By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 September 2014 at 12:00 am
810 Meadworks features honey, historic location
Photos by Tom Rivers – Bryan DeGraw, back left, talks about mead with people on the Ale in Autumn tasting event Saturday in Medina. 810 Meadworks is currently fermenting 200 gallons of mead. The business plans to officially open in early December.
MEDINA – For the past several months, a former barbershop has been transformed into a meadery in the historic R.H. Newell Building in downtown Medina.
Bryan and Larissa DeGraw and their friend Morris Babcock still have work to do, but on Saturday they gave 750 people on the Ale in Autumn beer-tasting event a sneak peek of what’s to come.
The DeGraws and Babcock in early December plan to open 810 Meadworks at 113 West Center St., Suite 1. They have 200 gallons of mead fermenting. They will produce meads, which are alcoholic drinks made by fermenting honey with water and often fruits, spices, grains and hops.
Mr. DeGraw has been a home brewer and mead maker for five years.
The business features a sign made from wood and a piece of stainless from the former barbershop.
810 Meadworks will be the only meadery between Albany and Ohio. That uniqueness will be a draw for “foodies,” people looking for authentic food experiences, said Michael Gaughn, owner of a media marketing company called deus X media.
“This winery really stands out,” Gaughn said Saturday at 810 Meadworks during the Ale in Autumn event. “It is the only meadery within 200 miles of here and you have a winery in the middle of town. This will be huge. This is radically different for wine trails.”
Gaughn works for the Medina Railroad Museum, the Niagara Wine Trail and other clients. He just produced a commercial for the Niagara Wine Trail, highlighting its closer proximity to Rochester than the Finger Lakes. The commercial is being shown on the Food Network, HGTV, and Bravo. Click here to see it.
Bryan DeGraw, left, and Morris Babcock are pictured with some of the 55-gallon drums where they will ferment mead. The meads are alcoholic drinks made by fermenting honey with water and often fruits, spices, grains and hops. DeGraw and Babcock did much of the renovations for 810 Meadworks themselves.
The DeGraws about a year ago moved from New Jersey, Mr. DeGraw’s native state, to Orleans County. Mrs. DeGraw’s parents live in Kent. The DeGraws were attracted to the revitalization in downtown Medina, especially in its historic business district.
They believe their business will complement others in the community, including other ventures in the Newell building, including the Boiler 54 entertainment venue, Shirt Factory Café and the Hart Hotel.
The Niagara Wine Trail was officially extended last year past Niagara County, through Orleans and all the way to Route 390 in Rochester. Medina finds itself ideally situated in the middle of the expanded Niagara Wine Trail. That was another reason why the business partners wanted to open 810 Meadworks in downtown Medina.
Larissa DeGraw is pictured with some of the chocolates she made for Ale in Autumn. 810 Meadworks will also sell her chocolates.
810 Meadworks uses “810” in its name from the Bible verse Nehemiah 8:10: “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Besides serving mead, 810 Meadworks will offer chocolates made by Mrs. DeGraw.
“They conceived of their idea, got the permits and did the construction in less than a year,” Gaughn said. “They’ve done an amazing job.”
810 Meadworks is expected to draw visitors to the R.H. Newell Building and for other businesses in Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Packing House – The Chamber’s Agricultural Business of the Year – employs 90 workers in peak season
Photos by Tom Rivers – John Russell, general manager and partner at Lake Ontario Fruit, stands inside a new controlled-atmosphere storage building that was constructed last year. The site holds 200,000 bushels of apples and slows down the ripening process say the fruit can be stored for nearly a year.
SweeTangos head down the packing line. Lake Ontario Fruit packs about 1.1 million bushels of apples each year for the fresh market. The state’s total apple crop tends to be 25 to 30 million bushels each year.
GAINES – Lake Ontario Fruit put up another new building this year, this time a 5,766-square-foot storage warehouse. The company also redid its parking lot, which serves 90 employees and tractor trailers delivering apples or taking them packed in boxes to grocery stores.
Lake Ontario Fruit has invested about $7 million in upgrading its facilities on Ridge Road since 2008. The company has added a second packing line, built a new controlled-atmosphere storage and upgraded other equipment.
When the new packing line went in in 2010, the company was able to add about 30 employees. It keeps 12 to 15 workers year-round with employment peaking at about 90.
Workers fills bags and boxes with SweeTango apples. Lake Ontario Fruit packs all the SweeTangos in New York that are grown west of Rochester.
The company is a partnership of several local fruit growers as well as John Russell, the general manager. The packing, storage and sales facility is well positioned to serve the local fruit growers for years to come, Russell said.
The company is being recognized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce as the “Agricultural Business of the Year.” It will be honored on Saturday during an awards dinner at Tillman’s Village Inn.
Shane Lewis, the production manager, checks data on the packing line for SweeTango apples on Tuesday. Lake Ontario Fruit has technology, an internal defect sorter, that checks apples for pressure and other quality issues.
Russell said it is a good time to be in the apple business. Customers are willing to pay a premium for apples such as Honeycrisp, and new varieties coming into the market: SweeTango, SnapDragon, RubyFrost and Zestar, with apple breeders working on others as well.
“Customers want apples with different flavor profiles,” Russell said Tuesday at the complex at 14234 Ridge Rd., located about a mile west of Route 98.
The local fruit growers are swapping out some of their trees, removing less popular varieties with the more popular ones. Lake Ontario Fruit then packs, stores and sells the apples, working with New York Apple Sales, Inc. to market the product.
John Russell is pictured inside the new CA storage. Operators lower the oxygen and raise the carbon dioxide, which acts to put the apples to sleep so they can be stored longer.
Lake Ontario Fruit used to contract with other sites to store some of the apples. But the new CA building from a year ago allows the company to keep all of the apples on one site.
The CA also uses the latest storage technology, allowing Lake Ontario Fruit to lower the oxygen and raise the carbon dioxide levels, which slows the ripening process for apples. That extends the time apples can be in storage and allows the company to put them on the market when the command a higher dollar.
This new 5,766-square-foot storage warehouse was constructed earlier this year and is used to store pallets, cardboard and packing supplies. Lake Ontario Fruit now has enough storage space for fruit and equipment to have everything on site at 14234 Ridge Rd.
Bins of apples are stacked high in this storage room, part of the original packing house in 1982. The room uses foam insulation.
The company has worked to implement the latest technology for food quality and safety. When the apples go through the packing line, they pass an infrared defect sorting system that checks apples for pressure, water core problems and any other problems. If the apple doesn’t meet the standard, it is directed off the line.
Lake Ontario Fruit also has the latest in traceability technology. Every apple gets a sticker and that label has information that can pinpoint which farm grew the apple, what day it was picked and from what lot and block.
A truck of Gala apples from Lamont Fruit Farm in Waterport stopped at Lake Ontario Fruit on Tuesday. John Russell and Teresa Cano, who works in quality control, take samples of the truck load. They also put labels on the bins that note when the apples were picked and from what orchard, block and lot.
“Any progressive produce company is doing this,” Russell said about the traceability technology. “We can trace every apple to the individual orchard it comes from.”
That technology will be critical if there is ever a food recall. It also is helpful for Lake Ontario Fruit and its growers, providing information that recognizes farmers for a good job if certain apples are highlighted for flavor, for example.
Russell said there is room for Lake Ontario Fruit to grow. Many of the growers in recent years have planted new trees that will be bearing full crops in the coming years.
‘There are a lot of young trees in the ground,” Russell said. “There is definitely an opportunity with more fresh fruit coming into the market.”
The Lake Ontario Fruit complex appears in the background while bins of Gala apples are on a truck at the site on Ridge Road.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Brunner International is putting on addition, adding employees
Photo by Tom Rivers – Brunner International is putting on a 48,000-square-foot addition to its complex at the corner of Route 31 and Bates Road in Medina.
Brad MacDonald, Brunner vice president, has been with the company since it opened in Medina in 1992.
MEDINA – In 1992, Brunner International moved six employees into a cavernous manufacturing plant at the corner of Bates Road and Route 31. Abex Corporation had shut down and the site was vacant for seven years before Brunner moved in.
Brad MacDonald, then a salesman for Brunner, and other company leaders viewed Medina as an ideal location to grow the company in the United States. Brunner makes brakes and components for heavy-duty trucks and trailers.
Brunner made this brake assembly, which is displayed inside the company on Bates Road.
Brunner, which has another site in Niagara Falls, Ontario, wanted to expand into the United States about two decades ago. The company has been on a steady rise the past 22 years, now employing 390 people in Medina. The company is putting on a 48,000-square-foot addition and expects to grow to 450 employees when the expansion is complete, said MacDonald, now vice president of the company.
The current expansion, which should be ready in March, follows a similar expansion five years ago.
The company’s presence has helped fill the gap left by Fisher-Price, which laid off 700 workers in Medina in 1995. MacDonald said the community, with its agricultural roots, has a strong work ethic, and that is a prime ingredient in the company’s success in Medina.
Brunner workers use a forge to heat up parts to 2,200 degrees.
“The Brunner name is known internationally for quality,” MacDonald said while giving a tour of the plant on Monday.
The company was being wooed by other states for its latest expansion, but Brunner decided it wanted to keep growing in Medina. The company has access to lower-cost hydropower, which made Medina competitive with the sites in other states.
“We decided we wanted to be here and support the community,” MacDonald said.
Some axle shafts are on shelves inside the Brunner complex.
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce will present Brunner with the “Business of the year” award on Saturday during an awards celebration at Tillman’s Village Inn. The company is being recognized for its expansion in Orleans County.
The plant is a busy factory, with steel being heated and shaped into 1,500 different parts for brakes that will be used by tractor-trailers. Steel is the company’s biggest raw material.
The company employs welders, engineers, assembly workers, maintenance staff and other skilled staff.
A large stamping machine shapes parts to be used in truck brakes.
“We have a robust training program,” MacDonald said. “We don’t need people to come in with the skills. We can teach people the skills they will need. They just need a good attitude and a willingness to work.”
Brunner also has robots at work, lifting heavy steel pieces and doing other automated tasks. Bruner’s engineering team programs the robots, which debut about a decade ago at Brunner, for various jobs.
The company has embraced automated technology for some of the tasks inside the plant.
Most of the work is performed by people, and MacDonald said the company welcomes more hard-working residents to apply for positions at Brunner.
MacDonald walks through the complex and there are sparks from welders, heat from the forges and loud noises from the stamping machine. Workers are moving product with fork lifts.
It’s a busy place.
“It’s very exciting, especially when everything is humming,” he said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Ray and Linda Burke bring a grand old house back to life
Photos by Tom Rivers – Ray Burke is pictured outside Fair Haven Treasures, which opened in May after 18 months of renovations. The site will have a peace garden in the spring by the flag poles.
GAINES – Ray Burke says he was looking for a “project.” About two years ago he and his wife Linda bought a stately old house at the corner of routes 98 and 104 in the heart of the Cobblestone Historic District.
The house has been vacant for five years and needed significant renovations. Burke and a team of volunteers went to work. The site was given a new life as “Fair Haven Treasures,” a business featuring crafters and artisans. Fair Haven now has nine vendors with room for more.
The Chamber of Commerce has picked Fair Haven for its “Phoenix Award,” recognition given to a significant restoration effort. The award will be presented on Sept. 20.
“It’s a lovely old home and I’m glad we did it,” Mr. Burke said. “It’s been a lot of work and there’s more to do.”
Linda and Ray Burke are pictured inside Fair Haven Treasures on the business’s opening day in May.
Gaines Town Supervisor Carol Culhane watched the old brick house decline in recent years before the Burkes bought it. She served on the Zoning Board of Appeals with Mr. Burke a few years ago and the two became friends. Culhane suggested the Burkes buy the building and she envisioned it as a site for high-end artisans, live music and other special events.
Culhane and her husband Gerry helped bring the building back to life. They teamed with the Burkes and other volunteers to remove plywood and linoleum from the floors, and discovered hardwood floors underneath. They took out one wall to make a bigger room that can be used for performances, book-signings and public events.
“You could see the house was declining,” Culhane said. “It’s so tragic to see these beautiful stately homes decline.”
She grew up in the “Dutchtown” neighborhood in Rochester. That area in Jay, Childs and Ames streets has been overwhelmed with crime, and so many of the houses, even her old high school, have been torn down, Culhane said.
When she saw the brick house deteriorating, she worried it would meet the same fate as some of the beloved buildings of her youth.
These bowls and a table were created by Ted Hicks of Oakfield. He has other wooden furniture for sale that he made from reclaimed wood.
The 3,040-square-foot brick house was built in 1834, the same year the Cobblestone Universalist Church was erected across the street. Burke said the house is a prominent location and should be a showcase for the community.
“It’s the crossroads of the county and the crossroads of our town,” he said. “It’s a stately building that sits up on a hill.”
Burke is retired from DuPont in Rochester. The former machine shop foreman also has renovated smaller houses as rental properties. He has built his own plane and driven a Harley. He was looking for something else, a new challenge with the brick house.
“I’ve had all the toys and I’ve always been busy,” he said. “I can’t stand to sit still. This house will probably never be done. The list is on and on.”
Burke put in a new driveway and parking lot for the house, which required 1,300 tons of stone. He just added three flag poles out front and in the spring, there will be an International Peace Garden by the flags. It will be the second peace garden in Orleans County. Brown’s Berry Patch has the first.
To be a peace garden, the site needs to have a historic connection to the War of 1812. The site was once owned by John Proctor, who is considered the Paul Revere of Ridge Road. He warned residents the British were coming during the War of 1812. Proctor also gave the hamlet the name Fair Haven.
Fair Haven could be used for wine-tastings, concerts and other special events.
Culhane helps manage the site, lining up vendors and planning events. Fair Haven will begin offering “paint and sip” classes every two weeks beginning on Sept. 17. Participants can sip wine and paint in classes led by Culhane.
Fair Haven also is working with two other businesses, Tillman’s Village Inn and The Cabaret at Studio B, for an “Evening in Orleans” this Sunday. Fair Haven will host a wine-tasting from 3 to 4 p.m. before the activity shifts to the Village Inn and then the Cabaret.
Burke said he has been encouraged by the business partnerships in the community and other new business ventures. Tillman’s is expanding its dining facilities, and Ridge Road in Gaines also is home to other recently opened ventures including the Old Goat antique store, Cobble-Ridge Co-Op and the Rocking R Ranch.
He sees the Ridge Road corridor as a draw for culture and history enthusiasts.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial:
File photo by Tom Rivers – Joe Martillotta is pictured with Sue Holmes, who recently purchased the Crooked Door from Joe and his wife Debbie. The Martillottas did extensive renovations of the site.
File photo by Sue Cook – Jeri and Lou Becker sit in front of one of the blackboards in the Erie Canal Room at the bed and breakfast they operated for eight years.
ALBION – Two entrepreneurial husband and wife teams both pulled off major projects that bettered the village of Albion and Orleans County.
In eastern end of the village Joe and Debbie Martillotta brought back a tavern at the corner of East State and Brown streets. It was a major renovation for the Martillottas, but they were resilient in their efforts to fix up a prominent building and they did it with class.
The Crooked Door Tavern has employed about 20 people, and drawn many visitors to the county, generating sales tax and likely customers for other local businesses. The Martillottas recently sold the site and it continues under the ownership of Albion native Sue Holmes.
Just across the canal, Jeri and Lou Becker also faced a daunting project: turning a former Catholic School into a bed and breakfast. The Beckers opened the Erie Canal Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast about seven years ago. They, too, sold their business with the site soon to open as an assisted living center.
The Beckers lovingly operated the B & B, extending a warm welcome to cyclists on the canal and other visitors to the community. They were active in the community, and were especially fond of Albion’s heritage. They hosted a Santa Claus reunion in one event that was a tribute to Charles Howard, who founded a Santa Claus School in Albion.
The Martillottas and Beckers worked well as a team, referring customers to each other. Both couples deserve the community’s praise and admiration for working so hard to build successful businesses, preserving buildings that have deep roots in Albion.
If they hadn’t accepted the challenge a few years back to fix up the buildings, there might not be businesses to succeed them at the sites. The Martillottas and Beckers have a left a legacy that should continue for years to come.
Photos by Sue Cook – Yates Community Library Director Emily Cebula shows off jellyfish that the youngest children made with bowls and streamers. The craft was oriented toward children that are pre-readers, which encourages them to have an adult read to them.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
LYNDONVILLE – “Fizz, Boom, Read!” is this year’s summer reading program theme. The stories and activities are all focused around science and experiments through reading and hands-on learning.
Yates Community Library starts their activities a little earlier than the other libraries of Orleans County.
“I found last year, we had a program the very first week after school let out, and I could not believe the number of kids that came,” said Emily Cebula, director of the library in Lyndonville. “They just seemed they were ready to jump from school to doing something at the library, so I wanted to take advantage of that.”
Yates Community Library has chosen to focus on very young children through age 12. Yates has about 30 children that sign up for the Reading Club. About 10 to 35 children show up for the activities each week as well.
The program offers children a weekly opportunity to visit the library for a fun activity to help them retain some of what they learned in school.
Cebula explained that the themes cover a large variety of topics, so there will always be something for every child.
“They have everything from weather related items to chemistry to animal science,” she said.
During the program, books will be set out that relate to the overall program and more closely to the day’s activities, such as animal books when the Buffalo Zoomobile comes to visit.
“This year is going to be a busy summer for me, so we are also going to make use of what our NIOGA library system offers,” Cebula said. “They have two summer interns that are college age, young ladies that are wonderful. They are there through the goodness of a grant from the Grigg-Lewis Foundation.”
The interns help run the summer reading program events. On Friday, they had organized a fake crime scene where the freebie items were stolen with their supervisor at NIOGA. The children had to use their powers of observation to try and figure out what happened to be able to create a sketch of what they think happened at the crime scene. The children then went on to learning about fingerprinting and the different shapes of fingerprints.
“Normally we would have a craft, but this is more science experiments and that kind of thing,” she said, talking about the hands-on learning the summer reading program provides.
The Collaborative Summer Library Program has paired with National Geographic Kids this year to create this program. The libraries are given a massive notebook of activity options that can be tailored to what they are able to offer. They also receive science kits associated with their chosen activities. The program also makes an effort to coincide with Common Core learning.
The kits at the Yates library will include thunder tubes, rain sticks, buzzing magnets, Newton’s cradles, electric energy balls, pressure mats, motors and much more.
Children that register for the Reading Club portion of program are given a folder that acts as a starter kit, which includes a bookmark, door hanger, stickers, sticker chart, and a list of events.
“We have many grandparents and dads that like to come,” said Cebula. She was impressed at the number of parents that were excited to get their children participating.
“I also want kids to know that there’s another group of adults in their community that cares about them and makes sure they’re getting what they need in here and makes sure they’re safe and welcome,” she said. “All four of our staff members are very good at that. All of the children that come feel very welcome.”
Patrons of the local libraries can also take advantage of the NIOGA network to request books available at different library. This allows patrons take advantage of the 17,000 books available at the Yates library or to access books in any other Niagara, Orleans or Genesee county library.
The programs offered are free, however, some require registration due to limited space. The activities vary by library and most run into mid-August. Some libraries in the area will be offering activities for teens. For a list of activities, check with your local library.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 June 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Tom Snyder (pictured) and his father Warren five years ago opened Medina Lumber and Hardware at 305 East Center St. They have gradually grown the business and have plans to expand their home and garden to a neighboring Medina sandstone mill that was built in the 1840s.
The former mill has either been vacant or used for storage the past century. Tom Snyder will use the first floor for home and garden supplies, and may sell sporting equipment in the second floor.
MEDINA – When Somerset Lumber shut down in Medina in February 2009, Tom Snyder and his father Warren feared there would be a void in the community, especially for contractors and do-it-yourselfers.
The Snyders opened Medina Lumber and Hardware on June 5, 2009. They initially focused on lumber but have gradually expanded their selection of hardware items since then, with renovations and added inventory to the hardware store about a year ago.
“We have what I call the ‘Cheers Effect,’” the younder Snyder said. “When you walk in here everybody’s knows your name. We have a positive attitude and we offer great service.”
Snyder works as a contractor in the community. He has learned what customers want from bigger projects to smaller ones. He shares what he has learned with customers from his experiences working with older buildings and more modern ones.
“We enjoy helping people solve their problems,” he said.
The father and son team with four employees in the business. The Snyders seem more potential at the site. They are working on renovating a former mill behind the hardware and lumber store at 305 East Center St. That former mill was built in the 1840s. It has been either vacant or used for storage the past century.
Ken Nice, a mason from Knowlesville, works on a window sill in the former mill from the 1840s. Nice is removing the old wood and will replace it with a sandstone sill.
The Snyders are putting in windows made from repurposed wooden barn beams from the late 1800s. They claimed the wood from a barn that fell down.
They are making other upgrades to the building and expect to start selling home and garden supplies from there later this month.
Tom Snyder is working to upgrade the former mill along the canal. He is standing on the second floor, which he said may be used to selling sporting equipment in the future.
The hardware and lumber store will have an anniversary celebration today from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be free hot dogs and hamburgers from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and other prizes. Several experts in shingles, decks and other supplies will also be at the store to take questions from the public.
Photos by Sue Cook – Leonel Rosario (center), one of the business owners, stands with his wife Doloers and Zach McKenna, a chef of two years at Mariachi de Oro. The new addition to the building is behind them.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
MEDINA – For a taste of authentic Mexican food, residents of Western New York flock to Mariachi de Oro Mexican Restaurant in Medina.
The Rosario family opened the restaurant nearly three years ago, and recently put on an expansion because of the popularity of the place.
The Rosarios first came from Mexico to work locally as farm workers. On Sept. 9, 2011, they opened their family restaurant to provide Medina with a taste of their home.
The flavorful recipes served are traditional dishes passed down through generations of the family, said Leonel Rosario, who shares ownership of the business with his brothers Francisco, Danato, Pablo, Sergio and Martin.
“I think that’s why we’ve had a reaction from our customers,” Leonel said during an interview at the restaurant on Route 31A, just east of the Route 63 intersection. “We have some Tex-Mex on the menu, but I’ve always focused more on really authentic traditional food. It’s mostly from Oaxaca where we are from in Mexico. Everything I cook I try to do from scratch. For me, in my heart, I want to make sure it feels good and that I’m really confident that they’re going to like it.”
Mariachi de Oro has been so popular that the business is being expanded. A new addition was added onto the front of the building.
“It looks really good,” said Leonel’s wife Doloers. “It went up really fast.”
The new addition took two half days to complete the exterior. The interior is currently being finished and set up. There will be more seating, two bathrooms, and a bar. The addition is expected to be in use sometime in June. The restaurant will also hire new employees to add to the current staff of eight.
Leonel and his family have decorated the interior of the restaurant festively to reflect their Mexican culture.
The extra seating is vital, especially on weekends, when people drive from outside the county to come eat.
“We have people from Canada coming here and Niagara Falls, Tonawanda, Orchard Park, Le Roy, Williamsville, Lewiston,” Leonel said. “It’s mostly people from Buffalo are that are driving here a lot. That’s one thing that’s keeping us so busy throughout the weekend. Even in wintertime, we have a lot of them.”
“I think they find us on the Internet and read our reviews. They are willing to come try it out and they love us.”
Once the addition is completed, Leonel says the Rosarios plan to remove the old bathroom area and utilize the space for a small stage. He wants to give customers more than just Mexican food.
“I love to cook and to do a good service to my customers, but at the same time I want to do little different things with the restaurant,” said Leonel.
He plans to have mariachi bands, live music, and dancing. Leonel was a Mexican folkloric dancer for almost 10 years. He wants to share the Mexican culture with people in the area and feels this would be a great way to do it.
He says that they are also looking to create outdoor seating at some point with an open porch some time in the future so that customers can enjoy nice weather along with their meals.
Leonel has been very happy with the community’s response to the family business as well as their own success.
“We have really loyal customers,” he said. “I’m starting to get to know some more people and my employees are really good. It’s hard to find the right people, but we’ve been so lucky.”
Leonel added, “We’re trying to bring a little more to the community. I think it will be nice for people to come to Medina and they will get a little bit of Mexico, too.”
For more information and a preview of their menu, visit their website by clicking here.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 May 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial:
What a missed opportunity. We could have made a case to a possible future governor of New York. At the very least, Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive and GOP candidate for governor, is an influential person, a man you want as an advocate to help solve your community problems.
But I bet Astorino thinks all is well in Orleans County. Astorino made three stops in Orleans County last Thursday, and he saw some of our brightest success stories. You can’t blame local government and Republican officials for wanting to show off the county.
They took him to Precision Packaging Products in Holley, Western New York Energy’s ethanol plant in Shelby and the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina, which is the base for Baxter Healthcare. These are all juggernauts.
Astorino’s tag line in his campaign is “Winning or Losing?” He criticizes Cuomo for an exodus of residents and jobs. The message about a broken state seemed out of sync while he stood in the lobbies of growing businesses.
In a county with a high unemployment rate, oppressive village tax rates, and many closed bridges and vacant buildings, I question the decision to just showcase our successes.
I would have had him give his speech in front of the dilapidated former Holley High School, a building in disrepair that sadly sits at a gateway into Orleans County. We could use some state resources to either revive the building or have it taken down.
I would have given him a ride along the Lake Ontario State Parkway, and hit some of the potholes and taken the detours so he would have a feel for the condition of that road.
I would have stopped by the closed canal bridge on Hindsburg Road in Murray, or Brown Street in Albion or the one-lane lift bridge in Knowlesville. There are several choices for shut-down or nearly closed canal bridges.
We could have also driven over the Clarendon Street bridge in Albion. I would have told him the costs recently jumped and the federal and state governments both refused to adjust their budgets, instead sticking the village with the entire increase. The Feds and state are supposed to pay 95 percent of the project, but now the bridge will likely be demolished and blocked off because the village can’t afford the replacement.
I’d swing by Bullard Park and show him some of the playground equipment still in use after 50 years. The village sought state help for upgrades, but was denied the past two grant cycles.
I’d explain the structural discrimination the state has set up against villages, how comparable small cities get about $150 per person in state aid but villages only get $5 to $10 per person. With the same state aid as small cities – nearly $1 million more a year – Albion could upgrade its playground, fix its bridge and fill in pot holes.
I’d take the governor candidate to City Hall in Medina. The police department and fire departments both work out of the building. Medina toyed with becoming a city about a century ago, but opted to stay a village. That was a bad decision. It has meant very little in state aid to help provide services to the community.
The burden on the village is so heavy that Mayor Andrew Meier and some community leaders believe it’s best if the village government vanishes, with the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway expected to pick up the services. That would help to spread the tax burden for the many services provided by village taxpayers, services that often go outside village boundaries.
The leaders of the two towns are fighting that process. Medina could work around the towns and ensure a strong future if it had a strong partner in the State of New York, which currently picks winners and losers with its municipal aid policies. Unfortunately for Orleans County, we haven’t had the state’s blessing.
In many ways, Orleans County with its crumbling infrastructure and crushing village taxes provided the perfect backdrop for Astorino and his campaign against Cuomo.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial: Villages and towns shoulder burden of beautification, but county keeps revenue
This is a rendering of a statue for a bronze quarryman that is eyed for downtown Albion in Waterman Park, about a half block south of the Erie Canal. Bill Koch of the Stone Art Memorial Company created the design for the statue.
Orleans County officials could learn from the state when it comes to sharing revenue.
About a decade ago the state allowed video gaming machines at race tracks. The sites have been big money-makers for the state, but Albany was smart not to hoard all of the cash.
Initially, the state talked about keeping 70 percent of the profits from the gaming sites. But that left the operators with too little money to fully staff the sites, market the gaming machines and also keep up their facilities, particularly in a competitive gambling industry with nearby Native American-owned casinos.
The state relented. Its share is currently 41 percent of profits at sites such as Batavia Downs, which ended the state fiscal year with a net revenue of $47.1 million in 2013-14. The state collected $19.3 million of that.
The Downs gets 25 percent as for an “agent commission” or nearly $12 million. That is more than enough to cover its costs.
The state also dictated that 10 percent of net revenue or $4.71 million be used for marketing. The state Lottery mandates video gaming sites spend marketing money to bring in customers and better compete with the Indian-owned casinos. Some of that money was used by the Downs to hire Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas as an ambassador.
The state also is forcing the operators to set aside 4 percent of the profits for capital improvements. That is about $1.8 million annually at Batavia Downs. That requirement is a big reason why the Downs is undergoing a $27 million expansion and renovation. It no longer feels like an old race track.
Why do I bring this up? In Orleans County we take in about $15 million a year for our share of the sales tax. The state also gets about $15 million in sales for taxable transactions in the county.
The County Legislature decides how to divvy up the $15 million local share. In some counties, the county government will keep half of the money and give the rest with cities, towns and villages. That helps those municipalities fund their government services and ease the burden on property taxes.
That’s how it’s done in Genesee County, which brings in about $38 million in sales tax a year. The county isn’t much bigger than Orleans – 60,000 people in Genesee compared to about 42,000 in Orleans.
Orleans keeps about 92 percent of the total local share. It gives $1,366,671 to the towns and villages. That $1,366,671 hasn’t changed since 2001, when the Legislature chose to freeze the portion to the villages and towns.
File photos by Tom Rivers
A walking trail and pedestrian bridge has been proposed by the Glenwood Lake Commission near the Medina Waterfalls but the project hasn’t moved forward.
I’ve written before about how the county should give more money to the towns and villages, especially the villages which are dense population centers with lots of needs and government services. Many of the businesses that generate the sales tax are also in the villages.
I don’t think the county will give more to the villages or towns. That’s what they’ve told me. In fact, they sometimes threaten to zero out the towns and villages. I don’t see much hope for more money.
I’ve been personally involved in some community projects, whether trying to establish a Sandstone Trail along Route 31 or have a bronze statue erected of a quarryman in downtown Albion. These are in their infancy. Money is always an issue.
I know other people have proposed projects that would draw people to the county, boosting our sales tax. One proposal has been on the shelf for five years. The Glenwood Lake Commission proposed a walking trail to the Medina Waterfalls with a pedestrian bridge crossing the Oak Orchard River upstream near Glenwood Lake. Full development of that would be about $2 million. The state could pay 75 percent of the project with a successful grant application, but you still have a local share and ongoing maintenance.
The Albion Recreation Committee would like a spray park at Bullard, but it seems cost prohibitive for the village. The spray park would draw people from around the county, and outside our borders.
There are other projects – from murals to more attractive welcome signs – that could give our community a little more luster.
If you look at community development projects locally, the burden for getting it done rests almost entirely on a town or village. Those municipalities could invest big money into drawing more people here, yet they wouldn’t see an increase in sales tax benefits. That would go to the county, which isn’t investing in these type of projects off county land.
I would suggest setting aside a measly 1 percent of the total sales tax – that’s $150,000 of the $15 million – and directing it to capital improvements in villages and towns. This wouldn’t be basic infrastructure, such as streets and municipal buildings, but at sites that could draw folks to the area (could be parks or canal facilities, for example). That 1 percent is probably too low, but it could be a starting point.
The county should establish a committee with representation from the four villages and 10 towns. The county could take another lesson from the state’s playbook in making the awards competitive, with money going to the best projects.
Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature established Regional Economic Development Councils and communities have to present projects and make their case for funding each year. The state wants to see jobs and economic development from projects.
A float heads down a packed Medina Main Street for the Holiday Parade of Lights on Nov. 30. The village of Medina and Medina Business Association are the chief organizers of the event, which draws thousands into the community. Local towns, villages and service clubs do the heavy lifting with planning and running local festivals that draw crowds to the community.
The state has funded many heritage trails and tourism projects, believing they help stir commerce, especially in smaller towns. But you still need that local match and the Orleans communities haven’t been going after these type of grants. But if the county dedicated some of the sales tax for that local match, some of the projects could go forward because the villages and towns wouldn’t have to bear the full local cost.
If the county established a sales tax committee, the $150,000 should go to the projects with the most potential to bring in people and help drive sales to businesses.
Going back to the video gaming and the 10 percent marketing requirement, the county should also set aside 1 percent of the sales tax for marketing and special events.
Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina puts on a popular concert series during the winter. Here, 150 people watch the band Pocket Change on Jan. 10.
I was struck by the crowd last January at a “Finally Fridays” concert at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina. There were 150 people there on a bitterly cold night. The library puts on the concerts with little to no support from the county. Yet those concerts get people out of their houses. The concert-goers use gas, and many likely go out for dinner. Those concerts create commerce and sales tax.
The $150,000 for marketing could be used to help fund concert series, festivals and other special events. If you look at the current staple of festivals, most are organized by villages, towns, service clubs or other volunteers. They put a lot of time and money into it, and those events make money for the county.
The committee could direct how to best divvy up the marketing and special events dollars.
With 1 percent for capital projects and 1 percent for marketing and special events, the county would be giving up $300,000 total. But I bet they would see a solid return on that investment with more sales tax. That’s better odds than at Batavia Downs.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – Mark Peterson, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise, says the STAMP project in the town of Alabama will be a tremendous economic boost to the region. Peterson and economic development officials in Buffalo, Rochester and Genesee County addressed the Orleans County Legislature about the project on Wednesday. Orleans County Legislator Fred Miller is at left.
ALBION – Economic development leaders from Buffalo, Rochester and Genesee County were in Orleans County on Wednesday, united in their push for a project in the town of Alabama.
Although STAMP (Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park) is outside Orleans County, the project will be offer huge benefits for Orleans communities and the region, county legislators were told.
“This is real,” said Mark Peterson, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise. “This will really be a transformative time in our community’s history and you’re all going to a be a part of it.”
The STAMP project is about 1 mile south of the Orleans County border. STAMP is south of Lewiston Road at Route 77. The 1,250-acre site will accommodate nanotechnology companies including semiconductor 450mm chip fab, flat panel display, solar manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing.
Supply companies and other businesses are expected to set up within an hour of the site. The Medina Business Park, for example, could see new businesses because of STAMP, said Steve Hyde, Genesee County Economic Development Center president and CEO.
The state has committed $33 million in the new state budget to the infrastructure of the park. That has the attention of prospective companies that the state is committing significant resources to the project.
“It’s very, very real,” Peterson told county officials. “This site is very much in play on a world-wide stage.”
The site is attractive for companies because of it’s large size, proximity to the Thruway (only 5 miles from Pembroke), access to talent from universities in Buffalo and Rochester, and the presence of major utilities, including low-cost hydropower, Hyde said.
Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, touts the benefits of the STAMP project for Orleans County.
The site, in full build-out, is expected to employ 10,000 people with many making $100,000 or more. Another 50,000 jobs will be created in the region to support the companies at STAMP.
Hyde said he expects at least 800 to 1,000 people to work at STAMP from Orleans County, and perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 more through construction and supply-chain jobs.
Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature, said STAMP has been nine years in the making, but will become a reality with so much support from the region and state.
“It’s not a question of whether it will happen, it’s when it will happen,” he said. He impact will be “transformational” with Orleans County reaping many of the positives.
“You are our neighbor,” Cianfrini told the county legislators. “You, Orleans County, will certainly benefit tremendously from this.”
Orleans should see more demand in its real estate, more business for its shops, and more revenue for some of its municipal services, particularly the Medina sewer plant, Hyde said. STAMP companies are expected to use 1 million gallons of sewer from Medina initially and could use 11 million gallons at full build-out, Hyde said.
Hyde said Medina will be an important partner for the sewer services, and other local governments will be needed to support having sewer and other utility infrastructure run to the site in Alabama.
“We will need pipes and pumps to get the waste water to Medina,” Hyde said. “We need regional infrastructure to support it or else it won’t happen.”
David Callard, the Orleans County Legislature chairman, said the county supports the project and is excited about the potential.
“Your success is our success and everyone’s success,” Callard said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial
File photos by Tom Rivers – The Brown Street bridge in Albion was shut down about two years ago. There isn’t a timetable for the bridge’s reopening.
Orleans County officials and many of the village and town government leaders have been making phone calls, writing letters and passing resolutions, trying to pressure state officials to better maintain bridges over the Erie Canal.
Many of the spans have reduced weight restrictions or have been closed. Only a handful can accommodate tractor trailers, fire trucks and big farm equipment. Local officials say it hurts commerce, threatens public safety and wastes time with detours.
The local leaders have been making noise about this in recent years. It doesn’t seem to be paying off in more upgraded canal bridges.
The canal bridges are low volume and costly to maintain, Bob Traver, DOT regional director, told county officials in a meeting last September. The DOT has many infrastructure needs and it directs the money to higher-volume bridges, he said.
The county should try a new approach in bringing state action to the bridges. The county should consider a trade off. Let’s offer up the north side of the Lake Ontario State Parkway. That is the two-lane recreational expressway that runs west for 12.5 miles in the county.
The Lake Ontario State Parkway is lightly traveled. It was supposed to extend from Rochester to Niagara Falls, but stops in Carlton.
The Parkway was supposed to link Rochester to Niagara Falls. It got about halfway built and ends abruptly in the town of Carlton. It strikes me as a colossal waste of money, and a big broken promise.
The Parkway is costly to the state. The DOT could simply close down the north side, and make the south side – the two lanes that currently go east – into a regular two-lane state highway with one eastbound and one westbound lane. This would save the DOT in maintenance, plowing and mowing costs.
Those savings should stay in the county and be directed towards keeping up the canal bridges. The Parkway is lightly travelled, and putting both the east- and west-bound traffic on the south side of the Parkway wouldn’t hinder the motorists at all.
I think the DOT would be more willing to listen to our pleas about the bridges if we offered a trade off, rather than just insisting on more money.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Heritage Hero: Chris Busch
Photos by Tom Rivers – Chris Busch is chairman of the Village of Medina’s Planning Board and Medina’s Tree Board. He also is vice chairman of the Orleans Renaissance Group, which is working to restore the Bent’s Opera House, pictured behind him on Main Street.
MEDINA – In small-town Upstate New York, there aren’t too many downtown business districts like Medina’s these days. The buildings are well maintained with a high occupancy rate.
It feels like a Norman Rockwell painting, a step back in time with so many independent merchants and sense of history with buildings from the mid to late 1800s and the early 20th Century.
Chris Busch sees the downtown’s historical integrity as a draw for the community. He has served nearly 20 years on the Village Planning Board and helped to craft zoning and design standards for the downtown. As chairman of the Planning Board, he also heads the village’s Historic and Architectural Review Board, which provides guidance to downtown building owners for signs, paint and other exterior work.
“We’ve been very successful promoting and implementing preservation because we’ve been able to do it in such a fashion that the community has been able to embrace it without angst and suspicion,” Busch said.
He praised Kay Revelas, former director of the Medina Chamber of Commerce, for rallying business owners to back preservation and a historic designation for the downtown a generation ago. Many in the community have championed the issue and the building owners have embraced it, Busch said.
“It’s taken the diligence of many people to protect the downtown business district,” he said. “It’s paying off because people very much enjoy the look and feel of downtown Medina with its history and heritage.”
Busch will be honored as a “Heritage Hero” on April 25 during a Civil War Encampment at GCC in Medina. He was picked for his leadership on the Planning Board and his many civic contributions, including the design of 11 interpretative panels in the downtown that will highlight Medina history. Those panels should be installed later this month or in early May.
Medina elementary students are part of an annual Arbor Day celebration. Students write poems and sing songs about trees. They also help plant them. Busch is chairman of the Tree Board. The National Arbor Day Foundation has given Medina a “Tree City Growth Award” and has designated the community a “Tree City USA” for its commitment to planting trees every year.
Busch works as a history teacher in Lockport. His heart is in Medina.
He served as village historian and later joined the Municipal Tree Board and has been its chairman for several years. Medina has been planting 50 to 100 trees most years in the past decade and that is helping to replenish an urban forest that was diminished by road projects, wind storms and disease.
“Medina was once known for beautiful residences and tree-lined streets,” he said. “Many years of neglect led to a severely depleted urban forest.”
The village’s commitment to planting trees has earned it awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation. It has recognized Medina with a “Tree City Growth Award” and has designated the community a “Tree City USA.”
Busch said the trees make neighborhoods more appealing visually and should make the homes more valuable and inviting for residents.
Chris Busch is pictured inside the Bent’s Opera House about a year ago during a tour as part of the Civil War Encampment in Medina. The opera house was constructed during the Civil War.
He has been a leader with the Orleans Renaissance Group, organizing the efforts to bring concerts into the community. He is vice chairman of the ORG, which is working to restore the Bent’s Opera House on Main Street. That Medina sandstone building was constructed during the Civil War.
The ORG wants to again have performances in the top floor of the site, with a restaurant on the second floor and the first floor available for businesses. Busch sees the site as an anchor for the downtown, drawing customers for other businesses nearby.
The “Heritage Hero” Committee also picked Busch for the award because of his efforts designing the 11 interpretive panels and helping to secure funding for the project.
The panels will be on Main Street with one on West Center Street by the Newell building, which was once a high-end shirt manufacturer.
A series of 11 interpretive panels that highlight Medina history and notable residents will be installed this spring in downtown Medina. Chris Busch designed the panels, including this one of the former U.S. President Grover Cleveland, who married a Medina girl, Frances Folsom.
Busch believes the panels will help locals and visitors better appreciate Medina’s rich heritage and history. He often sees people gawking at the downtown structures, aiming cameras at the buildings.
“It’s something that needed to be done to help people visualize it,” he said.
The panels will tell the stories of some of the people behind the downtown buildings and the community’s early days with a bustling Erie Canal, sandstone quarries and other industries.
“People will be surprised how much they will have an impact on tourist visitors,” Busch said. “These will without a doubt provide a reason for tourists to linger and learn.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial
Photo by Tom Rivers – Brunner International is expanding in Medina, adding a 48,000-square-foot building and 35 more employees.
MEDINA – A Canadian company is investing $10 million in Medina as part of an expansion that will add 35 jobs and retain 363 current positions at Brunner International.
The news is a big win for the community and the Orleans Economic Development Agency, which worked with many local, state and federal agencies to facilitate the project.
The EDA’s involvement demonstrates the agency and its staff of three employees can pull off a big project. It should inspire confidence in other companies looking to invest in Orleans that our economic development agency is up for the task.
The EDA worked with the town of Ridgeway and Orleans County to gain site plan approvals. The agency also is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to relocate a wetland. The company with help from the EDA was able to secure a low-cost hydropower allocation form the New York Power Authority as well as $750,000 in state economic development incentives.
There were a lot of moving parts and the Orleans EDA worked for many months to line up incentives and approvals to make the project a reality. Brunner was also considering Kentucky for the project.
Brunner will build a 48,000 square foot addition at a time when Worthington Cylinders is closing down in Medina, laying off 150 workers. Worthington is shifting production from the former Bernz-O-Matic facility to a site in Wisconsin.
That is a difficult loss for the community. Brunner provides an opportunity for some of those workers to find new jobs. Jim Whipple, the EDA chief executive officer, also believes the Bernz-O-Matic site will be desirable for another business. The building has been well-maintained, has railroad access and could be eligible for low-cost hydropower.
The county was hit with a major job loss last year when Chase shut down its Albion call center, laying off 413 people. Claims Recovery Financial Services has been in major growth mode and moved into the Chase site earlier this year. About 600 people work at the site. CRFS helped to soften the blow from Chase’s exit.
CRFS was working out of a neighboring site in Albion and also a building at the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina. Those sites are now being marketed to other companies, Whipple said.
He sees some other positives in the county. A Canadian firm is turning a vacant warehouse on McKinistry Street in Albion into an electronics recycling operation. BoMET Holding Inc. plans to hire 30 people at the Albion site.
The Wegman Group also is working to develop The Cottages at Troutburg in Kendall at a former Salvation Army camp. Those seasonal homes will boost the tax base for the community and the new residents will provide customers for businesses in the Kendall area.
The Cottages, BoMET, CRFS and Brunner all received some assistance from the EDA, and the agency showed it was up for the job to persuading the companies to invest in Orleans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Editorial:
Albion, Holley should proclaim musical stature
File photos by Tom Rivers – Holley and Kendall schools last year debuted a combined marching band. They are shown in the Albion Strawberry Festival last June.
Holley did it for the first time and Albion Central School made it seven in a row. Both school districts earned designations as a “Best Community for Music Education,” according to the North American Music Merchants.
About 2,100 schools sought the honor from the NAMM Foundation, but only 376 across the country earned it in 2014. Albion has been a perennial winner of the award. Only a select group pulls that off.
Holley is new to the list this year. In the rural GLOW counties (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming), only Le Roy made the list outside of the two schools from Orleans. The big, wealthy suburban school districts – Clarence, Williamsville, Penfield and Webster – tend to dominate the list.
But some rural schools make music and the arts a priority. That’s something worth promoting in the community and to people passing through. Albion and Holley should celebrate the honor with prominent signs leading into the community.
Kyle Thaine played the Tinman in Albion High School’s production of “The Wiz.” The school performed the musical on March 28-29. Albion students typically receive several awards from the Rochester Broadway Theatre League for its shows.
Just like Medina basks in its state champion marching band, and Elba proclaims the achievements of its state champion girls basketball team, Albion and Holley should proudly spread the news about the achievements of their music programs, and the school districts should do so at the gateways into the villages.
Both the villages of Albion and Holley have been struggling in recent years with a shrinking tax base. Proclaiming the music program could be a major selling point for the communities. The NAMM designation should definitely go on signs and web sites about Albion and Holley.
There will be more home-hunters driving through Albion and Holley as Genesee County and the state work to develop and open STAMP in the town of Alabama, only about a mile south of the Orleans County line. The state moved to fast track the Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park in Alabama, committing $33 million to the project in the new state budget. The state wouldn’t do that if there weren’t companies serious about the park, which could add 10,000 high-paying jobs to the community.
We want a lot of those people who will be earning big paychecks to settle in Orleans, especially in some of our villages. Celebrating the music programs may be the drawing card that sways people to move and stay here.
