ALBION – The site plan for a new 62,000-square-foot vegetable processing plant will go before the Orleans County Planning Board next Thursday.

The board meets at 7 p.m. in Conference Room C of the County Administration Building at 14016 Route 31 West.

Pride Pak would like to break ground on the project next month and have the building done by April so equipment could be moved in. The company would like to start processing and packaging vegetables from the site in June with 85 to 100 employees.

The company’s site plan also includes 114 parking spaces. The village code for the Maple Ridge Corridor calls for 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet for a building, which would be 310 spaces for a 62,000-square-foot building. Or, if the code for light industrial is applied, there should be 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet or 124 for Pride Pak.

The company will be seeking a variance for its parking for the property at 11531 Maple Ridge Rd., which is in the Light Industrial and Maple Ridge Overlay District.

The site plan also needs a final vote of approval from the Medina Village Planning Board, which meets 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 at City Hall.

Orleans County Planning Board members will look at other referrals, including:

A site plan review and special use permit for a dog kennel on West Shelby Road near Dunlap Road on vacant lot in a Residential/Agricultural District.

Request for area variance in the Town of Albion and site plan review and special use permit for agricultural employee dwelling units at 13646 West County House Rd., which is in a Residential/Agricultural District.

A request from Gaines for various updates to the town’s comprehensive plan.

A request from the Village of Holley to amend zoning text to allow directional signage in the Light Industrial District.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Medina Business Association and the Department of Public Works teamed to replace the banners in the downtown, adding a fall theme.

There are banners with leaves, apples and pumpkins.

The banners encourage people to explore the historic downtown and shop and dine in Medina.

The Medina Business Association pays for the banners, and has them for different seasons and to promote special events, such as last month’s Ale in Autumn.

“It adds to the downtown,” said Kathy Blackburn, one of the leaders of the Medina Business Association.

Photo by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Rich Colonna, center, is pictured with his children Jeff and Lindsey. The family is working to rebuild the Washboard Willy’s Laundromat that burned in a May 23 fire on Starr Street in Medina.

Colonna opened the Washboard Willy’s in 2001. The family opened a second Laundromat last December on maple Ridge Road.

Customers there have asked that the Starr Street location be reopened, Colonna said. He said it has been inconvenient for many of the Starr Street customers, who often need to find rides to get their laundry done on maple Ridge Road.

Photo by Tom Rivers

Washboard Willy’s should reopen in February or March after extensive renovations. A new roof should be on by the end of next week. Colonna wants the site to be closed up before winter, then the new electric, plumbing and gas will be installed.

The new laundry machines will use less energy, water and soap.

Photo by Tom Rivers

The family said they could have bulldozed the site and sold the property. But they wanted laundry services to be available for residents in the immediate neighborhood.

Jeff, Lindsey and their brother Kevin, a sheriff’s deputy, all work with their father in the business, which is a demanding enterprise.

“It’s seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” Jeff Colonna said. “It has to be cleaned daily.”

Provided photo

Rich Colonna says the fire from May 23 remains under investigation. He said he is grateful for the quick response from the Medina Fire Department at 2 in the morning.

This rendering of the new Pride Pak vegetable processing plant was presented to the Medina Village Board last week.

MEDINA – The company that expects to break ground next month on a new 64,000-square-foot vegetable processing plant in Medina will do so with a tax-savings plan that would spare Pride Pak from paying $1 million in property taxes over the next 20 years.

The proposed payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for the company would save Pride Pak $992,250 over 20 years, according to Orleans Hub calculations.

The PILOT also commits Pride Pak to paying $897,750 over 20 years to the Town of Shelby, Village of Medina, Medina Central School and Orleans County.

Without the PILOT, the company would pay $1,890,000 in property taxes over 20 years on a $2.1 million assessment and a tax rate at $45 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The PILOT is still being worked out by the Orleans Economic Development Agency. It will likely go before the EDA board on Nov. 13 for a vote.

There has already been a public hearing on the schedule for the PILOT that calls for the company to pay 0 percent of the taxes in the first year, with 5 percent of the tax bill added each of the following 20 years.

Pride Pak is based in Canada and wants to build on 13 acres of land currently owned by the EDA. The land is tax exempt. Local government leaders have backed the PILOT plan, noting the land currently doesn’t generate tax revenue and Pride Pak will add to the municipal coffers over 20 years.

The company will also add 85 to 100 jobs in phase 1 of the project. It expects to add two more buildings after the first one is up and operational next year. Any structures after the first building are not part of the proposed PILOT and those buildings would result in additional tax revenue for the local governments, said Jim Whipple, EDA chief executive officer.

The EDA expects the new Pride Pak building will be assessed at $2.1 million. The EDA also fixed the combined tax rate for the four municipalities at $45 per $1,000 of assessed property. That’s about $10 less than the combined rates for the village, town, school and county.

Based on a $45 tax rate, the owner of a $2.1 million assessed property would pay $94,500 a year in property taxes.

The PILOT calls for Pride Pak to pay $0 the first year, then 5 percent ($4,725) in year 2. Each following year adds another 5 percent or $4,725. That would be $18,900 in year 5, $42,525 in year 10, $66,150 in year 15 and $89,775 in year 20, according to Orleans Hub calculations. After the 20 years, the company pays the full $94,500 if the tax rate stays at $45.

If the company was paying a combined $55 tax rate over 20 years instead of a $45 rate, it would have to pay an additional $420,000 based on a $2.1 million assessment.

The EDA usually offers 10-year PILOTs where the tax payments are ramped up 10 percent each year. The agency was more aggressive with Pride Pak because the company was being wooed by other sites in Western New York and Pottsville, Pa., where one of Pride Pak’s customers has a facility.

In addition to the PILOT, Pride Pak is being offered a sales tax exemption for up to $4.1 million in taxable purchases for construction and equipment in building the new $15 million vegetable processing plant. That sales tax break would save the company up to $328,000 in sales tax.

Pride Pak would also be spared the 1 percent mortgage tax on the project up to $6.5 million. That would save the company another $65,000.

Altogether, the EDA is proposing a tax savings plan of nearly $1.4 million.

Courtesy Orleans Economic Development Agency – This new sign will be installed along Bates Road for the Medina Business Park. The sign will be 9 feet high and 6 feet wide.

File photo by Tom Rivers – Here is how the former sign looked.

MEDINA – The old sign with its flaking paint is gone. Soon a new, almost futuristic sign, will be installed that will be bigger and bolder than any other sign in Orleans County promoting the business parks.

The Orleans Economic Development Agency worked with Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina for the new sign, which will be 9 feet high by 6 feet wide at the Medina Business Park along Bates Road.

“It will reflect our logo and be forward looking,” said Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans EDA.

The new monument sign needs a concrete slab and power for the lights before it will be installed. The Medina Department of Public Works will put in the sign.

The Medina Business Park is shovel-ready with infrastructure, including a fully developed access road, in place for companies ready to build.

The Business Park includes space for a “virtual building,” a 40,000-square-foot pre-permitted building site.

MEDINA – Projects that have been months and years in the making both became public this week when Pride Pak presented its site plan for a new vegetable processing and distribution plant in Medina and the first tenant committed to a new high-tech factory in the Town of Alabama.

Both sites will be big users of Medina’s sewer plant, a great economic development resource that has operated under capacity for years.

“It’s a banner week for economic development in western Orleans,” Medina Mayor Andrew Meier said. “Medina’s water and wastewater is a big winner.”

The two plants will generate big revenue for Medina’s water and sewer funds. Deputy Mayor Mike Sidari said that should help to at least stave off water and sewer increases for village residents. The revenue should also allow the village to maintain and improve its infrastructure, Meier said.

Other communities trying to lure big companies often don’t have sewer capacity ready for big companies. Medina’s sewer and water resources were among the assets that brought Pride Pak to the community. It will build a new 62,000-square-foot facility on Maple Ridge Ridge, with room to expand in the future.

Pride Pak will have 85 to 100 employees as part of the first phase. Construction should start next month, pending final approvals on the site plan from the Village Planning Board, and other local and state permits.

The company expects to start construction next month on the new vegetable processing facility, a site that will likely be expanded in phases and could see 200 employees at full build-out.

A Massachusetts company, 1366 Technologies, will build a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing site just south of the Town of Shelby in Genesee County. The facility will go in a farm field off Lewiston Road on Crosby Road.

The company will make silicon carbon wafers, a key component in solar panels. It will make a $100 million investment in the first phase of the project, and expects to expand quickly. It will have 600 full-time employees in phase 1 and could employ 1,000 at full build-out.

The state is committing $33 million for infrastructure for the STAMP site in the Town of Alabama. A sewer main will run to the site, connecting to Medina’s system. Meier said the route for the sewer main hasn’t yet been determined.

Provided photos – Brandi Guild talks with Robert Batt, a 4-H Youth Development Educator with the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County.

Press release
Medina Central School
MEDINA – While many schools are dropping their community service requirements for students, Medina High School is making it an integral part of their learning experience.

This is the third year that social studies teachers, Todd Bensley and Michael Pickreign, have used their creativity to get students to talk to local agencies and be able to sign up on the spot for their minimum of 10 hours of volunteer time.

The teachers invite about 12 local organizations to set up tables in the cafeteria and then the high school seniors spend a period going from table to table to learn more about the agency and what kind of help they need.

“In the past, we had students who wouldn’t sign up for their community service,” Mr. Pickreign said. “They wouldn’t know where they could go to volunteer or what would be expected of them, so they didn’t bother. This way they have to go to each table, talk to the representative and then they get to pick which one is the right fit for them.”

Morgan Nashwenter, Aracely Hernandez with Sue Metzo from the Medina Area Association of Churches (MAAC).

Mr. Bensley said that not only is community service a nice thing for students to do in order to develop empathy, but makes a difference in their hometown, helps them build their resume and become more well-rounded individuals.

“A lot of them are surprised by how much they enjoy it,” he said. “It is eye-opening for them and makes them feel good about positively impacting the community. Some of them end up volunteering more time than the requirement.”

At the end of their volunteer experience, students give a presentation to the class about the history of the agency they chose and what their experience was.

“We hear a lot of positive feedback from the students and the agencies,” Mr. Pickreign said.

“I think in terms of education, this gives the students a chance to apply what they learn in class to real needs in the community,” Mr. Bensley said. “It’s an enriching experience for everyone.”

Hopes to start construction next month on new facility

Photos by Tom Rivers – Steve Karr (right), chief executive officer for Pride Pak Canada, meets village officials and others working on the company’s new 62,000-square-foot vegetable processing facility. The site plan for the project was presented to the Medina Village Board this evening. He is pictured with Mauro LoRusso, vice president of finance for Pride Pak (center); Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency (far left); and Marguerite Sherman, village trustee (second from left).

MEDINA – A company coming to Orleans County looked at several sites, including into Pennsylvania, but Medina turned out to be a great fit for Pride Pak, the company’s CEO said this evening following a Village Planning Board meeting when a site plan for the 62,000-square-foot building was presented.

Steve Karr said Medina is close to the border for the Canadian-based company and also sits in an agricultural region with close proximity to a big population base in the U.S.

Ultimately, Karr said the Orleans Economic Development Agency was very responsive in helping the company find a location “that makes sense for us.”

The company expects to start construction next month on the new vegetable processing facility, a site that will likely be expanded in phases and could see 200 employees at full build-out.

Pride Pak will have 85 to 100 employees as part of the first phase. Construction should start next month, pending final approvals on the site plan from the Village Planning Board, and other local and state permits.

Karr would like the building to be done in April for equipment to be moved in. He would like to start processing and packaging vegetables next June.

He knows the weather over the winter will play a big factor in meeting that ambitious schedule.

D.R. Chamberlain Construction of Lockport is the general contractor for the new building.

This shows a rendering of the new building on Maple Ridge Road across from GCC.

The company received a warm welcome from local officials this evening.

“It will be a cornerstone for the rest of the business park,” said Deputy Mayor Mike Sidari.

Village Trustee Owen Toale said the new jobs will be a big boost for the community and many local families, leaving a ripple effect felt at restaurants, stores and in the real estate market.

“Medina hasn’t had a project of this size in many years,” said Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans EDA.

The company is privately owned and the business fits well in a agricultural community, Barone said.

Medina also has the existing infrastructure with water and sewer to meet the company’s needs. The EDA has the land, and Pride Pak will buy 13 acres from the agency. That land currenty is not on the tax rolls. Pride Pak will gradually pay the full assessed value for the property in 5 percent increments over 20 years.

Barone said the business park has been a work in progress over 30 years, with the village and EDA working closely to expand the property and provide the needed utilities.

“It looks like this just came together but it has been years,” she said.

Karr said Barone deserves a lot of credit for bringing Pride Pak to Medina.

“She was always there trying to figure out how it could be done,” he said. “The EDA has a very quick response time.”

Karr has been in the fresh fruit and vegetable processing, packing and distributing business since 1983. Pride Pak is Ontario, Canada’s largest fruit and vegetable processor and currently exports 50 percent of its produce to the U.S. market.

The company packs vegetables for other companies, including Wegmans Food Market. The vegetables are packed fresh, not frozen, Karr said.

The company wants to work with local farmers with carrots and other “root vegetables” in the beginning as long as they meet food safety guidelines for the vegetables, Karr said. The Medina site will process vegetables, and Karr said the facility will also package salads, with some of the salads going to Pride Pak’s Canadian customers.

Pride Pak expects about 45 truckloads of product each month, or about 1 ½ a day, according to Mike Simon, project engineer with BME Associates, a Fairport engineering firm.

Most of truck traffic will be vegetables coming in, but some truck traffic will include vegetable waste, about 220 tons a month, that will be delivered to local livestock farms, Simon said.

The company’s site plan also includes 114 parking spaces. The village code for the Maple Ridge Corridor calls for 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet for a building, which would be 310 spaces for a 62,000-square-foot building. Or, if the code for light industrial is applied, there should be 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet or 124 for Pride Pak.

The company will likely seek a variance from that code. Simon said Pride Pak would prefer to keep as much of the site green space as possible.

It will have access roads on each side of the plant, as well as loading docks.

The site plan will go before the Orleans County Planning Board on Oct. 22 for its recommendation before returning to the Village Planning Board for a final vote on Nov. 3.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department treated the community to fun and many tips for preventing fires during an open house today, which is the start of National Fire Safety Week.

The top photo shows Shalin Mack, 5, of Medina aiming water at targets with help from Medina firefighter Jeff Tuohey.

Dale Heiser from the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control brought a trailer to Medina to show some common household fire hazards. Some lighters are made to look like toys, which can be an attraction for children and lead to accidental fires, Heiser said.

He had a hair dryer in a sink (with no water). He warns people, especially college students, to keep hair dryers and curling irons away from sinks.

He also showed extension cords that are intended to be temporary, but are used 24-7 in some households. Those cords can cause fires.

The stove also has a pot with the handle within reach of children. Heiser urges people to turn the pots so the handles can’t be easily grabbed by kids.

Dale Heiser also simulated smoke in the trailer, and showed people how smoke rises. That’s why they should get low – “Stay Low and Go!” – during a fire.

Chad Kenward, a Medina police officer and member of the Orleans County Multi-Agency SWAT Team, took questions from the public about the SWAT team and its vehicle.

The open house included New York State Police “seat belt convincer,” an interactive ride allows people to experience a simulated vehicle crash and gain an appreciation for why seat belts matter.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office “Safe Child” program, where children can be finger printed, and have their child safety seats checked for proper installation, also was available.

Mark Watts and his wife Denise are pictured in a 1933 fire truck that was used by the Medina Fire Department until 1972, when it was taken out of service. The truck was purchased by Joe Conley and he owned it until Watts bought it in 2007.

The truck had been out of the public eye since the 1970s, until Watts had it in the 2009 Memorial Day parade. The truck has been a regular in that parade, plus the Lyndonville Fourth of July parade, in recent years.

Caleb Fisher, 2, gets behind the wheel of the 1933 fire truck with his mother Audra next to him. Caleb’s father Adam Fisher is an EMT with COVA and a firefighter with the Barre Volunteer Fire Company.

Provided photo – Medina Police Officer Jason Barnum talks to Joe Byrne’s eighth grade class. Students shown in back row are Cooper Fearby, Simon Fox, Jacob Washbon and Neal Martin.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Jason Barnum, the new school resource officer for Medina, was invited to speak with eighth grade students in Mr. Joe Byrne’s class.

Barnum has been with the Medina Police Department for seven years and he shared with the students numerous examples of things he has experienced while performing his duties.

“As a police officer you have to be very careful not to violate someone’s privacy and you have to articulate every move you make if you have reasonable suspicion,” he told the class. “I think with me sharing my experiences, it made them realize how the laws affect them and why they were created.”

Officer Barnum said he enjoyed talking to the class.

“Many of the students had great questions and we got into some interesting discussions and debates about the laws,” he said. “I think a great side benefit was that it allowed the students to get to know me and feel comfortable with me. I want the students to know I am here as a resource for them and I think it was a good ice breaker. ”

Mr. Byrne said he is grateful for Officer Barnum for coming in and talking to his students.

“He did six sessions and I think it was great for the students to hear his personal stories,” Byrne said. “It definitely made the laws more real to them.”

At the beginning of school every year, Byrne discusses Supreme Court cases that directly affect the eighth-graders in his class.

“For two days we go over six cases that affect everything from the students’ right to free speech, athlete drug testing and privacy rights in school,” Mr. Byrne said. “We usually talk about cases like Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District where students wore black armbands to protest the war in Vietnam. When school officials told them to remove them, the students refused and they were suspended. The court sided in the students’ favor, but only as long as it was not disruptive.

“Basically they said students have a right to express themselves as long as it allows the school to keep order. Another important case we discussed was New Jersey v. T.L.O. where the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school saying although students have an expectation of privacy, but that it has to be balanced with the school’s responsibility for maintaining an environment where learning can take place. Therefore, a student’s belongings can be searched, but not arbitrarily.”

Fire Department welcomes public to open house on Sunday

MEDINA – The Fire Department has the Village Board’s permission to seek a federal grant for about $150,000 to replace four defibrillators.

Captain Jonathan Higgins said the department has four defibrillators that are nearly a decade old, and cost $5,000 annually to be checked and maintained.

The Medina FD last month was awarded a $77,837 grant for new fire hoses, nozzles and a thermal imaging camera. That grant is through the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

Higgins said many departments receive the AFG awards year after year. He urged the Village Board to try for another grant through the program.

The board agreed to pay Grantmaster Inc. $2,400 to prepare the application for the Fire Department. Higgins said that is less than the $5,000 the department has in its budget for grant writing services.

Higgins also invited the Village Board and public to attend the Fire Department’s annual open house on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (A special firefighter memorial service will be conducted at 10 a.m. in front of City Hall at 600 Main St.)

The open house is part of National Fire Safety Week, and allows local residents and business owners a chance to interact with their firefighters and learn fire safety information.

This free event is open to all ages, with special family activities planned throughout the day. There will be a Fire Safety House where people can practice home escape plans and learn about home fire safety. There will also be opportunities to learn proper fire extinguisher techniques, practice calling 911, and to receive information about smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

The community can also see fire trucks (including antique ones) and tour the fire station at 600 Main St.

Special guests and demonstrations include the Medina Police Department K9 Unit, Orleans County SWAT Team, and the New York State Police “seat belt convincer,” an interactive ride allows people to experience a simulated vehicle crash and gain an appreciation for why seat belts matter.

Also present will be the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office “Safe Child” program, where children can be finger printed, and have their child safety seats checked for proper installation.

The department will also have a bounce house for kids to enjoy, as well as food available for purchase.

MEDINA – The business office at Medina Memorial Hospital will be closed on Thursday due to a transformer being replaced.

People can still make payments at the hospital’s registration office on Thursday. The business office is expected to reopen on Friday.