No school in Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina

The five school districts in Orleans County are all closed today due to dangerously cold temperatures. It is sub-zero outside and the wind gives a wind chill of minus-25.

The districts however will offer the Regents exams, including transportation for high school students taking those tests.

“We have several students that have prepared for it,” Lyndonville Superintendent Jason Smith said about the Regents. “It’s a one-shot deal for them and we have students trying to get an advanced score.”

Albion has cancelled classes for grades kindergarten through 8. High schoolers were off this week anyway, except for Regents. The high school bus is delayed two hours. The morning exams start at 10 with the afternoon tests at noon.

Smith, the Lyndonville superintendent, kept school open on Monday with a two-hour delay. With today’s closing, Lyndonville has now used up four snow days. To accommodate for those days, a March 14 Superintendent’s Conference Day has been changed to an early release day.

The districts need to provide a minimum of 180 days instruction, according to state law. If districts use up all of their snow days, they may have to adjust the school calendar, including scheduled vacation days. Smith said that would be a last resort.

“We should still be OK, but we’re hanging on by a string,” he said.

Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville on 2-hour delays

Medina has closed school today due to the biting cold temperatures and wind.

Holley, Kendall and Lyndonville are on a two-hour delay.

Albion Central School is closed, but if the weather improves, Albion will have the Regents exams and will run busses two hours late. That announcement, on whether or not there will be Regents today, will be made at 7 a.m.

The late Susan Reynolds dropped off quilts, pillow cases and gas money for shelter residents

Photos by Tom Rivers – A reading room at a domestic violence shelter in Orleans County has been dedicated to Susan Reynolds, a volunteer and supporter of the shelter and its residents. Reynolds died on Oct. 27.

At least once a month for two years, Susan Reynolds arrived with gifts – gas money, toiletries, quilts, pillow cases and hand-stitched bags.

Reynolds, a retired school counselor from Hilton, had a heart for the residents at a domestic violence shelter in Orleans County. She was active in two quilting guilds and she convinced the members to donate gifts to the shelter in Orleans. (The Hub isn’t disclosing the location.)

“No one was as dedicated as Sue,” said Margie Aldaco, the shelter’s administrator.

Reynolds died on Oct. 23. Last Saturday Aldaco and PathStone dedicated the reading room in the shelter in memory of Reynolds.

“What a loss,” Aldaco said about Reynolds. “We’re so sad. She never wanted recognition for anything. She wouldn’t even take a tax receipt. I just felt an overwhelming need to recognize her.”

Reynolds considered volunteering and giving to shelters in Monroe County. But the Brockport resident turned to Orleans County.

“She felt the larger cities have more resources and get more help,” Aldaco said.

Margie Aldaco, administrator of the safe dwelling in Orleans County, stands by a room dedicated in memory of Susan Reynolds.

Aldaco has worked there for 10 years. When she started there were three employees at the site. Now it’s just Aldaco. PathStone has been forced to cut back due to budget constraints.

The shelter has three apartment units for families to stay up to 90 days until longer-term housing can be secured. The safe dwelling provides privacy, court advocacy, Internet computer access, a support group, transportation and other services.

Aldaco works with battle-scarred residents, connecting them to support in the community. Many of the residents in the shelter have suffered physical, emotional and mental abuse.

“Sometimes they are more broken from the verbal abuse than the physical after so many years of being told you’re worthless,” Aldaco said.

Aldaco secured a new grant that pays for pet care. Often women and families in abusive situations will not leave because they worry about their pets. PathStone has a grant that will pay for pet boarding at the Olde Dogge Inn.

Aldaco welcomes “serious, committed volunteers” for the safe dwelling. For more information, contact her at 589-8733 or 1-866-314-SAFE.

ALBION – Village and county officials agree that the Orleans County Major Felonies Crime Task Force is a success in deploying a team of officers with specialized training to target drugs and major crimes.

The Task Force includes an officer from Albion, Medina and Holley police departments and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.

Since the Task Force formed about a decade ago, a reoccurring issue has been how to best fund the operation. The county pays $50,000 towards the salaries of the Albion and Medina officers, and Holley receives $25,000 for its part-time officer assigned to the Task Force.

Albion and Medina have asked for either more funding for its officer or assurances that the officers’ overtime can be contained.

A new year has started for the task force and the Medina and Albion village boards have yet to sign off on the contract with the county.

The contract proposal says the two villages will receive $50,000 towards the officer. The contract then asks each village to commit to $2,500 in overtime.

Albion Mayor Dean Theodorakos said he would be thrilled if Albion only had to pay $2,500 towards the officer overtime, which village officials said often reaches $8,000 to $10,000 or more annually.

Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said he thinks the contract is asking the village to commit to at least $2,500 in overtime, as well as any OT costs that exceed that. He said the contract hasn’t always been clear and is interpreted differently among the Task Force’s board of directors.

The Task Force board includes the police chiefs, sheriff, mayors of the three villages, some county legislators and District Attorney Joe Cardone. The group meets Jan. 31 to talk about the funding issue.

“It all comes down to money,” Nenni said Wednesday after the Village Board discussed the issue.

Nenni said it costs about $80,000 annually to have a full-time officer on the Task Force. That includes the salary, overtime and benefits.

The county’s $50,000 to Albion and Medina for a dedicated officer on the Task Force has not changed in a decade. The county tried to drop that to $25,000 last year, but the villages protested.

Medina would like to see the $50,000 increased because the officer is working on issues county-wide, and sometimes works outside the county. Assigning an officer from the village police departments also takes an officer away from those departments, sometimes leading to increased overtime costs for the village police.

Medina assigns an officer to the school district for about 10 months a year and the district pays $60,000 to the village for that officer. The district tries to cover the full cost of having an officer there for 10 months.

The Task Force arrangement right now pays about 63 percent of the Albion costs. Albion Trustee Kevin Sheehan said the county should at least cap the overtime to the villages at perhaps $7,500. If the officer exceeds that cap, the county should pick up the difference, Sheehan said.

Sheehan would also like to see funds from the forfeiture account be used to help reduce the villages’ overtime costs for officers on the Task Force.

Some of those funds are paying for a $20,000 renovation to the Task Force’s headquarters at the Public Safety Building.

Nenni urged the Village Board members to attend the Jan. 31 meeting and state their case.

“If you want it, go there and ask for it,” Nenni said.

ALBION – The Orleans County Health Facilities Corporation is “very close” to choosing a buyer for the 120-bed county nursing home, Chuck Nesbitt, the county chief administrative officer, said this morning.

The corporation was created by the County Legislature last February. The Legislature transferred ownership of The Villages of Orleans to the HFC and tasked the group with finding a buyer for the site.

The Legislature appointed former Yates Town Supervisor Russ Martino to serve as the group’s chairman. He is joined on the three-person board by former Gaines Town Supervisor Richard DeCarlo and Richard Moy, the current Clarendon town supervisor.

They are scheduled to meet today at 1:30 at the Health Department building next to the nursing home on Route 31. The group will meet behind closed doors to discuss the purchase offers for The Villages of Orleans.

Nesbitt is working with the group to make the decision. He doesn’t expect the group to decide today, but the board could make the decision next month.

The HFC narrowed the bids to two firms. One is Mordy Lahasky, Benjamin Fuchs and Benjamin Landa, which has multiple facilities in the Albany, Long Island and New York City. The other group is led by Kenneth Rozenberg and has multiple facilities across New York State.

The HFC will pick the buyer. The County Legislature gave the HFC that authority last Feburary when the nursing home was transferred to the local development corporation.

The sale will need final approval from the state Department of Health, and that review often takes a year or more to go through Albany.

5 districts in Orleans would get $3.5M more

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed an $807 million increase in education aid for schools in 2014-15, a 3.8 percent increase. That includes about $1.6 million more in operating aid for five districts in Orleans County and about $3.5 million more in overall funding, including building aid.

The governor also proposed a $2 billion “Smarts Schools” initiative that would add technology to schools, including high-speed Internet. The initiative also invests in classroom space for full-day pre-kindergarten.

The five Orleans districts would get $7.25 million of the Smart Schools money as part of a budget proposal unveiled today by Cuomo. Albion would receive $2,228,441 in Smart Schools funding, with the Holley at $1,311,463, Kendall at $967,959, Lyndonville at $733,151 and Medina, $2,000,222.

The State Legislature will weigh in on the budget, which has an April 1 deadline to be adopted.

Here are the numbers for each district:

Albion’s overall aid would increase 2.05 percent or by $488,487, increasing from $23,817,833 to $24,306,320. That includes building aid. The operating aid would be up $455,093 to $21,552,139.

Holley would see an overall increase of 15.65 percent or by $1,973,600 – from $12,608,780 to $14,582,380. That is driven by the state’s share in a capital improvement project at the school. Holley’s operating aid is up by $153,466 or 1.3 percent to $11,775,746.

Kendall’s overall aid increases by 3.8 percent or $345,342 from $8,899,710 to $9,245,052. Its operating aid would rise 3.0 percent to $8,620,585.

Lyndonville actually sees a slight drop in its overall state aid, according to the governor’s budget proposal. The district’s aid would decrease 0.2 percent or $15,890 from $7,813,809 to $7,797,919. Lyndonville’s operating aid would increase by $946 or by 0.1 percent to $6,348,586.

Medina would see a 3.8 percent increase or $736,887 more in overall aid, going $22,431,071 to $23,167,953. The district’s operating aid would increase 3.3 percent to $19,250,084.

The governor also proposed $1.5 billion over five years for full-day pre-kindergarten, $720 million over five years to expand after-school programs, and teacher excellence awards that would provide up to $20,000 in annual compensation for teachers that are rated “highly effective.”

Timothy G. Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, said the budget is “austere,” and doesn’t meet the $1.5 billion in state aid needed to maintain existing programs at 700 districts across the state.

“While the governor’s budget contains many laudable issues such as state-funded universal prekindergarten and after-school programs, his state aid allocation falls way short of the mark,” Kremer said.

He said he hopes the state Legislature will boost the state aid increase from the $807 million proposed by Cuomo.

ALBION – There is still time to register for Friday’s Legislative Luncheon, when state and local officials will outline important issues and take questions from residents and the business community.

The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce coordinates the luncheon every year at the Village Inn. State Sen. George Maziarz and State Assemblyman Steve Hawley will be there to provide an update from Albany and hear concerns from the businesses.

County Legislator Don Allport will represent the county at the luncheon. Ken Pokalsky, vice president of government affairs for the New York Business Council, will also share the organization’s agenda for the year, highlighting legislation the group supports and opposes.

The Chamber will take RSVPs by the end of the today’s workday. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. and includes lunch at the Village Inn.

For more information, call the Chamber at 585-589-7727 or email sroskowski@orleanschamber.com.

David Lewis led the agency the past 8 years

David Lewis

ALBION – The leader of the board of directors for the Orleans Economic Development Agency is stepping down after eight years in the position.

David Lewis of Waterport has agreed to stay on the seven-member board, but he will not continue as chairman of the EDA. He has been on the board for 15 years. The EDA board is expected to pick a new chairman at its Feb. 14 meeting.

Lewis is retired from Kodak as a senior research associate. He traveled the world for the company, and chose to settle in Waterport at Oak Orchard on the Lake.

He was praised by EDA officials for a steady hand and calm demeanor leading the organization through staff restructuring early on as chairman.

“He’s been a great chairman,” said Jim Whipple, CEO of the Orleans EDA. “He’s a very easygoing, level-headed guy who doesn’t get fazed.”

With Lewis as chairman, the EDA helped facilitate one of the biggest economic development projects in the county’s history, the construction of a $90 million ethanol plant in Medina in 2007.

“That was huge,” Lewis said. “Watching that was just incredible.”

The plant uses about 20 million bushels of corn annually to produce about 55 million gallons of ethanol. It has a big ripple effect in the agricultural industry, giving farmers an insatiable buyer for corn locally. Many farmers have invested in new grain storage facilities and improved land since the ethanol plant opened.

The EDA has worked with many developers and companies with projects in the county in recent years. It also has kept up a commitment for a small business program, providing businesses with training and low-interest loans.

The agency has worked with some larger companies to access state grants and loans, and also to get a discount on property taxes.

“We need to do whatever we can to create employment,” Lewis said. “I think we’re doing the best we can.”

The agency will soon have a new chairman. It also is looking to fill one vacancy.

Orleans County legislators George Bower and Ken Rush were the legislative representatives on the board, but both didn’t seek re-election in November.

They have been replaced on the EDA board with new legislators, John DeFilipps of Clarendon and Ken DeRoller of Kendall. DeRoller was already on the board as an at-large member. That spot is now vacant. The Legislature will appoint someone to fill that spot.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Troops at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station will be receiving 184 packages from Orleans County with playing cards, candy, powdered drink mixes and some toiletries.

Four American Legion posts and Community Action of Orleans & Genesee gathered all of the items and then packed them in camoflauge pouches donated by the Salvation Army.

Larry Montello, left, is first vice commander for the Legion in Orleans County. He’s also commander of the post in Medina and a driver for Community Action. He is pictured this morning with Darien Rhodes, center, of Community Action and Andy Ebbs, maintenance supervisor for Community Action.

The trio loaded a Community Action bus with the pouches. They will be delivered to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station by veteran Becky Hucknall. Anni Skowneski, case manager for Community Action, also assisted in the effort.

The Legion and Community Action have worked together in recent years with the “Treats for Troops” program. In the past they have delivered the items to the Armory in Lockport, Fort Drum and Niagara Falls.

“We’ve been trying to spread the wealth,” Montello said.

Press release, New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, Inc.

ALBION – A corrections officer was injured Saturday at the Orleans Correctional Facility by an inmate with apparent mental health issues, the New York Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association reported.

On Saturday at about 1:10 a.m., an inmate rushed onto a podium in a dorm that houses 60 inmates. He quickly placed an officer into a headlock, and began screaming, “They are after me, I’m gonna kill you!”

The inmate tried to grab the officer’s telephone. The officer was able to call for backup assistance. Throughout this whole incident, until responding officers could place the inmate in mechanical restraints, the inmate was screaming, “I’m God. I will kill everyone!”

The officer sustained back injuries, as well as a laceration on his arm due to his struggle with this inmate, said Mike Dildine, vice president of NYSCOPBA Western Region.

This is another incident in a medium security prison where an officer was assaulted by an inmate who belongs in a maximum security facility, Dildine said.

There were more than 100 assaults on staff in 2013 than in the previous year, although there were less inmates in the system, NYSCOPBA said.

The group said the state’s prisons are becoming more dangerous for corrections officers due to Gov. Cuomo’s policy of closing prisons, combined with State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s policy of housing some violent inmates in double-bunk situations.

County has 2^nd biggest percentage increase in region

The median price for Orleans County houses jumped 8.8 percent last year, and real estate agents also sold more homes than in 2012.

There were 306 sales in 2013 at a median price of $84,900, according to the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors. That median was up from the $78,000 in 2012. The 306 sales increased by 4.4 percent from the 293 in 2012.

“People are still cautious, but we definitely had a good year,” said Jeanne Whipple, owner and broker at Whipple Realty in Lyndonville.

In the 11-county Greater Rochester region, only Livingston saw a greater percentage increase in median sale prices than in Orleans. Livingston’s went up 10.4 percent from $115,000 to $127,000.

The data doesn’t break down the sales in Orleans County by municipality. Whipple said her experience shows the sales seem to be strongest in the countryside where the taxes are cheaper and there is more open land.

“The villages are tough with the taxes,” Whipple said. “People also want space.”

The Orleans market is recovering after some difficult years. The median of $84,900 in 2013, follows $78,000 in 2012. It was $79,000 in 2011 for 268 sales, and $80,500 in 2010 for 276 sales, according to the GRAR.

While the real estate market plunged in many parts of the country in recent years, Whipple said Orleans has mostly been immune to the wild price increases and decreases.

“We don’t see the huge swings like they do in other areas,” she said.

Although Orleans showed some added value last year, the county still pales to neighboring counties for value and volume. Only Allegany, with a median value at $82,900, was less than Orleans. The Allegany data only includes 24 reported sales.

Not all of the sales are accounted by the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors. Some of the real estate agents may be aligned with the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors, and some sales are handled without real estate companies.

Here is a list of other counties, their median values, number of sales and percentage of increase or decrease in value, according to the Rochester Association of Realtors:

Monroe County, $130,000 for 7,682 sales, value up 1.6 percent;

Genesee County, $91,500 for 169 sales, value up 1.7 percent;

Wyoming County, $88,500 for 46 sales, value up 2.4 percent;

Ontario County, $149,000 for 1,106 sales, value up 2.8 percent;

Livingston County, $127,000 for 411 sales, value up 10.4 percent;

Wayne County, $115,500 for 756 sales, value down 3.8 percent;

Yates County, $133,000 for 224 sales, value up 4.7 percent;

Allegany County, $82,900 for 24 sales, value up 6.3 percent;

Steuben County, $97,000 for 182 sales, value down 8.5 percent;

Seneca County, $98,000 for 201 sales, value up 1.0 percent.

The Rochester region as a whole showed a 1.8 percent increase in median value at $127,200.

Andy Burke, GRAR president, said historic low interest rates and the surprising lack of inventory of homes for sale helped push up the median price.

“Homeowners continue to delay any moves to downsize or upsize their lifestyles,” he said. “This hesitation to sell created low inventory and helped to drive up home prices, with multiple offers very common in 2013.”

Sales slowed the final three months of the year, partly due to the impact of the government shutdown in October and early periods of severe winter weather, he said.

Real estate professionals say several issues may have an impact on 2014.

“Factors such as higher mortgage interest rates, new lending rules and major federal housing legislation in the pipeline will affect the real estate industry, but how remains to be seen,” said Jim Yockel, GRAR CEO.

ALBION – The Orleans Economic Development Agency approved nearly $600,000 in property tax breaks for the new owner of the former JP Morgan Chase site in Albion, a 130,000-square-foot building that will soon be home to about 700 employees for Claims Recovery Financial Services.

A firm led by Roger Hungerford of Medina bought the building from Chase for $2.6 million and has invested at least $300,000 in upgrading the site for CRFS, EDA officials said this morning.

The EDA based the incentives on a $2.9 million value for the property. At that assessment, the annual tax bill would be $109,752 with the money going to the village of Albion, town of Albion, Albion Central School and Orleans County. The four municipalities have a combined tax rate of $45.73 per $1,000 of assessed property.

The owner, 231 East Avenue LLC, won’t pay any taxes the first year to the four municipalities, and will pay 10 percent of the $109,752 the second year, with another 10 percent added the following years until it’s at 100 percent after a decade. The deal will save 231 East Avenue LLC $592,661 in property taxes and also commits the entity to paying $504,859 to the four governments over the 10 years.

The library tax rate of $1.30 per $1,000 is not part of the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement. The library will get its full $3,700 per year.

The EDA did a cost-benefit analysis and determined the building will generate $47,467,359 in benefit to the county over the 10 years, mostly through the salaries of the new employees as part of the company expansion.

Jim Whipple, EDA executive director, said the site will give back $80 for every $1 given up in the tax abatement. The EDA calculated the benefits based on 315 new jobs over three years as part of a CRFS expansion. Whipple said the EDA numbers are conservative because the company employs nearly 700 people in the county.

The company considered other sites for its expansion, including Atlanta, Ga.; Dallas, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Jacksonville, Fla., the EDA said.

The site at 213 East Ave. was owned by Chase, but that company shut down in Albion in September, eliminating about 400 jobs.

CRFS is experiencing exponential growth. It has outgrown 31,000 square feet next door at 227 East Ave. Hungerford and his firm, Talis Equity, spent about $1 million renovating about 15,000 square feet of the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina to accommodate about 200 CRFS employees last year.

The CRFS workers from Medina and Albion will all be moved into the former Chase site, which has room for the company to expand and keep the workforce under one roof.

Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the EDA, said Hungerford has worked hard to accommodate CRFS so the company had space to grow in Orleans County.

“He did a huge renovation in Medina and he took on this building,” Barone said. “He wants to keep this company here.”

The EDA sees another benefit with CRFS moving into the former Chase site. The other CRFS locations – the Olde Pickle Factor and next door in Albion at 227 East Ave. – are good sites that can be aggressively marketed for new tenants.

CRFS will have a presence at 227 East Ave. until at least late February. It moved out of the Pickle Factory about two weeks ago. The EDA will work with the Greater Rochester Enterprise and the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise – big regional economic development agencies – to help market the Medina location.

County is one of 14 in NY with negative numbers for 2013

State-wide sales tax revenue grew 5.24 percent in 2013, or by about $1.3 billion. But in 14 counties, including Orleans, sales tax dollars actually dropped last year, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

Sales tax is one indicator of the economic health of a community. It also provides money to pay for government services.

In Orleans, the sales tax dipped by 0.56 percent or $82,873, falling from $14,902,778 to $14,819,904. Most of the Orleans sales tax goes to fund county government operations. The county shares about $1.3 million with the towns and villages.

County Treasurer Susan Heard said the county still has two sales tax checks coming in. She thinks the county will top the 2012 numbers by about $70,000 or $80,000.

The county needs more stores and more people to shop locally to boost the Orleans sales tax numbers, she said.

“We need more retail because the shopping pulls in the dollars,” she said. “If you’re trying to boost the numbers that’s the way to go.”

Orleans County’s neighbors all gained in sales tax last year. Genesee saw the biggest increase, jumping 4.49 percent or about $1.6 million. Niagara was up 3.21 percent, while Erie increased 2.66 percent. Monroe also saw an increase by 1.81 percent.

Downstate counties, including New York City, saw the biggest increases. The New York State Association of Counties credits that increase partly to rebuilding from the Sandy storm in 2012.

Most of the counties with sales tax decreases were in the Southern Tier or in northern New York. The following showed decreases, with the percentage decline: Broome, 4.58 percent; Chautauqua, 0.06; Chemung, 4.24; Clinton, 1.11; Jefferson, 1.62; Orleans, 0.56; Oswego, 0.82; Schenectady, 0.57; Schoharie, 5.00; Schuyler, 0.55; Steuben, 3.61; Sullivan, 0.69; Tioga, 4.96; and Wyoming, 0.98.

There were 27 counties (out of 62) that saw their fourth quarter numbers fall from the previous year.

“The fourth quarter sales tax collection, which includes holiday shopping, is a key indicator of our state and local economy,” said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario. “These numbers concern us. The uneven collections demonstrate the need for continued focus on economic development statewide.”

Orleans Hub shared some sales tax generating ideas in a Jan. 2 article. Click here to see that article.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Orleans County officials were joined by State Sen. George Maziarz in turning a ceremonial shovel of dirt this afternoon during a ground-breaking for a new $7.1 million emergency communications system. Pictured outside the Emergency Management Office include, from left: County legislators John DeFilipps, Ken DeRoller, Lynne Johnson, Bill Eick, Eileen Banker (chief of staff for Assemblyman Steve Hawley), Maziarz, County Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Nesbitt, Legislature Chairman David Callard, and Paul Wagner, EMO director.

ALBION In a just few months Orleans County first responders will have new radios, new transmission towers to send signals, and new emergency communications equipment at the dispatch center and a backup location.

County officials today joined with firefighters, police officers, highway superintendents and other emergency services personnel to celebrate a ground breaking for the project that has been years in the making.

“It’s been a long hard battle,” said Paul Wagner, the county’s emergency services director. “This brings us into the 21^st Century.”

The new system will cost $7.1 million. A state grant will pay $2 million of the cost.

“These things are important but they’re also very expensive,” said State Sen. George Maziarz, who noted state funding is helping with the upgrade.

Firefighters have pressed the county for years to upgrade the system. The radios often have been unreliable, especially on the east and west ends of the county – about 10 miles away from the main transmission tower on County House Road in Albion.

“It’s been a problem for a long time,” said Fran Gaylord, a former Holley fire chief who is now a deputy emergency management coordinator for the county.

Orleans County Emergency Management Coordinator Paul Wagner, right, addresses a crowd during a ground-breaking celebration for the new communications system. Legislature Chairman David Callard, center, and Legislator Lynne Johnson, left, also spoke during the ground-breaking.

When their radios lose a signal, firefighters will often take a few steps to try to pick up service. In dispatch, emergency responders and dispatchers often have to repeat themselves because the signals fade in and out, said Allen Turner, the communications coordinator.

“Sometimes we don’t hear each other,” he said. “This will bring us up-to-date technology.”

The upgraded system has a new tower at Countyhouse Road, one by the Medina water tank on Route 31A and one by the Clarendon Highway Garage just off Route 31A. Medina and Clarendon both let the towers be built on their land without charging the county. County Legislature Chairman David Callard praised them for their intermunicipal cooperation.

The foundation was poured for the Medina site on Tuesday. Next week crews will work on the Clarendon site. The tower is already under construction in Albion.

The new system should be operational in April or May. Wagner credited the county officials for working through a myriad of issues, including negotiations with the Federal Communications Commission and its counterpart in Canada.

Legislator Lynne Johnson was the “bull dog” for the county, helping to push the project forward, Callard said. Johnson, as chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, said fire chiefs often told her the old radio system posed safety risks for the personnel. Johnson was often on the phone with Callard, relaying concerns shared at fire advisory meetings.

The system includes 1,100 new radios. Ten of those will go to probation officers.

Luci Welch, Probation director, said there are many spots in the county along the lake and in remote areas where the current radios don’t work.

“These new radios will help keep us safe,” she said. “Safety is of paramount concern. For us, we never know what we’re going to walk into.”