Photo by Tom Rivers: The Village of Albion has 17 properties included in a Restore NY application, including 28 East Bank St. (left).

ALBION – The Albion Village Board has set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Village Hall for residents to comment on an application to state for Restore NY funding.

Albion has qualified as a severely distressed community and is eligible for Restore NY funding. That state program seeks to revitalize the heart of community centers, bringing funding for residential and commercial projects.

The Restore NY program could bring up to $10 million to revitalize distressed commercial and residential sites, providing 90 percent of the costs, said Jay Grasso, the village’s grantwriter and owner of G & G Municipal Consulting and Grant Writing.

The Restore NY program funds reconstruction, structural repairs, repair and replacement of mechanical systems, energy efficiency upgrades, and demolition.

Restore NY can be used for vacant, abandoned, condemned or surplus buildings. These properties can be demolished, deconstructed, rehabilitated or reconstructed. The grant allows up to $70,000 per residential unit.

Albion has made it past the first round of the application and needs to submit a more detailed application by Jan. 27.

There are 17 properties in the downtown business district identified for the village’s application.

The properties identified for the village application include:

• 117 North Liberty St., 6,960 square feet
• 124 South Clinton St., 7,692 square feet
• 132 North Main St., 5,984 square feet
• 18 North Main St., 19,600 square feet
• 165 South Platt St., 34,344 square feet
• 52 North Main St., 9,996 square feet
• 102 East Bank St., 1,530 square feet
• 10-12 North Main St., 6,270 square feet
• 138-140 North Main St., 6,932 square feet
• 116 North Liberty St. (Beaver Alley), 14,250 square feet
• 24 and 28 East Bank St., 21,900 square feet
• 101 North Main St., 6,696 square feet
• 25-27 East Bank St., 1,860 square feet
• 38 Platt St., 3,759 square feet
• 255 East Bank St., 2,936 square feet
• 160 North Main St., 10,870 square feet
• 34 North Main St., 3,472 square feet

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Caleb Lambert, 6, of Albion balances three plates with assistance from Franko Bui, a clown. Caleb was picked out of the crowd to assist Franko with the act at the elementary school gym in Albion, which hosted two performances on Thursday of Billy Martin’s Cole All Star Circus.

The circus has started its annual swing in the region. The other upcoming local performances include Medina today at 5:15 and 7:15 p.m. in the Wise Middle School gym; Holley Elementary Gym at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 26, and Kendall High School Gym with a 6:30 p.m. show on Jan. 27. Tickets are available at the door. Click here for more information on the schedule.

Ivan Arestov displays his skill with Cyr Wheel acrobatics. He has been performing with Billy Martin’s Cole All Star Circus for several years now. Last summer he also spent a week at the Orleans County 4-H Fair as a performer, including balancing on a stack of chairs that were 25 feet high.

Slinko has long been one of the popular acts at the circus. The character is like a dancing slinky.

Lilly Otis, 7, of Albion gets a cat painted on her face during intermission.

Alex Arestov balances an umbrella on his forehead. Alex and Elena performed with many umbrellas on Thursday. In the past their performance included a series of quick costume changes that seemed like magic.

Franko sells merchandise, including lighted swords and super-hero inflatables. There was also cotton candy, popcorn and other goodies available.

This photo is from a screen shot of the Main Street lift bridge in Albion at 3:45 p.m. A YouTube page shows a livestream of the bridge. Click here to see it.

ALBION – Next Tuesday will be a historic day for Albion, if everything goes as planned.

The trusses from the Main Street lift bridge will be moved by a giant crane to just north of the canal on land owned by the State Canal Corp.

The trusses were expected to be moved this week, but that has been pushed back to Jan. 24, the state Department of Transportation said today.

The bridge closed to traffic on Nov. 14 and isn’t expected to reopen for 18 months as part of a major rehabilitation.

Crane-Hogan Structural Systems in Spencerport is general contractor for the project on the bridge that was originally constructed in 1914.

It also will be doing a similar effort in Brockport. The state approved a $28.3 million construction bid for the two bridge projects.

In rebuilding the Albion bridge, Crane-Hogan will be:

• Replacing bridge decks and portions of the truss system with high-strength, galvanized steel.
• Modernizing mechanical and electrical components within the bridge’s lifting system.
• Rehabilitating the bridge tower.
• Installing new bridge rails.
• Repainting the bridge, maintaining its current shade of green.

When the work on the bridge is complete, the span will be moved back into place over the Canal, the state Department of Transportation said.

ALBION – This screen shot was taken at about 9:20 a.m. today, showing a real time view of the Albion Main Street lift bridge.

A camera has been mounted up high on the Pratt and Day building on Main Street, with a live stream available on YouTube (click here).

The “Bridging Albion” group pushed to have the camera installed so people can watch the progress of an extensive rehabilitation of the historic bridge.

The group wanted the camera in place before a large crane arrives and removes the trusses of the bridge next week. That is expected to happen on Tuesday.

The bridge closed to traffic on Nov. 14 and isn’t expected to reopen for 18 months.

Mayor Angel Javier Jr. is at left, Trustee Tim McMurray is at right.

ALBION – Three of the trustees on the Albion Village Board voted “no confidence” in Mayor Angel Javier Jr., saying he acted unilaterally in breaching a union contract with Albion police officers.

Trustees Tim McMurray, Zachary Burgess and Chris Barry this evening voted for a “vote of no confidence” and that the mayor be censured. They asked village attorney John Gavenda to see if there are any legal steps that can be taken for the mayor’s removal from office.

Deputy Mayor Joyce Riley didn’t vote with the other three. Mayor Javier, after the meeting, called the vote of no confidence ‘bull s—.”

The three trustees said Javier acted in conduct unbecoming of a mayor by acting on his own accord and breaching the union contract.

Javier reduced officers’ salary by 5 percent after a firm looked over officers’ pay and determined they had received $236,000 in overpayments over five years based on a miscalculation by the village. The officers switched from 40-hour weeks with five 8-hour shifts to 84-hour pay periods every two weeks, with seven 12-hour shifts. That change was intended to help reduce overtime in the police department.

Javier contends the village made a mistake in the officers’ pay rate, dividing the annual salaries by 2,080 hours instead of 2,184 when the new agreement started with the 84-hour pay periods. Using the smaller number of 2,080 hours resulted in higher hourly pay rates.

McMurray doesn’t believe an error was ever made by the village. He faulted Javier for not sitting down with police union leaders and discussing the issue at length before lowering their pay. If the issue had gone to arbitration, McMurray said the village would have lost.

He also faulted Javier for promoting “false narratives” in the media about the issue which created “a hesitant working relationship with the PBA and unwarranted public scrutiny.”

McMurray also said the report from Bonadio Group has been wrongly characterized as an audit when it was “merely a confirmation of information.” But McMurray said the report used the 2,184 hours to determine the hourly rate when the PBA insists it should have been 2,080 hours. A settlement agreement in November between the board and the Police Benevolent Association says the hourly rate will be based on dividing the annual pay by 2,080 hours.

“The mayor has damaged the reputation of the Village Board of Trustees with the public, PBA and other departments within the village resulting in decreased morale and several employees attempting to and or actually leaving their positions as result,” McMurray said in introducing the resolution.

Javier was elected to a four-year term as mayor last March at age 32. He ran under the Republican line and independent “Better Together Albion Strong.” He was the top vote-getter among three candidates.

He said this after the meeting that he was right to raise the issue of overpayments. The Village Board in November settled with the union when it raised other issues that the union said would cost $714,000 for Fair Labor and Standards Act violations.

Javier said he remains committed to the job as mayor and being a good steward of the village tax dollars.

The PBA said the issue cost the village at least $38,000 with $16,000 for the Bonadio Group, $15,000 to make police officers whole and $7,500 to pay for the police officers’ attorneys. McMurray citing those costs as an unnecessary expense.

Ron Vendetti, a former village code enforcement officer, spoke at the meeting and told the board members they should try to get along and work together for the community.

“Everyone needs to settle down a little bit,” Vendetti said. “You look like the federal government with all the infighting.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: Jason Tarnowski, pastor of the Albion Free Methodist Church, stands by an outdoor cabinet that has food for the community. People are welcome to take and leave food.

ALBION – The Albion Free Methodist Church started a new ministry last month where people are welcome to take or leave food in an outdoor cabinet by the entrance of the church at 25 South Platt St.

Church members Rick and Kim Holz came up with the idea to have the cabinet outside, and Mr. Holz constructed the wooden frame for the display.

Jason Tarnowski, pastor of the church since October 2021, said the food is available to anyone in the community. The church calls the cabinet the “Community of Hope Food Ministry.”

He said people from outside the church have been contributed food to the cabinet, including the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries. That church partnered with Arnold’s Auto Parts to stock an outdoor refrigerator with food at Arnold’s on West Bank Street. That refrigerator has been supplied with food since last March.

Tarnowski asks the attendees at the Free Methodist Church to bring non-perishable food on Sundays for the cabinet, or when they attend meetings mid-week.

The Free Methodist Church was founded in Albion in 1859 and is the oldest church in the denomination. Tarnowski said the congregation is committed to being relevant and serving the community.

Press Release, Albion Police Benevolent Association

ALBION – Now that the dust has settled there is one thing that is apparent to the Village of Albion taxpayers. Mayor Angel Javier Jr.’s ill-conceived escapade of attacking the Village of Albion police officers has needlessly cost the Village taxpayers over $38,000!

More than $16,000 for the report from the Bonadio Group.

More than $15,000 to make the members of the Albion Police Department whole.

$7,500 for the police officers’ attorneys.

And who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars the Village wasted on its outside counsel?

When the Mayor first took office in April 2022, he set off on an ill-fated attack on the Albion police officers. The Mayor’s actions were based upon ignorance which was subsequently compounded by incompetence.

Completely unaware of the laws that govern labor relations between the Village and the Police Union, Mayor Javier breached the contract between the Village and the Police Union.

Luckily, back in June 2022, a majority of the Village Board voted to reinstate the correct pay rate. Unfortunately, that was only a temporary stay, which forced the Police Union to file a grievance against the Village.

Following the Village’s breach, the Police Union met with the Village and presented a 28-page Power Point Presentation detailing why the Village was wrong and that the correct pay rate needed to be reinstated. That presentation contained the contract language, the parties’ unequivocal practice of over 160 payroll periods evidencing the correct pay rate used by the parties; Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decisions, a New York State Comptroller opinion, New York State case law and reasons why the Bonadio report was based upon the wrong assumption.

The Village did not listen.

Following that meeting, the Village compounded its ignorance by incompetence. Rather than swiftly settling the grievance the Village dragged its feet. The Village’s incompetence forced the Police Union to file an Improper Practice charge before PERB.

One has to question if the Village’s delay was an intentional tactic of its representatives as it only increased legal fees the Village had to pay its attorney and the Police Union had to pay to defend against the Village’s breach of contract.

The Mayor’s actions also raised issues the Police Union would never have brought up. Further investigation resulted in the Police Union asserting Fair Labor and Standards Act violations.  The Police Union’s investigation revealed that its members were owed over $714,000!

However, rather than pressing ahead with litigation, the Police Union sought to reduce the Village’s liability and started settlement discussions with the Village. Rather than quickly resolving the issues, the Village delayed, delayed, and delayed. The Village had to capitulate on every issue. With no other avenue but settlement, the Village vindictively added to the police officers’ frustration by delaying the settlement.

This was a story of ignorance, compounded by incompetence. The Mayor’s ignorance of the police officer’s correct pay rate was compounded by the incompetence in the manner in which the Village handled this dispute.

On a daily basis Village of Albion police officers serve and protect village residents.

Now, in the end, it is as it always was. The police officers looked out for the village residents.  When presented with a possible cost to the village residents of almost three quarters of a million dollars, the Police Union resolved the issues just to make sure they were paid correctly.  Unfortunately, there was nothing the Police Union could do to save village residents from the Mayor wasting over $38,000 due to his own ignorance.