Fireworks will be launched later tonight

Photos by Tom Rivers

For the third July 5th in a row, the Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church in Basom is treating the Albion community to free food, music and later a fireworks show at Bullard Park. The fireworks will go off at dusk, likely between 9:30 and 10 p.m.

In the top photo, Erc Mileham grills hamburgers for the crowd. Mileham is a member at High Point Community Church in Corfu, a sister church of Tonawanda Indian. That church is looking to start a new congregation in Albion that will be called Northpoint Community Church.

Justine Bidell of Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church is making cotton candy in a trailer. The candy was given away for free at Bullard Park.

Guy Scribner of Medina holds his 2-year-old daughter Nakendia after she had her face painted. She has a snowman on her cheek.

Church will also provide music and free food at Bullard

File photo by Tom Rivers – A couple snuggles on a slide at Bullard Park while fireworks go off last July 5. Northpoint Community Church, which is looking to start a new church in Albion, will have food, music and fireworks at Bullard Park from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

ALBION – A church will pay for a fireworks show, serve free food and provide live music on Saturday at Bullard Park.

This will be the third straight year the Tonawanda Indian Baptist Church in Basom is treating the Albion community to a July 5 bash at Bullard Park. The church is looking to start a new church, Northpoint Community Church, in Albion.

“We’re just here to help the community come together,” said Robert Dean, pastor of the Tonawanda church.

The church is “very close” to opening in Albion, Dean said. Tonawanda also helped start a church in Corfu, the High Point Community Church. The churches are affiliated with the Southern Baptists.

A group from Mississippi was in Albion about a week ago leading block parties in parks and neighborhoods, and also performing “acts of kindness,” Dean said. They cleaned up yards, worked with Community Action and fixed stairs for elderly residents.

Tonawanda Indian has felt connected to Albion going back two decades, Dean said. Some of the congregation’s members have been from Albion.

The church will be serving hamburgers, cotton candy and performing music from its praise band. Dean said the group welcomes volunteers and contributions to help with the big event on Saturday which runs from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Albion village officials have tried to spread the word about the event. Residents the past two years have said they were impressed by the activities and fireworks show, but many didn’t know it was going on.

The village has a sign by Bullard, informing motorists of the fireworks show on Saturday. The village also has taken out ads to promote the event and other activities this summer in Albion.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Christine VerSteeg of Kendall painted this bench that was added to the Albion downtown on Tuesday evening. She also painted a bench of a tugboat as part of Albion’s public art project.

ALBION – A new bench celebrating Albion heritage was added to the downtown last evening.

Artist Christine VerSteeg of Kendall created the painting on the bench. VerSteeg entitled the work, “Albion has heart! And, deep roots.”

The art work includes a heart in the middle of an orchard. VerSteeg painted fruit trees and wildlife – squirrels and rabbits.

This bench was placed next to a mail box on East Bank Street near the law offices for Sandy Church. It is the ninth bench to be added since last month that is painted to highlight local history and attractions.

VerSteeg also painted a bench with a tugboat at sunrise. There are three more benches in the works.

A Main Street grant paid for the benches and seven of the paintings by the artists. Resident Wayne Litchfield paid the artist fee for the latest bench by VerSteeg.

Photos by Tom Rivers – The hitching posts were originally property markers. A blacksmith fashioned new pins and rings, and a stone mason put them in after drilling holes and pouring lead.

ALBION – Four hitching posts arrived in the Albion Department of Public Works garage today. It’s not the normal shipment for the DPW.

Tony Russo, a stone mason from Medina, has been working on these posts, which are to be set along Main Street in Albion.

One is planned for the Courthouse lawn, two others in the grass by the village parking lot next to the Presbyterian Church, and hopefully the other in the sidewalk by Krantz Furniture (the state Department of Transportation needs to sign off on that).

The posts are from more than a century ago. They were originally property markers. They didn’t have rings, a prominent feature of the old hitching posts.

Dusty DeCarlo moves the hitching posts from a truck to the DPW garage.

I heard that Fred Pilon, an Albion contractor with a stockpile of Medina sandstone relics, had these old posts. Several community members pitched our money together and bought the four from Pilon in a project facilitated by the Albion Main Street Alliance.

But we didn’t just want four posts without the rings. We would need new rings made. Then we wanted holes to be drilled into the posts. The rings (and the pins holding the rings) would then be set in lead.

We wanted this project to highlight all of the hitching posts and carriage steps in the Albion area. I think there are ore of these in the 14411 zip code than anywhere else. Having some on Main Street would raise awareness for the all of the others on the side streets, on Ridge Road and in the cemeteries.

The two by the village lot will include an interpretive panel that explains the original purpose behind the hitching posts and carriage steps, artifacts from the horse and buggy era. We’ll also have a carriage step that was donated.

George Borrelli works on creating a ring made out of steel.

George Borrelli, a blacksmith, created new rings at his shop in Carlton. He also made the pins that are set into the hole. To bend the shape the steel into a ring, Borrelli heated the material to 1,600 degrees.

We still needed a stone mason skilled in sandstone. There aren’t a lot of these people around these days. Tony Russo, owner of Romancing the Stone, is from a family of stone workers. His grandfather Joseph Russo was a curb setter and owner of Medina Stone. Tony’s father Joseph Russo owned P & J Construction.

Tony Russo loosens the straps that secured two of the four hitching posts he delivered today to the Albion Department of Public Works.

Russo experimented with sandstone blocks in drilling into the posts. He consulted with friends at Bernz-O-Matic about heating the pin and the lead in the hole. A micro-torch with its pencil-fine flame worked perfectly in heating the lead and the metal in the narrow hole.

Russo and the Albion folks working on this project wanted to try to recreate the look from more than a century ago. We didn’t want epoxy to hold in the ring. Russo said he is thrilled with how well the four turned out.

He marveled at the detail work in the old hitching posts, the recessed edges and textured finishes.

“The design alone had to be time-consuming,” he said.

This project not only returns historic artifacts to Main Street, but celebrates the quarrymen from more than a century ago. We didn’t want to see some of their work lost. We wanted it out in the public in prominent locations.

I’d like to see Holley and Medina add some of these to their historic downtowns. If anyone has an unwanted hitching post in their garage or one they want to give to a public project, send me an email at tom@orleanshub.com.

Former Catholic school will become assisted living site

Photos by Sue Cook – Jeri and Lou Becker sit in front of one of the blackboards in the Erie Canal Room that guests wrote messages on during their stays.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

ALBION – The Erie Canal Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast will be closing its doors after seven years in business. Lou and Jeri Becker purchased the building 10 years ago and began their bed-and-breakfast business along the Erie Canal in 2009. This year, the couple is moving on to retirement.

Originally the building was a Polish Catholic School in 1907. The Beckers spent some time adding to renovations that a previous owner had completed and opened their business. Much of the character of the original school remains.

The room named The Classroom is where breakfast is served. The couple will leave the room looking exactly like this when they hand over the keys, leaving behind some personal possessions to keep a part of themselves in the place.

The main sitting and breakfast room still looks very much like the original classroom. A great deal of the woodwork and decorations were also saved and looks just as good as when it was first put in. It blends seamlessly with modern updates that were added later.

“We worked for Xerox, both of us, for 30 years,” Mrs. Becker said. “We had no experience with starting our own business, or specifically a bed-and-breakfast business.”

“We had no hotel management kind of background or anything like that. It was kind of scary in the beginning,” added Mr. Becker.

The business has welcomed thousands of people over the years. Many people stayed overnight, but many daytime guests would also come to see the history and to get tours of the building.

“We had Christmas Park memorabilia, the miniature carnival that used to be on Caroline Street, Sugar Bowl restaurant items, Christmas trees, vintage model trains, Department 56 villages set up and a lot of sound effects,” Mrs. Becker said. “One was a recording of the bells at St. Joseph’s on Christmas Eve where we’re playing carols and then a big freight train was going through in the background.”

The Hudson Miniature Carnival will be given back to the owner, Charlie Zicari.

The backdrop on the stage, the vintage pictures, the carousel, the Sugar Bowl restaurant display and a few other select items will remain. The other items were on loan for display and will return to their original owners.

“The biggest thrill was people that live here coming back and seeing the history again and bringing their kids’ grandkids and telling the stories,” Mrs. Becker said. “When we had the 100th anniversary here a lot of former students came back. We were hearing their stories.”

The bed-and-breakfast has welcomed people from the community as well as bicyclists, kayakers, family reunions, weddings and more.

The bathroom of The Erie Canal Room has a border made from the pages of the Peter Spier illustrated book from 1970 of the song “Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal.”

The Beckers welcomed their final guests on Friday. There were a group of 24 bicyclists that came into town.

“They were staying at Tillman’s, The Pillars, Dollinger’s and here,” Mrs. Becker said. “Eleven stayed here, eight inside and three camping outside. The people from Dollinger’s came in for breakfast. It was a wonderful way to end. Because it was such a big group, it was a celebration for us. The timing was perfect.”

The Beckers have purchased a home in Spencerport to be closer to their family that is mostly on the east side of Rochester.

The Heritage Room was one of the rooms where guests could stay.

“Two years ago, we went to a B&B and the woman asked us if we had an exit plan and we did not,” Mrs. Becker said. “Along with that, two of our kids had babies in the last two years ago and one this past week. We have five grandchildren now. This is a very demanding business. It keeps us here. We want more time with our family.”

“We didn’t want to end on a low note,” Mr. Becker said. “We have our health and business has been excellent last year. This year we cut back on taking reservations because we knew we were closing.”

The couple says they will also miss their relationships they have formed in the community. They loved having the Crooked Door restaurant over the bridge. Their customers would cross the bridge on foot to get other meals throughout the day. They have also appreciated the village government. The people in the village departments and board have rallied around their business whenever they needed help.

“These 10 years have been a gift,” Mrs. Becker said. “We’re ready for a slower pace than what we’ve had. The message we would give is for people that are older, don’t be afraid to take a risk because it is so worth it.”

“For what we’ve experienced, it’s been a joy being here,” said Mr. Becker.

“There’s a real misconception around town about why we retired,” she said. “People assumed the bridge being out caused us to lose business. Every year was better than the year before.”

This is the second blackboard in The Erie Canal Room. Both boards contain messages in other languages besides English. There are messages in Japanese, Russian, Polish and French. There are also notes from locals such as the Albion FFA.

“The people that have come through here have been simply amazing. It was great experiences all the way around and we met people from all over the world,” Mrs. Becker said. “How do you really put it into words? I don’t even know what to say to capture it all. I absolutely have nothing negative at all to say about any of it, even the work.”

Tender Loving Family Care Inc. purchased the property and it will become a senior assisted living site in the coming months. The Beckers said they will wait for a while to pass and then will eventually come back to visit and see the place again.

Steven Olick will spend a month studying in Italy

Photos by Tom Rivers – Steven Olick sings “Lilacs” by Rachmaninoff during the Albion Rotary Club’s meeting Thursday at The Village Inn. Olick, a 2010 Albion graduate, is training to become an opera singer.

ALBION – An Albion graduate who is working to become an opera singer has strong support from his hometown in pursuing that goal.

Steven Olick IV performed a concert Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church, an event organized by the Albion Alumni Foundation. The concert was a fund-raiser so Olick could spend a month this summer studying opera in Vado, Italy.

Last night Olick was presented with a check for $3,300 to help pay for the study abroad. The funding comes from the concert, the Alumni Foundation and the Albion Rotary Club.

Charlie Nesbitt, a Foundation board member and Rotarian, pushed to raise the money for Olick, calling the experience for the student a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

During the intensive month-long program, Olick will receive 45 hours of language training by teachers from the Italian Scuola, two voice lessons a week, two private coaching sessions, two acting lessons a week and two master classes. The program will culminate with Olick performing four concerts. He will study with college professors from around the U.S. as well as baritone from the Met, David Malis.

Charlie Nesbitt, left, stands next to Steven Olick IV with Albion Alumni Foundation members Gary Simboli and Ed Fancher, right. They presented Olick with a check for $3,300 to study opera in Italy. Olick is going into his senior year at Fredonia State College.

Albion graduates told to follow ‘moral compass’

Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion graduate Sierra Morgan is congratulated and handed her diploma by Margy Brown, president of the Board of Education.

Chris Rivers holds up his diploma in the high school gym, where 2,000 people attended the district’s 136th annual commencement.

The Caledonia Pipe Band continued an Albion Commencement tradition, leading the graduates into the gymnasium.

ALBION – Students celebrated the culmination of their high school careers on Friday, with class speakers thankful for a nurturing environment at Albion Central School.

The 166 graduates in Albion’s Class of 2014 have left a record of accomplishment in the classroom, on the athletic fields and in the performing arts, the group was told during Commencement on Friday night.

The graduates were urged to keep pushing for excellence, with a focus on serving others and working towards the greater good.

“Just as we need others, others need us,” said Valedictorian Martha Smith.

Martha Smith addresses her classmates.

She said social media and texting feed a “hyper-awareness of oneself in today’s image-based society.” She urged her classmates to turn off their phones and televisions and spend some of that time volunteering or talking with a neighbor.

“If there is one challenge which I would like to present this evening, it is this: To pause the selfies long enough to appreciate the beauty in others before oneself,” Smith said from the commencement stage. “To halt the personal status update and instead inquire after the welfare of a friend.”

Smith will study English at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester. Class Salutatorian Jonathan Trembley will be an engineering major at the University of Buffalo.

Trembley urged his classmates to be “mentally self-inspective consumers” because what the world tells them is often wrong. It was once widely accepted that sailors could fall off the edge of the earth if they went too far, he noted.

Jonathan Trembley urges the class to delve for the truth.

“The world isn’t going to tell the truth all the time,” Trembley said. “To battle this you should read, read, and maybe after that you should read some more. Cross-reference, delve deeply, and find the truth.”

Class President Lydia Erakare urged the class to “Live with Purpose.” That was the class motto.

“Do something wonderful, make a difference, and carry that phrase ‘live with purpose’ proudly for the rest of your life,” said Erakare, who will be an early childhood education major at SUNY New Paltz. “Keep it in your heart and let it motivate you each and every day.”

Lydia Erakare served as class president.

She shared the lyrics from the High School Musical song, “We’re all in this Together,” and told the group the graduates will always be a part of the Class of 2014.

“Even though we will no longer be in the same building or even the same town, we are still all in this together,” Erakare said. “Remember your friendships and memories and know that if you ever need someone you can count on your classmates at anytime.”

Erakare remembered three classmates who sadly died but still have a lasting impact on the class: Nicholas Kovaleski, Amanda Katsanis and Demitri Alexanderis.

Graduate Christian Trevino is happy to accept his diploma.

Board of Education President Margy Brown praised the class for working so hard. She reminded them of their school beginnings at the elementary school where eight giant crayons line the entrance. The crayons are labeled with the following words: perseverance, optimism, honesty, respect, compassion, integrity, responsibility and loyalty.

“You’ve been given the tools to go out into the world and make a difference,” Brown said.

District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell also addressed the class, and told them commencement marks a beginning for their lives as the start college, enter the military or join the workforce.

The students will need a compass as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. A compass is used to find direction or to stay on a planned path, Bonnewell said.

Seniors who are in the high school chorus sing “For Good.”

“Like a boat pushed about by a strong wind, unforeseen events and people will, at times in your life, push you off your course – redirect you from your planned course,” Bonnewell said. “Sometimes you will lose your direction briefly, other times you may find yourself lost, far off your planned course.”

Driesel

These are the times graduates will need their compass to get their bearings, he said. Sometimes a change in course is needed when new opportunities arise and the compass needs to be reset.

But one compass should stay constant – the moral compass, what people do when no one is watching and no one else is there to offer encouragement.

“You have a moral compass, you know right from wrong,” Bonnewell said. “Hold tight to that compass – and let it direct you and your behaviors and decisions.”

The small-school atmosphere with opportunities inside and outside the classroom was cited by students interviewed by Orleans Hub.

Dumont

Brad Driesel plans to enroll at Monroe Community College to study fire protection. He wants to be a professional firefighter. He volunteers with the Barre Fire Company and did an internship with the Medina Fire Department. That internship, coordinated by the school, affirmed he wanted to pursue firefighting as a career.

“When I was standing at a crossroads, it provided a road map,” Driesel said.

He is eager to start college, and he said he will stay connected with many of his classmates.

“I made quite a few friends who will stick with me the rest of my life,” Driesel said.

Samantha Dumont enjoyed the school’s musical programs, and the close friendships in the school. She will go to GCC to study human services.

Grimble

“You know everyone and everyone is so close,” she said about Albion. “But I’m happy it’s over and excited for the new chapter of my life.”

Jordan Grimble was active in the school musicals, working on the stage crew. She designed and made the 10-foot-high chairs in The Wiz for The Wizard and The Witch. She praised musical director Gary Simboli for pushing students to excel in the musicals. She is majoring in technical theater arts at Niagara University.

“I now get to go to college and do what I really want to do,” Grimble said. “I’m thankful for Albion because we have such a diverse program from the arts to the sports. We’re a diverse community and you can find anything here.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Jonesie and Cruisers, led by lead singer Gary Jones, performed on East Bank Street this evening in the village’s “Concerts by the Canal” series, which debuted last week.

The band Whiskey Rebellion opened today’s concert and then veteran rock and roll band Jonesie and the Cruisers performed in the series sponsored by the village, the Albion Rotary Club and Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Keyboardist and singer Gary Withey, right, joins Jones in one of the songs. Withey owns and operates Fischer’s Newsroom on Main Street.

The concert series will take next Thursday off and then returns July 10, 17 and 24.

Photo by Tom Rivers – Dale Banker, front, marches with the Albion Fire Department in the June 14 Albion Strawberry Festival Parade. Matt Francis is in the line behind Banker.

ALBION – Orleans County will have a new emergency management coordinator next month, and the new leader is a familiar face to local firefighters.

Dale Banker, a past Albion fire chief, has been an active volunteer firefighter for more than three decades. He also served on the Albion Village Board and currently works with the state Department of Transportation.

“He has outstanding credentials and almost a lifetime of experience,” said David Callard, chairman of the Orleans County Legislature.

He made the appointment today. Banker will succeed Paul Wagner, who is retiring July 18 after 14 years as director of the Emergency Management Office.

Wagner has been busy trying to see through an overhaul of the county’s emergency radio system. That system was activated last month.

“The radios have dominated but now it’s time to push the fire service ahead,” Callard said. “Dale really was quite visionary in his thoughts, which is what we need going forward.”

Rocky Sidari, the current Albion fire chief, and Dave Knapp, a past Holley fire chief and current county fire investigator, both pursued the EMO position.

Callard likes Banker’s long-term experience working with the public and political leaders.

“The other candidates were also experienced and very likable,” Callard said. “But Dale has the most outstanding credentials.”

The job was Callard’s to fill. He made the appointment, and noted Banker had the support of the Fire Advisory Board.

Photos by Sue Cook – Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers began a middle school assembly by sharing a picture from the Oct. 17 fire at Orleans Pallet in Albion. Many remembered the fire, but Rivers told them it was his job to think beyond the spectacle of the event to the impact on the community and the owner. He praised building owner Shawn Malark for his resilience in keeping his business open after such a disastrous fire.

By Sue Cook, staff reporter

ALBION – Albion Middle School students have been working hard in the classroom all year, with an emphasis on writing. On Wednesday they heard from local author and Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers, who shared some tips from getting a good story.

Elizabeth Marquette, the New Teacher and Mentor Coordinator, invited Rivers. He was given the opportunity to tell students about his work as an author, reporter and photographer.

“He’s a local author,” Marquette said. “A lot of the kids know him and he’s a familiar face in the school community. We’re excited to have him.”

She explained that the students had already become familiar with Rivers’ work in class. Rivers wrote “All Ears: A decade of listening and learning from small-town Western New Yorkers” and “Farm Hands: Hard work and hard lessons from Western New York fields.”

“The students received vignettes of the books, and studied and answered analytical questions with their English teachers,” Marquette said.

The school purchased 464 copies of “All Ears” at a discounted price and each student received a book at the end of the assembly.

The entire student body, sixth through eighth grade, was at the presentation.

The students were shown a variety of images in the Albion community, including this picture of a tree at Mount Albion Cemetery after a December ice storm.

Rivers wanted the students to get more than just a talk about the importance of reading and writing.

“I want them to be more curious about their surroundings,” he said before his presentation. “They should ask more questions. In your community, you don’t always pay attention to the great things around you.”

He encouraged students to learn things around them that they perhaps had never seen or heard of. He showed the students an image of boot scraper from the 1800s that is outside the Daughter of the American Revolution house in Albion.

Rivers asked if students knew what it was. One boy suggested that it was something for chopping wood, but many of the students had no idea. It was an example of seeking out and asking questions about what look like the simplest things.

Rivers said he often will explore his surroundings after a storm or unusual event to gather information and look for sights others might miss.

Rivers encouraged students to explore the details of the world. He showed images of horses, farmer Ken Nice walking between two different colored rows of flowering trees and various images from the recent winter storms.

The images showed that taking something you see regularly and viewing it from a different angle, time of day or season can bring a whole new life to something.

Rivers enjoys learning about the community and sharing his discoveries with readers on the Hub. He urged the group to learn more about Albion and American history.

“If you love something, you should know about it and know about its history,” Rivers told the students.

Rivers explains to the students about taking a small detail from the big picture, such as one of his images focusing on the dome of the Orleans County Courthouse, rather than the entire building.

Rivers also talked about getting to know the people around you because each person has a story to tell. He explained his process of actually going out and physically learning about something in order to be able to better write about it.

For the book “Farm Hands” he went to several local farms and worked with livestock, as well as working alongside migrant workers in the fields.

Picking cucumbers was the hardest job. He recalled how he struggled with the task. The other workers saw him having trouble keeping up and would put cucumbers into his basket or in a pile to help him keep pace rather than leave him behind.

“It was a powerful lesson for me,” said Rivers. “If you help someone a little it can give them the energy to keep going and not give up.”

Rivers also took the time to remember people in our community who have passed away, but left a big impact on others, like Jenna Stoddard. Years ago, Stoddard was a student in Albion school. She had a kidney disease that required dialysis and eventually she had to go to a Pittsburg hospital for further care. Rivers had heard about how she was one of the favorites of the staff there and paid her a visit to see how she was affecting lives around her, despite her own hardships.

“One of the things I would encourage in all of you as part of your personal story is to be a good friend to each other and reach out to other people,” Rivers said. He told the students that it helps build connections and experiences between yourself and those around you.

Clarendon Street will be blocked off, and village will pursue at-grade crossing

ALBION – The Village Board voted tonight to proceed with demolishing the Clarendon Street bridge and blocking off that section of the street with the hope it could someday become an at-grade crossing over the railroad tracks.

The board faced escalating costs for replacing the bridge that were about $600,000 over budget. Mayor Dean London and the board didn’t want to push that on village taxpayers.

Removing the 40-year-old bridge and blocking off the street would be covered 95 percent by the state and federal governments. However, the village needed to make a decision on the plan for the bridge by June 30 or risk losing the state and federal aid.

“It left us little options,” London said about the time crunch and cost increases.

The bridge could be removed next year and the street blocked off. The village would like to see the street blocked off in a way that the section could be changed to an at-grade crossing down the road. London said the village will reach out to government agencies about the at-grade crossing.

For now, the Village Board wanted to move ahead with a project that utilizes the state and federal funds.

“We know that money will be there,” he said.

Orleans Hub editorialized today about the bridge, urging the board to vote for the replacement because additional tax dollars are coming with the Dunkin’ Donuts assessment and revenue from the former Chase building. The village, if it reached a tax-sharing deal with other municipalities, could receive tax dollars from the nursing home once it is owned by a private entity.

The nursing home is outside the village but the site utilizes village services. In Medina, there is a model for the village to receive tax money for sites just outside the village boundary that use village services, such as water and sewer.

London said the village will explore a similar tax-sharing deal, but he didn’t want to commit to more costs for village taxpayers with so many unknowns with revenue.

“You can’t base a decision on what may happen,” he said.

Editorial

Village officials should try to work out a deal for some of the new tax revenue

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, a county-owned nursing home since 1960, has been acquired by Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC for $7.8 million.

This morning I wrote an editorial about the Clarendon Street bridge, and how the village should proceed with having the bridge replaced even if Albion needs to borrow money to make it happen.

The village stood to reap new revenue with the nursing home coming onto the tax rolls, a new Dunkin’ Donuts and increased tax payments from the former Chase building. All that would more than cover the bond payment, which the village says could be $60,000 to $70,000 a year for two decades.

The nursing home, however, is not in the village. That property was sold for $7.8 million. If it was assessed for that amount, the village would receive about $132,000 in new revenue based on a tax rate of about $17 per $1,000 of assessed property.

I apologize for thinking the site was in the village. When it was sold, some of the county officials told me one of the benefits would be it would help the village’s tax base. There is an Albion welcome sign on 31 west of the nursing home.

But the village has confirmed the village line ends near the GCC building.

That could be the end of the bridge story with no new money for the village. The Village Board may think there is not enough new revenue to pay for the bridge. The board doesn’t want to raise taxes for the villagers.

However, the county, town, school and village leaders could craft a tax-sharing agreement so the village receives some revenue from the nursing home.

Medina worked out a deal with Shelby, Ridgeway, the school district and county to get some of the tax benefits for properties outside the village that use the village’s water and sewer. Each of the municipalities – county, town and school – agreed to give up a portion of their taxes to the village.

Albion village officials could strike a similar deal with the town, school and county.

Here is how this could work in Albion, and I know it’s a little complicated. You add the total tax rates of the three taxing entities – school at $16.82, town at $4.25 and county at $10.10. That’s $31.83. Multiply that by a $7 million assessment (the assessment hasn’t been determined) and the new nursing home owners would pay $222,810 in taxes with nothing in taxes to the village, despite using some services.

If Albion follows Medina’s tax-sharing plan, the nursing home owner would still pay the $222,810 in taxes. However, the portion would be shared as a percentage of the total tax rate, including the village’s. The four entities have a combined rate of $48.65 with the village accounting for 35.9 percent of that based on its $17.48 rate.

The Medina model would give Albion 35.9 percent of the new tax revenue or $79,988, based on a $7 million assessment for the nursing home, which more than pays for the bridge payment.

After realizing I made a mistake earlier by saying the nursing home was in the village, this blunder forced me to dig a little deeper for money for the village. I don’t think the Albion village officials have pursued the tax-sharing plan for properties outside the village that use village services.

I would urge them to do so, and would ask the town, county and school district leaders to follow the example on the western end of the county and not just grab as much money for themselves while the village gets nothing.

Editorial

Photo by Tom Rivers – The Clarendon Street bridge has several structural deficiencies. The Albion Village Board is considering having the bridge removed and blocking off that section of the street, rather than borrowing money to replace the span.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated from an earlier version which stated the nursing home was inside the village. Albion could still receive tax revenue if it worked out a tax-sharing deal with the other local governments.

ALBION – Today is the deadline to send Albion village officials comments about the Clarendon Street bridge. The Village Board thinks it’s best to use state and federal money to tear out the bridge and block off that section of the street.

I think the village should borrow the money and have the bridge replaced. That could be a $700,000 hit to the village taxpayers over 20 years. That could turn into $70,000 a year in more taxes annually with the financing costs.

That’s a hard hit for a village that already has a tax rate that tops $17 per $1,000 of assessed property, one of the highest in western and central New York. The village has been hurt in recent years with a shrinking tax base and stagnant revenues from the state in municipal aid and the county with sales tax revenue. The village’s only choice has been to turn to village taxpayers for more money in order to maintain services.

The village has shed some jobs, and its DPW, police, water and sewer departments still get the job done. But there is a sense of budget doom, that the village can’t push taxes any higher or else it will continue to see a drop in the worth of homes and property.

That is the big factor in why the Village Board doesn’t want to borrow money for the bridge project, committing taxpayers to 20 years of debt payments.

The board sees a blocked-off street as a way to prevent another tax jolt to village property owners. The outside money of about $1.3 million from the state and federal government would pay about 95 percent of the cost for removing the bridge and blocking off the street. The village would be on the hook for about $70,000. It could handle that without getting a loan.

Albion was going to have the 40-year-old bridge removed and replaced with a new one. The bridge has about 1,600 vehicles pass over it each day, including many school buses in the morning and afternoon. (I live in the village and go over this bridge usually at least once a day.)

The village has slowly been working on this project. It was first approved for the state and federal funding 15 years ago. The village has looked at making the spot an at-grade crossing, but was turned down unless it closed off two other at-grade crossings.

It has looked at other alternatives. Finally, after 15 years, Albion was told by the Genesee Transportation Council, which administers the state and federal funding, it needed to move on the project. However, the budget jumped by about $600,000 without more state and federal money, leaving the village to shoulder the entire increase.

The village budget picture feels bleak with the continued decline in overall assessments and rising tax rates. But there is hope on the immediate horizon.

Orleans County has accepted a purchase offer for the county nursing home for $7.8 million. That sale needs a final sign off by the state Department of Health. It could come this year or in 2015. That brings the promise of a significant increase to the local tax base.

The nursing home is just outside the village boundaries, but the village could strike a tax-sharing deal with the town, school district and county, following a similar model in Medina. If Albion can reach a tax-sharing deal like the one in Medina, the village could gain $79,988 in new revenue from the nursing home taxes if the site is assessed at $7 million.

The new Dunkin’ Donuts will boost the village assessment, and the former Chase site, now used for CRFS, will see its tax bill to the village rise 10 percent annually over the next 10 years. The building owner will pay the village about $5,000 in taxes next year and $5,000 more each of the following years until it’s at the full $2.9 million assessment or about $50,000 in taxes annually to the village a year.

That’s all to say the money will be there for the village to make the bridge payment, with plenty left over.

To block off the bridge will cost local motorists in gas, time and inconvenience. At least two businesses, DK Autobody and the Crooked Door Tavern, could see less traffic and customers, possibly resulting in some job losses and reduced sales tax for the state and county.

About 1,600 vehicles cross the bridge daily. A closed bridge will result in a 2/3 mile detour or about 1,000 extra miles daily.

That detour will cost motorists about $73,000 annually in added gas. That’s based on my calculations. If you factor 20 miles per gallon of gas by the 1,000 miles that will mean motorists will buy 50 more gallons of gas a day due to the detour, spending about $200 more a day. Multiply that by 365 days and you have $73,000 in added costs to motorists, not to mention lost time and more congested village side streets.

To have a blocked off street not far from the schools and parks will also be a psychological blow, a sign of a community in decline. The STAMP project in the town of Alabama raises the prospect of new residents in the region. They will want to be in growing and dynamic communities with signs of progress.

Most villages don’t own bridges. They are in the county or state inventory. It doesn’t feel right that the village has to pay for this, but the village has long stepped up and got projects done and provided services for the greater community.

The village takes the lead with the summer parks program, providing water and sewer services for residents, maintains one of the finest cemeteries in the region, and helps run the Strawberry Festival and now a new concert series on Thursdays.

The county and state should take note of village’s leadership in so many areas, and make it a priority to give the village more state municipal aid and more local sales tax revenue.

In the meantime, Albion should push forward with replacing the bridge.