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Medina sets hearings on Napa parking space, container storage

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 December 2014 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – The Village Board has set Jan. 12 for two public hearings, one to establish a 15-minute parking space by Napa Auto Parts and the other to establish regulations for temporary storage shelters.

Napa owner Craig Lacy requested two 15-minute spots by the business at 345 North Main St. The Village Board wants to try one first and see if that eases the parking problem for Napa.

The village has a 2-hour parking limit on Main Street, but village officials agree many motorists overstay that limit.

Police Chief Jose Avila said the police department asks people to move if there are complaints and they stay in one spot beyond two hours. Police officers will give tickets if motorists complain and don’t move.

The Napa spot is different than most on Main Street because the business is at the corner of Main Street and a one-lane road leading into the Canal Basin parking lot, Village Trustee Marguerite Sherman said.

She doesn’t want to create 15-minute spots all along Main Street, but she said Napa is in an unusual position at the corner of the one-lane road. The Napa spots also get used by tenants in some of the upper floor apartments.

“I support the one spot but I don’t want to open up a can of worms,” she said.

Chief Avila supports the one 15-minute spot and he said the village could always add another if needed.

Medina will have the hearing on the 15-minute spot at 5 p.m. on Jan. 12 at the Shelby Town Hall. The 15-minute spot would apply from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The village also set at 5:05 p.m. hearing on Jan. 12 for temporary storage shelters. Code Enforcement Officer Martin Busch said the temporary storage containers – Pods and shipping containers – are becoming increasingly popular.

Some of these containers stay on sites for months, resulting in deteriorating appearance in property and in complaints, Planning Board Chairman Chris Busch wrote in a letter to the Village Board.

The Planning Board has proposed regulations for temporary storage containers that establish them as portable storage units without a permanent foundation. They may include cargo containers, truck trailers, construction trailers and bulk solid waste containers.

The village is proposing a maximum of two cargo containers per site for no more than 60 days per calendar year. If homeowners suffer a fire or flood and need the container longer, they can seek a demolition or building permit with the cargo container to be removed a week after the demo or building permit expires.

The regulation proposes similar standards for portable storage containers and establishes setback requirements.

Semi-truck trailers are limited to commercial or residential sites. Construction trailers are allowed in commercial, residential and industrial sites but must be removed a week after a building permit expires or certificate of occupancy is issued.

Bulk solid waste containers are allowed for up to 45 days in a year. They must be kept at least 5 feet from side and rear property lines and at least 10 feet from front property lines, according to the proposed regulation.

Hawley wants $5B surplus for schools, broadband and infrastructure

Posted 10 December 2014 at 12:00 am

Press Release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R-Batavia ) is looking to make the $5 billion surplus from the Paribus Bank lawsuit work for the people of Western New York. He’s proposing the money go toward eliminating the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) that callously cut funding from our schools, providing better broadband access, and improving local roads and bridges to better accommodate the agricultural and tourism economies.

“A lot has been said and is going to be said about the opportunities that this $5 billion surplus affords our state,” Hawley said. “I will be fighting for the elimination of the GEA, which has caused our schools a great hardship over the past few years. We must restore these cuts and make sure our schools receive the funding necessary to provide an equal education for all students.”

Many residents and businesses do not have access to high-speed Internet. “In rural communities like mine, we struggle with access to broadband internet connection,” Hawley said. “We can use these funds to ensure all New Yorkers have access to broadband internet, and continue moving New York ‘s economy into the 21st century.”

The state should also direct some of the $5 billion towards infrastructure, Hawley said. “We also have bridges and roads that are not structurally capable of handling our growing agricultural economy. This is stifling the growth of our regional and state economies. By repairing these bridges and ensuring they have the capacity to carry the products created by our agricultural-based economy as well as support the plows needed to clear our roadways during the winter months, we can make a remarkable difference not just in our community and in Western New York, but across the state.”

Hospice remembers loved ones with tree-lighting ceremony

Staff Reports Posted 10 December 2014 at 12:00 am

Provided photos

ALBION – Many local families touched by the loss of a loved one attended the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on the front lawn of Hospice offices on Saturday. The white pine tree was generously donated by Gerry Culhane. The tree was decorated with special memorial ribbons and ornaments in memory of family, friends and loved ones.

Craig Lape sang “I Believe There are Angels Among Us,” a song that speaks to the important role of comfort and support the staff and volunteers provide to those served and their families.

Following a short ceremony with reflections by Pastor Linda Haight, the Memorial Tree was illuminated. After a moment of silence and remembrance, the community joined with staff for a reception in the conference center.

Holley school voters decide fate today for $8.9 million project

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

HOLLEY – School district voters will go to the polls form 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. today to decide whether the district can move forward on an $8.9 million capital project.

The project includes roof top HVAC units, windows, radiators, flooring and exterior doors. The district also wants to improve the student drop-off area and the playground at the elementary school and move the tennis courts.

The district already has $2.5 million set aside in a capital reserve account to cover the local share of the project, which will be mostly paid for from the state. District officials say local taxes won’t be increased because of the project.

The proposal follows about $32 million of school improvements at Holley Central School. But more work needs to be done and the district is ready to pursue “nuts and bolts” on improvements that weren’t part of a recent capitol project, said Robert D’Angelo, the district superintendent.

D’Angelo expects the projects in the capital plan will make the district more efficient and reduce energy costs. The work would likely be completed in 2016 and 2017.

Voting today is in the middle/high school foyer. Voters must be at least 18, a United States citizen and a legal resident of the school district for at least the last 30 days.

Medina will tackle $1.2 million in sewer upgrades

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

MEDINA – The Medina sewer plant is in line for $1.2 million in upgrades whether the village government dissolves or not.

The Village Board voted on Monday to borrow $1.2 million in interest-free money from the state Environmental Facilities Corporation. The money will be paid back over 30 years from sewer users. The sewer project isn’t funded by property taxes or through the village’s general fund.

“We wouldn’t be assessing tax to support this,” Medina Mayor Andrew Meier said at Monday’s board meeting.

The sewer plant is one of the village’s economic assets, Meier said. The plant is currently underutilized. The village treats about 1 to 2 million gallons of sewage each day at the plant, which has a permitted capacity for 4.5 million gallons. The plant could handle even more, about 8 million gallons a day, he said.

The village will upgrade infrastructure and components at the site and also will boost the capacity to 10 or 11 million gallons with the $1.2 million project, Meier said.

That excess capacity could be used to attract big users in the village or the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway, he said. Village officials also are discussing providing sewer services to the Town of Alabama in Genesee County for the proposed STAMP project.

Meier sees Medina and the Route 63 corridor as ideally situated for STAMP-related businesses. Besides a close proximity to high-tech companies at STAMP – Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park – the Route 63 area is within a 30-mile radius for low-cost hydropower from the Niagara Power Project.

“This is very much a pro-economic development project,” Meier said about the upcoming sewer work. “It shows Medina is open for business.”

The village will be seeking bids for the project, which is expected to be complete in 2015.

Lyndonville waterfalls keep photographers coming back

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – I’ve posted quite a few pictures of the Lyndonville waterfalls since the Orleans Hub started in April 2013. It’s a can’t miss spot.

These waterfalls plunge about 11 feet along Johnson Creek. I’ve been trying to come up with angles and vantage points for some of the familiar local spots.

Today I tried some pictures of the waterfalls looking through the bridge on Main Street. Sometimes I can’t decide which is the best picture. I asked my wife for help and she liked the photo above.

I like this one best of the waterfalls, looking under the bridge.

I also took this one from near the top of the waterfalls looking towards Veterans Park where there are 43 Christmas trees decorated. They will be up until a little after New Year’s Day.

Company makes public outreach for wind project in Yates, Somerset

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Dan Fitzgerald (second from left), project manager for Apex Clean Energy, meets with residents during a public meeting today at the Yates Town Hall. He is joined by Dahvi Wilson, Apex communications manager, at left.

LYNDONVILLE – Apex Clean Energy would like to build 60 to 68 wind turbines Yates and Somerset, structures that could tower nearly 600 feet in the two rural lakeshore towns.

The projects would bring the prospect of significant revenue to the towns, school districts and Orleans and Niagara counties, while also paying landowners to have the turbines on their land.

“Both the landowners and towns stand to profit,” said Taylor Quarles, development manager for Apex.

“Lighthouse Wind” would generate 200 megawatts of power, enough to power 59,000 homes. Each turbine would generate about 3 megawatts of power, up from the 1.5 to 1.8 megawatts with turbines about a decade ago.

The company is in the early stages of the project. It has lined up leases with some landowners, but will need more to make the project a reality, Quarles said.

Dudley Chaffee is a dairy farmer with land in both towns. He has been approached to lease land for turbines. He hasn’t signed off on a 30-year lease.

“It looks like a good deal,” he said at an informational meeting today at the Yates Town Hall.

Chaffee has dairy farmer friends in Wyoming County. They told him the construction portion of the projects can be disruptive to the land. But once the turbines are up, they take up a small footprint and the farms coexist with the structures.

“One guy in Wyoming County told me he’d do it again in a minute,” Chaffee said.

More than 60 people attended to the meeting to look over information from Apex Clean Energy.

Cathi Orr lived in Orangeville, a Wyoming County town. She moved to Somerset last January to get away from the turbines, which she said are noisy.

“They go ‘thump, thump,” she said. “They make a creaky noise.”

She had 21 within a 1 ½ miles of her house. She was part of the Clear Skies Over Orangeville group that opposed the turbines. She knew Somerset had been approached before about a wind farm, but she thought that project had gone away.

Apex wasn’t involved the other project. The company is eyeing a different project with taller turbines. The added height allows the turbines to reach faster moving wind.

Turbines with blades that peak abut 400 to 450 feet, like many in Wyoming County, weren’t quite tall enough to get the stronger, more consistent wind, Apex said.

At a higher distance, there is likely enough wind, Apex officials said. They have one meteorological tower up on Lakeshore Road in Somerset to test wind strength. Quarles said they could put up four or five more in the target area that is west of Route 63 in Yates and most of Somerset. The project eyes the northern half of the towns, where there is lots of open farmland, another plus for the project, said Dan Fitzgerald, project manager.

A major transmission line also runs through Somerset, which would allow Apex to tap in and get its power to the market. That is another attraction for siting the project in Somerset and western Yates, he said.

Fitzgerald was one of four Apex officials at a public information meeting today at Yates Town Hall. The company had a similar meeting in Barker in October. Apex will have more informational meetings to explain the project and its benefits to the community, Fitzgerald said.

“This is in the very beginning of the project,” he said today at the Yates meeting. “We’re still a ways out.”

The company is going through a required 150-day public involvement effort. To see that 60-page public involvement plan, click here.

Fitzgerald said the company will continue to meet with the public after the 150-day period, which started Oct. 31. The company will reach out to the Amish and Mennonite communities, as well as other residents and officials.

“The goal is to make sure everyone in the community knows about the project,” Quarles said.

Apex will follow the public involvement period with a preliminary scoping document that would assess environmental impacts, including potential harm to birds, wildlife and other issues. The company will need to consult with the FFA on flight pattern impacts, especially with the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

The company will need to secure approvals through local, state and federal agencies. Fitzgerald said construction on the project could start in 2018 if the agencies, landowners and experts all see Yates and Somerset as a good spot for the project.

For more on Apex, click here.

Falling gas prices could cut into local tax revenues

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

Orleans has seen growth in sales tax, but that could stop with cheaper gas

Photo by Tom Rivers – The gas prices are getting close to $3 at the Crosby’s gas station at the corner of routes 98 and 104 in the Town of Gaines. This photo was taken Monday evening.

Consumers are getting relief at the gas pump with prices locally falling near $3 per gallon, down from prices that were closer to $4 in the spring.

Prices nationally on average have dropped below $3 for the first time since 2010. The falling gas prices could cut into the sales tax revenues for the state and county governments.

Gas is taxed 8 cents per $1 with the state and county splitting that for 4 cents each. Every time someone fills up, a few dollars is typically generated in sales tax.

But a smaller gas bill means less in sales tax.

Orleans County officials opted not to forecast higher sales tax revenues in 2015, even though the county is currently 5.4 percent ahead of the 2013 pace.

“We’re seeing gas prices drop dramatically and we could see our revenues drop dramatically as well,” Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, said during a county budget hearing last week.

The county has budgeted $13,785,000 in sales tax revenues for 2015, the same as in 2014. In addition, another $1,366,671 from the local share goes to towns and villages in the county.

Orleans in 2013 was about $363,000 below its sales tax budget. This year, through the first nine months, it’s up by $601,482 (from $11,111,414 to $11,712,897) for the first three quarters of the year, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

The percentage growth in Orleans is the ninth highest of 57 counties in the state. State-wide, sales tax receipts are up 2.7 percent for the nine months, compared to 2013.

Sales tax is important for the local and state governments because it helps offset the need for other revenue, including higher property taxes. If the sales tax revenues fall, Orleans might have to either raise taxes or dip into its reserves to maintain existing services.

Medina makes Episcopalian church a local landmark

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

Congregation sought measure as way to protect building

File photos by Tom Rivers – St. John’s Episcopal Church was built in 1832, making it the oldest remaining church in Orleans County. The church was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not as “The church in the middle of the street.” Church Street splits by the church near the intersection with East Center Street (Route 31).

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board approved local landmark status on Monday for St. John’s Episcopal Church, a designation that will require any exterior alterations to the building to get Village Planning Board approval.

The church requested the designation for the building, which opened in 1832. It is Orleans County’s oldest remaining church. It was built with Medina sandstone before there were any commercial quarries.

This is the first Medina church outside a historic district to be declared a landmark. The Presbyterian Church is part of the downtown business district that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The local designation could pave the way for St. John’s to pursue inclusion on the state and national registers of historic places.

Medina Mayor Andrew Meier praised the Episcopal congregation for seeking the local landmark status.

“I’m glad to see the church sees the merits in doing this,” Meier said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. “It is one of the oldest structures in the county.”

The village about five years ago sought to have other churches near the downtown district be declared local landmarks, but the First Baptist, United Methodist and St. Mary’s Catholic Church all opposed the move, saying they feared the designation could saddle them, making building upkeep more costly.

“I’m hopeful some of the other churches will follow suit,” Martin Busch, the village’s code enforcement officer, said after Monday’s meeting. “There is no reason to feel threatened. It’s a recognition of the historic significance of the building to a community.”

Sandstone Park players are pictured in 1965

Posted 9 December 2014 at 12:00 am

By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian

ALBION – Photographer Bill Covell took this picture in 1965 of the Little League Team “Sandstone Park” in Albion.

This shot was actually taken on the Albion High School Athletic Field. First row, from left: Michael Maas, Ed Monacelli, Richard Colonna, David Stackwick, Ken Pettine, John Grillo and Ron Mannella.

Second row, from left: Tim Kirby, Dave Colonna, Mike Murphy, Ray Colonna, Gary Mannella, Pat Murphy, Paul Salisbury, Mark Adema and Brian Rush.

Coaches in the back, from left: “Babe” Colonna, Ken Pettine and Guido Mannella.