers in the towns and correctional facilities.

The Village Board said a hike in the water rates and base charges will be necessary to pay the debt for more than $10 million in financing for upgrades to the water plant and distribution system.

“We need to do something and we need to do something something relatively soon,” Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley said about the higher water rates.

The village is looking at more than $16 million in water plant and system improvements. The village has been approved for two grants at over $6 million towards the projects.

One project, Water Infrastructure Improvement (WIIA) 1, has a total cost of $5,241,440 with grants paying $1,949,00 with the village to potentially borrow $3,292,000.

The second WIIA has a total cost of $11,418,000 with grants covering $4,250,000 and borrowing for the other $7,168,500.

The village doesn’t start paying the debt for the first project until next year, and then faces another debt payment increase with the second project.

The first project is expected to result in annual debt payment of over $300,000, with the second project even more.

“We’re trying to beef up our water plant to make it more sustainable for the next 20-30 years,” Village Trustee David Buczek said at last week’s board meeting.

The water fund operates on a current $1.9 million budget.

The Village Board in 2022 changed its water charges for residential customers in the village. The rate was actually lowered from $3.61 to $3.39 per 1,000 gallons for the village residents and commercial customers. And the village eliminated a $5 quarterly administrative fee.

The big changes were the addition of a new base charge at $21 per quarter for residents with ¾” meter and how the village does a minimum charge. That was $28.16 for residents and most small businesses and included the first 5,100 gallons of water.

The new system put the minimum at $21.00 per quarter (the base charge) but doesn’t include any water usage. The village starts billing at zero gallons. The change resulted in lower water bills for customers that use less than average water each quarter.

The village is working with a consultant on calculating the new charges and rates. WaterWorth representatives last week presented a plan to raise the base charge by 60 percent in 2025 to $33.60, and then another 40 percent to $47.04 in 2026, and 15 percent more in 2027 to $54.10, with 3 percent increases to follow after 2027.

The water rates would go up 15 percent from $3.39 to $3.90 in 2025, and then 6.9 percent to $4.17 in 2026, another 4.6 percent in 2027 to $4.38 and then 3.0 percent increases to follow, according to the proposal.

The village pumps about 1.45 million gallons a day on average from its plant on Wilson Road in Carlton. The towns and prisons account for about 60 percent of that usage.

The village last year raised its wholesale rates to the towns of Carlton, Gaines, Barre and Albion by 40 cents to $3.34 per 1,000 gallons. (Most of the Town of Albion’s water comes through Barre’s water system and Barre bills most of the Town of Albion. Village water also goes to portions of Ridgeway and Murray, going through the Town of Albion system, with Gaines sending some village water to Murray.)

The correctional facilities, which are outside the village, are billed at $4.35 per 1,000 gallons.

With the towns and prison recently getting the rates increased, the WaterWorth proposal doesn’t show big increases for them.

Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. said he would prefer to see the increases spread out among all users – wholesale in the towns and residential and commercial in the village.

Riley, the deputy mayor, agreed that she doesn’t want most of the new debt payments to fall on village residential users. She believes the towns and prisons should also see significantly higher rates to lessen the impact on the village and to spread out the higher costs.

Adam Rush, chief operator of the water plant for the village, said higher wholesale rates for the towns could lead to the local towns switching to the Monroe County Water Authority, where the out-of-county wholesale rates are $2.63. The MCWA is close to Albion’s water system, supplying Kendall and parts of Murray and Clarendon.

If some of the towns switch water districts to the MCWA that will shift more of the operational and debt costs to the village residential and commercial users, Rush said.

Riley believes the towns will stay loyal to the village, which she said offers prompt service if there are water leaks or other issues.

She compared the MCWA and Niagara County Water District to “big box stores” that may be cheaper but don’t provide the care and service to the Village of Albion.

“When the big chains come in, people say it’s going to be the death of the mom and pop stores,” Riley said. “We are the mom and pop store. We provide excellent service. ”

The village’s quick response should be valued by the wholesale users, Riley said.

“We’re in their backyard,” Riley said about the local town customers. “We’re available for service. When people call us, off we go. That is value you don’t get from the bigger counties.”

The board said it will work to finalize a plan on the water rates and base charges, and will have a public hearing soon on the new structure. It also wants a public meeting to go over the planned upgrades at the water plant and the distribution system.

Buczek said the village is in a difficult position where an increase is needed to pay for what he said are long overdue upgrades to the water plant.

He said the village has been living “paycheck to paycheck” with its water system, trying to keep the rates down and not take on big expenses.

“We need to think long-term and about resiliency,” he said.

He believes the public will support the increases in costs when they understand the value of the Albion water and plan to upgrade the water plant for the future.

“We need to change the perception of Albion water and make people aware of the services we provide,” he said.

Rush, the water plant chief operator, said Albion’s water rates are among the lowest in the region.

The Village of Fredonia in Chautauqua County, for example, just raised its rates by $2 from $4.95 to $6.95 per 1,000 gallons.

The city of Dunkirk next to Fredonia also raised the rate on water it sells to the North County Water District from $3.84 to $5.16 per 1,000 gallons.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Brigitte Schweigert, left of Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, pours wine-tasting on Saturday at Brushstrokes Studios’ new location at 50 North Main St. in Albion.

Sandy Thaine, center, of Medina her glass for wine and her friend Jean Benson of Medina waits for her turn.

There were about 300 people on the wine-tasting with 16 stops in Albion. The event was the annual Sip N’ Stroll by the Albion Merchants Association.

Cherry Grove: The Yohe Family Farm of Holley Road in Albion offered rides on WNY Horse Drawn Pub Crawls. The horse-drawn ride has room for 16 people and offers wine-tasters a chance to rest their feet in front of a fire pit.

The souvenir glass had an image of Santa Claus. Albion was the home to a Santa Claus School from 1937 to 1966 and last year unveiled a bronze statue of Santa in honor of the late Charles W. Howard, who founded the Santa School.

These friends from Albion enjoyed the Sip N. Stroll. From left include Aliana Raines, Kelsey Osbourne, Mary Kibbe, Tammy Chase and Carlin Osbourne.

Laural and Chuck Prentice are in Morrison Realty to try wine served by Ken Kibler of Main Street Winery in Arcade.

Debbie Prest of Red Check serves Red Cat wine from Hazlitt Vineyards in Naples. Prest said the Sip N’ Stroll is great way to introduce people to the businesses in Albion.

She gave each person a sticker that stated, “ I had fun drinking wine at Red Check.”

“We wanted to make sure people remember us,” Prest said. “This is a fun event where I get to meet so many lovely people.”

Wine-tasters step off the horse-drawn ride to go sample wine offered at the downtown locations.

Photo courtesy of Tim Archer, Albion Interact Club advisor

ROCHESTER – Albion High School Interact Club students spent the day at East High School in inner city Rochester today as part of a “cultural exchange.”

The students learned about life in their respective rural and urban schools. East High students will come to Albion next fall to experience life “in farm country.”

Interact advisor Tim Archer said it was an enriching experience for both students and staff. This is the seventh year the two schools have participated in the exchange.

Rogan and Aries available at PAWS, awaiting forever homes

Provided photos

ALBION – In collaboration with PAWS Animal Shelter, Albion Correctional Facility welcomed two rescue dogs, Rogan, and Aries, on Nov. 28.

Two teams of three incarcerated individuals then cared for and trained the dogs for approximately 12 weeks. They were under the support and supervision of community volunteer trainer, Dawn Spencer.

She is the owner of Eye of Oden K9 Training in Kent and has over 25 years of experience in dog training.

(Left) One of the incarcerated women is pictured with Rogan. (Right) Dawn Spencer is shown with Rogan and Aries.

Throughout the 12 weeks, the teams of incarcerated individuals served as handlers for the dogs.  Spencer visited the facility once a week to put the dogs through the AKC Canine Good Citizen Program. This training program consists of 10 skills that the dogs must be able to master and aims to train dogs the basics of good manners and obedience. Spencer instructed the incarcerated individuals on what skills to work on each week.

Rogan and Aries had a chance to show off the skills they have learned during graduation on March 4 and are both awaiting their forever homes.  If you are interested in adopting Rogan or Aries, applications are available at paws14411.com.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Julia Graham is SpongeBob SquarePants, center, while Annabella Dusharm is Patrick, left, and Sophia Kozody is Sandy Cheeks.

The trio sings, “Hero Is My Middle Name.” They are determined to save their town of Bikini Bottom, which faces annihilation.

The Albion Middle School drama program performed the show on Friday evening and will be back with shows at noon and 7 p.m. today in the middle school auditorium. Tickets are available at the door.

YoHanel Harris is Eugene H. Krabs who runs a very successful Krusty Krab restaurant that SpongeBob hopes to manage some day. Eugene H. Krabs is very focused on amassing a fortune.

Thailer Seibert is Perch Perkins, a reporter who provides updates about the impending doom of the town. He says a tremor caused by the nearby Mount Humongous will cause the volcano to soon erupt. The news throws the town into a panic.

Rianne Hand plays the role of evil villain Sheldon J. Plankton while Kendall Puruzzini is Sheldon’s sidekick, Karen Plankton. They have a scheme to hypnotize the town’s residents into liking the food they serve at their restaurant, the Chum Bucket. They are singing, “When The Going Gets Tough.”

Nate Wehling, left, and Arian Fazliu are rockers in the band, Electric Skates.

Sophia Kozody is Sandy who develops an ingenious bubble device, the Eruptor Interrupter. They plan to throw it inside the volcano and save the town. Sandy, a squirrel, has her ideas rejected by the town because she is a “land mammal.”

The characters celebrate the town’s survival from doom and destruction.

ALBION – With the reopening of the Main Street lift bridge pushed back a few months until September, the Village of Albion Department of Public Works is modifying its plan for street paving this year.

Jay Pahura, DPW superintendent, was planning to pave East Bank and Ingersoll streets, which have seen increased traffic, especially with heavy vehicles, due to the bridge being closed and traffic diverted to the Ingersoll lift bridge.

“That detour route has just been beat to death,” Pahura said this morning.

Those streets will continue to be in heavy demand until September. The DPW can’t shut down those streets for milling and paving because “there would be no where to put the traffic,” Pahura said.

The DPW will make some emergency repairs to those streets but an extensive repaving will have to pushed back until 2025.

The village this year will instead repave East Park Street from Main to Clarendon streets, and then side streets off East Park: Herrick, Temperance and Reynolds as well as repaving Orchard Street near the Lake Country Pennysaver. Orchard will have drainage added, too.

Pahura said the village uses CHIPS money from the state for repaving. Those streets with CHIPS funds need to hold up at least a decade. That’s why he didn’t have the East Bank and Ingersoll repaved before the bridge was closed. Those streets with new pavement would have quickly deteriorated and not held up for the 10-year threshold, he said.

The repaved streets will be milled with new pavement then put down. Pahura said the bids haven’t been opened yet for the materials.

The local towns and villages will coordinate a paving schedule for sharing equipment and scheduling the milling company and paver.

Photo and information from Albion Central School

ALBION – This past weekend, members of Albion Central School’s 6th-9th grade Science Olympiad team traveled to St. John Fisher University in Rochester to compete in a regional competition.

The team includes Brad Pierce, Payton Babcock, Charles Warren, Jalil McPhatter, Sophie Markle and William Fisher.

Purple Eagles placed in the following events:

• Anatomy and Physiology – Brad Pierce and Payton Babcock, 6^th place
• Ecology – William Fisher and Brad Pierce, 4^th place
• Experimental Design – Charles Warren and Brad Pierce, 3^rd place
• Fossils – William Fisher and Charles Warren, 6^th place

Mr. Petrus and Miss. Messmer want to thank everyone on the team for a nice season and a fun learning experience.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Main Street lift bridge in Albion, shown this afternoon, won’t reopen to traffic until September, about five months later than expected.

The state Department of Transportation met with village officials last week to explain that some of the steel pieces for the bridge were slightly off size, and replacing them will result in a delay.

Some of those pieces were 2 inches off size, and that is enough discrepancy to require new pieces that are manufactured out of state.

Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley said the delay is disappointing for the village, especially the downtown merchants.

“A lot of people are feeling the sting,” she said about the bridge being closed to traffic since Nov. 14, 2022. “The people downtown are trying to survive.”

The bridge closed to traffic in November 2022 for what was expected to be an 18-month rehabilitation project. A similar effort started in April 2023 in Brockport.

The state DOT is paying $28.3 million to contractors for the two projects.

Show will stream on Paramount Plus starting April 26

James Madejski works as a writer in the film and television industry in Los Angeles. He wrote one of the episodes of the new series, Knuckles.

ALBION – An Albion native will have his name in the credits for an upcoming series on Knuckles, a character from Sonic the Hedgehog. (Click here to see the trailer.)

Knuckles, an Echidna warrior, gets his own six-episode series that streams on Paramount Plus beginning April 26. He teaches a human the ways of being a warrior.

James Madejski, 34, wrote one of the episodes. He has been working in the film and television industry in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

He is currently writing for a Netflix show that will premiere its second season in 2025.

Madejski, the son of Sandra and Dr. Tom Madejski, graduated from Albion in 2007. He earned a bachelor’s degree in screen writing and play writing from SUNY Purchase, and then headed to LA.

“I am very fortunate on the amount of work I’ve done, and the people I’ve worked with,” Madejski said by phone on Thursday.

He has been able to work steadily, except for last year’s strike by the Writers Guild of America. But now the business is full steam ahead.

“It is an interesting time in Hollywood and an exciting time,” he said.

Madejski has done a variety of jobs in the film and television industry, with his goal to be a screen writer.

He started his career with four years at a studio, learning the business of screenwriting –“What sells and gets people excited.”

He was a writer’s assistant for a year on Shadowhunters. He felt like he landed his big break as a script coordinator for Doolittle, starring Robert Downey Jr. Madejski’s name appeared in the credits and he flew to London for part of the production.

He made connections with the creator of Knuckles through Doolittle.

Madejski said writers in Hollywood need to be witty with material that connects with an audience. They also need basic values such as dependability.

“Be personable and have a good attitude,” he said. “There are no bad ideas and you need to try to make everyone’s ideas as good as they can be.”

Madejski said the industry in LA fits the saying, “A lot of it is who you know.”

He has gradually built a network. He worked with his boss on Knuckles before. “He knew he could trust me,” Madejski said.

Knuckles is an unusual series with live-action animated characters and humans together on the screen. Madejski urges people to watch “a fun and silly show.”

He is grateful to be working in television and film, which he has loved since he was a kid.

“My goal is to continue what I’m doing now, and work my way up in writer’s rooms and maybe get a feature film,” he said. “Working in this industry is a roller coaster, but the highs are very high.”

Bank of America, former GCC coming off tax rolls, costing village $11K

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Legislature last year bought the former Bank of America on South Main Street, pictured at left,  to be used by the treasurer’s office. The county also bought the former GCC building to be used for probation and the district attorney’s office.

ALBION – The Albion Village Board said Orleans County’s acquisition of two buildings last year will cost the village about $11,000 in lost tax revenue.

The village wants the county to make up that difference.

The county in October approved buying the former GCC building at 456 West Ave. Orleans paid $975,000 for the building owned by Herring Enterprises of Holley.

The site is assessed for $450,000. That building generated $8,608.50 in village property taxes in 2023-24 with the village tax rate at $19.13 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The county intends to move the district attorney’s office and probation department from the Public Safety Building to the GCC site. The Public Safety Building will be reconfigured with more space to be used by the Sheriff’s Office.

In September the County Legislature approved spending $250,000 for the former Bank of America site at 156 S. Main St. It will become the treasurer’s office. That building has a drive-through and is more easily accessible than the current office on East Park Street, county officials said.

The bank is assessed for $125,000, which accounted for $2,391.25 in village taxes in 2023-24.

Both properties will still have to pay village taxes in the 2024-25 budget when the tax bills are due in June. They become exempt from taxes for the first time in September with school taxes, county officials said.

The Village Board worries about a shrinking tax base in the village. In the 2023-24 budget, the overall assessed value dropped by 1.08 percent or by $1,663,794 – down from $154,457,302 to $152,723,508.

Most of the loss in tax base was from the assessed value being lowered at the plaza at 318 West Ave. That plaza includes Save-A-Lot, Pro Hardware, Dollar Tree and the vacant spot formerly for Gordman’s. That value for the site was reduced from $1,856,300 to $816,000 as part of a settlement between the Town of Albion and the owner, A & D Properties (Westwood Financial).

The reduction was a drawn-out process and local officials were expecting an assessment drop. But the county’s purchase of the two buildings caught Albion village officials by surprise.

The Village Board is working on either a letter or a formal resolution to be sent to the county, asking to make up for the lost tax revenue.

The state government has PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes) with many municipalities around the state when the state acquires land for parks, forests and other purposes. The state gives the City of Albany $15 million a year as the state capital to help make up for no property taxes in the city for so much of the state property. In Albany, 64 percent of the city is tax exempt.

Press Release, Albion Police Chief David Mogle

ALBION – The Albion Police Department is warning people about another phone scam making its rounds in the area.

This scam involves someone pretending to be a police officer who tells the victim(s) that there is a warrant out for their arrest or that they have pending criminal charges.

During the phone call the scammer will usually ask the victim(s) for money or some type of monetary gift card i.e.) Apple, Sephora, Razer Gold etc. The scammer will state that the victim(s) can purchase these cards and provide them with the information on the card to avoid being arrested.

Scammers are very convincing.  They’ll provide you with a badge number, names of law enforcement officials and judges and courthouse addresses. They will spoof the phone number so it appears on caller ID as if it is coming from a government agency or the court.

During the phone call, the scammer will tell the victim(s) not to tell anyone what is going on and to keep the matter private.

The Albion Police Department wants to remind everyone that these are fraudulent calls and that police departments will not call individuals over the phone and ask for personal information such as bank accounts, social security numbers, credit card information etc.

If you receive a call asking for any of the above information along with any individual asking for gift cards or money in lieu of being arrested the phone call is fraudulent in nature and you are being scammed.

The Albion Police Department asks that if you are a resident of the Village of Albion and have any questions, comments or concerns or believe that you may have possibly been a victim or target please call the Albion Police Department at 585-589-5627.