MEDINA – Legislation has been introduced in State Senate and Assembly to allow the Village of Medina to impose a 2 percent occupancy tax for room rentals in the village.

State Sen. Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, and State Assemblyman Michael Norris, R-Lockport, both introduced legislation on March 11.

Norris’s proposal, Bill No. A06537, is cosponsored by Assemblyman Steve Hawley-R-Batavia. The legislation has been referred to the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee.

Ortt’s proposal, Bill No. S4451, is in the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee.

The bills seek to give Medina permission to impose a hotel/motel occupancy tax of up to 2 percent. Medina village officials say the funds will towards promoting tourism and economic development in the community.

The legislation says the tax shall apply to any “tourist home, inn, club, hotel, motel or other similar place of public accommodation.” The owners of the properties will be required to impose the tax. The village’s chief fiscal officer will then collect the tax.

The tax does not apply to people who are considered “permanent residents” of a hotel or motel, those staying at least 30 consecutive days.

Orleans County also imposes a 4 percent occupancy tax that generates about $35,000 a year and is used solely by the county for its tourism promotion efforts.

Medina will see an increase in rooms with the renovation of the Bent’s Opera House to be partly used as a hotel. A new chain hotel, Cobblestone Inn & Suites, also is expected to break ground this year on Maple Ridge Road.

Photos courtesy of Jarred Saj: Jarred Saj of Medina and Donna Saskowski, executive director of the Arc of Genesee Orleans, are pictured with State Assembly Michael Norris of Lockport in the rally for “BFair2DirectCare.”

ALBANY – The Arc of Genesee Orleans joined other Arc chapters in the state in Albany on Monday, to rally for higher wages for direct care workers.

Mark Van Voorst, executive director of the ARC New York, testified in Albany last month, urging the state to put more money in the budget for direct care workers. He said low pay is creating a staffing crisis for agencies.

Van Voorst highlighted the realities of agencies who are struggling to fill staffing positions as other businesses have raised wages. Non-profits like Arc chapters are heavily dependent on state funding, which has been slow to increase funding.

Van Voorst cited the following concerns:

• Providers are experiencing noticeable increases in medication errors.

• Medical appointments are being missed or rescheduled due to lack of staff on hand to transport individuals.

• Staff have fallen asleep on the job after a string of double shifts, or after coming to work ill because there was no one to cover their hours.

• Individuals are being moved from their normal residences and placed in alternate homes on weekends or holidays to consolidate staffing.

• Community outings and social opportunities are being canceled because of insufficient staff to support them.

• Providers across the state are unable to open new residential programs because they can’t staff their current homes.

• Aging parents fear they won’t find placements for their children as beds sit open in understaffed homes. In fact, many providers have closed homes altogether due to lack of available staff.

Jarred Saj, an Arc consumer, is pictured with Mark Van Voorst, executive director of the ARC New York during a rally on Monday in the state capital.

The direct care coalition is asking for the state to put an additional $18.25 million in the state budget for direct care workers.

The Arc New York has 49 chapters across the state, supporting more than 60,000 individuals and families and employing more than 30,000 people statewide. This year, the organization celebrates its 70th anniversary as an advocate and service provider.

“Direct Support Professionals are the backbone of our service system,” Van Voorst said during a hearing in Albany last month. “They are trained professionals whose responsibilities include medication administration, tube feeding, wound care, behavioral intervention, and supports for activities of daily living, including financial management, meal preparation, grooming and toileting.

“Lack of adequate state funding is quickly turning the complex and critical Direct Support Professionals role into a minimum wage job, and providers can no longer compete in the employment market,” he said. “We are losing skilled employees to fast food restaurants and retail stores, where workers can earn more and work less. As a result, our vacancy rates are increasing, while our employment standards are dropping.”

State-wide the Arc chapters have a job vacancy rate of 16.8 percent, Van Voorst said, with an average staff turnover rate of 26.7 percent annually.

“These vacant shifts can’t be left unfilled,” he said. “Care must still be provided, and in many cases, legally-defined staffing patterns dictate these requirements. So, DSPs and supervisory staff cover the shortfall with excessive overtime that leaves them overworked and exhausted. More than 12 million overtime hours were logged in 2018, as providers attempted to deliver needed services with minimal staff.”

Photo courtesy of FMC

MIDDLEPORT – FMC Corporation’s Agricultural Sciences plant in Middleport has donated $1,000 to start the fundraising effort for the Middleport Fire Department to upgrade its information technology capabilities.

Dr. Roberta Kloda (left), FMC Middleport plant manager, presents a $1,000 check to Darren Burdick (second from right), Middleport Fire Department president, and Fred Srock, MFD fire chief.

The fire department plans to rebuild its computer system, including installing a new server, work stations and networking capabilities, that will enhance its delivery of quality service to the entire Middleport community.

The department has been providing quality fire protection and emergency services since 1884 to the Village of Middleport and the towns of Royalton and Hartland.

“The FMC Middleport plant is proud to help the Middleport Fire Department in its effort to upgrade its information technology capabilities to further enhance its delivery of quality service to the entire Middleport community Kloda said.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Maia Pate performs as the Cat in the Hat during the Albion Middle School’s production of Seussical on March 15-16. The middle and high schools both do two full-length musicals each year.

ALBION – The Albion music program has made it 12 straight years of being recognized on a national list of schools with outstanding music programs.

The North American Music Merchants has its annual lists of school districts that are “Best Communities for Music Education.” Albion is one of 623 districts to be recognized nationally, and the only one in Orleans County.

The NAMM organization gives out the award to recognize districts that make music a priority, especially in an era of tight school budgets and packed student schedules.

“Congratulations to the 623 school districts that are among the Best Communities in the nation for music education,” NAMM stated on its website. “The award program recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of a well-rounded education. Designations are made to districts and schools that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education.”

Other nearby school districts on the list include Akron, Brockport, Le Roy, Perry and Roy-Hart.

Albion runs an active music program in the elementary, middle and high schools. The high school puts on two full-scale musical and students also perform in several different instrumental and choral groups. In all, high school musicians perform numerous times during the school year.

The middle school puts on two musicals each year, and its students perform with the marching and jazz bands. Elementary music teachers lead students in performances throughout the year.

Research studies continue to demonstrate the physical, cognitive and social benefits of music making. Students who are involved in a school-based music program are not only more likely to graduate high school and attend college, the NAMM Foundation stated.

Students, with even only a few years of musical training early in life, also are better able to process sound, even later in life. Social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills and learning how to give and receive constructive criticism, NAMM said.

Village has hustled to get the trees down by March 31 deadline

Several trees also have been cut down on Geddes Street.

HOLLEY – Village residents have been hearing the sound of chain saws for about two months as part of an effort to take down 60 trees.

Most of the trees have been removed. A couple more will come down on Geddes Street this week.

The village’s Department of Public Works and Electric Department have taken down most of the trees ahead of a sidewalk and waterline project. A contractor was needed to remove eight trees that were too high for the village’s bucket truck. (Some of the wood will likely be auctioned off.)

Mayor Brian Sorochty said the trees could only be cut down before March 31. Trees in this project, which includes federal and state funding, can’t be cut down after March 31 through Nov. 15 because of environmental protections for bats, which use trees for habitat.

The tree-cutting was approved by the State Historic Preservation Office, as well as a plan to replant new trees, which will be smaller when they are mature.

Holley will be going out to bid in June to replace about 4 miles of sidewalks in the village. Holley also will be replacing about 2 miles of waterlines.

The village has been approved for a $1.78 million grant for sidewalks through the federal Transportation Alternatives Program.

Holley also was awarded a nearly $1.3 million grant from the state for upgrades to the water system through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, as well as the Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grants Program.

The trees are being removed because of the sidewalk project. The tree roots are pushing up sidewalks in many spots. Plus the new sidewalks will be wider and closer to the road.

The project will be done in phases with the first focus on South Main and North Main (Route 237), Geddes and Morgan streets. The bid will include alternatives for East Union, East Avenue and Park Place. If the bids are lower than expected, the alternatives could be included as part of the bid to be accepted this year.

The project involves about a third of the sidewalks in the village. They need to be compliant with handicapped accessibility regulations. In some spots that means the village will need to acquire some land to have enough space for handicapped accessible ramps at intersections.

The waterline project includes 9,050 linear feet, nearly 2 miles, and involves replacing 4- to 8-inch water mains with 8- to 12-inch water mains. That project includes portions of South Main, North Main, East Union, Park Place, East Albion and Geddes streets.

In some spots the new sidewalks will go in after the new water lines are installed.

Sorochty said the work will be done in phases over the next two years.

The mayor urged patience while the projects are under construction. He said he is excited for the finished product. In addition, the renovation of the former Holley High School will be done in about a year, and the state Department of Transportation will be repaving Route 237 in the village.

About 10 trees have been cut down on East Union Street in the village. The tree stumps will come out as part of the bid to put in new sidewalks on the street.

File photo by Tom Rivers: Members of the Medina Lions Club decorate State Street Park for the Christmas holiday on  Nov. 29, 2014. The Lions put lights on Christmas trees and set up a Nativity scene at the park every year.

MEDINA – The Village Board is being asked to change the name of State Street Park to recognize the Burroughs family.

Before it was State Street Park, the land was a grand estate with a magnificent Victorian mansion owned by the Burroughs family, Chris Busch, chairman of the Village Planning Board, wrote in a March 18 letter to Mayor Mike Sidari and the Village Board.

Silas Mainville Burroughs was a member of Congress who lived in Medina. He died at age 49 on June 3, 1860.

Before Congress, he worked as an attorney in Medina, was a member of the State Assembly and was a brigadier general in the New York State Militia for 10 years.

His son was a prominent businessman who founded Burroughs & Co., which is now part f the pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline. Silas Mainville Burroughs, the son, died at age 48 on Feb. 6, 1895 after getting pneumonia on a cycling trip. He left $20,000 to Boxwood Cemetery, which used some of the funds to build the Medina sandstone chapel in his honor at the cemetery.

Busch said this is a good time to change the name, considering the upgrades to the park. A new pavilion/bandstand has been built at the park, and the World War I artillery/memorial is being restored. Many new trees are also being planted at the park, and other improvements are being considered as part of a Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan.

Busch said the park is the “jewel” of Medina’s park system.

“It is the ardent opinion of the Municipal Planning Board that, taking into account the architectural history, Burroughs family history, the current developments of the site, along with Medina’s burgeoning role as a historic destination, that it would be altogether right and proper to forever memorialize and promote the historic significance of the place by changing the name of State Street Park to Burroughs Park,” Busch wrote in his letter to the mayor and Village Board.

Village Trustee Todd Bensley, who is the village historian, said at Monday’s board meeting that the board needs to take time to consider the request.

“We haven’t had time to discuss it,” Bensley said.

Orleans Hub reached a milestone this morning when we posted the article about Medina buying a new police vehicle after one was totaled on March 6.

That article was the 20,000^th since the Hub started nearly six years ago. We went live on April 2, 2013. We actually starting posting articles on the Orleans Hub that March so there would be articles on the site when it went live.

In our six years we have averaged about 9 new articles every day. Most of those are written by Tom Rivers, the news editor, and Mike Wertman, the sportswriter.

The 20,000 articles also include letters to the editor, press releases and articles from contributors.

We have posted articles every day since we started, never taking a day off.

You’re here checking the site, so you know: Orleans Hub is a vital resource for our community. Day in and day out, we share information and insights that matter to those who live and work in the towns, villages and hamlets of our county. Local advertisers help make the Hub possible, and so can you.

Donate today to keep Orleans Hub healthy and accessible to all. Thank you!

ALBION – A Brockport man is facing felony drug charges after being arrested for allegedly selling crack cocaine in Albion and Medina, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported this morning.

Dexter Turner

Dexter Turner, 27, of Holley Street in Brockport was charged on Monday with four counts each of both criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, which are Class B felonies.

Turner, a former Albion resident, was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped as part of an investigation at 108 Pearl St. in Medina by the Task Force, Medina Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

Police seized crack cocaine, marijuana, $1,000 in cash, scales, packaging and other drug paraphernalia, the Task Force said.

Turner was arraigned in the Ridgeway Town Court by Town Justice Joseph Kujawa, who committed Turner to the Orleans County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $250,000 bond.

Turner is to return to the Ridgeway Town Court at 9 a.m. on April 1. He will also return to Albion Town Court at a later date.

Further arrests and charges are pending in this investigation, the Task Force said.

Michael Mele picked as vice chairman

File photo by Tom Rivers: Skip Draper takes the oath of office on Dec. 28, 2017 when he was sworn in as an Orleans County legislator.

ALBION – The Orleans County Republican Party officially has a new leader. Skip Draper was picked unanimously to serve as the party chairman on Saturday.

He succeeds Ed Morgan, who served in the role for 12 ½ years. Morgan resigned on Jan. 24. Draper stepped in as acting chairman. The party’s bylaws give the GOP Committee up to 60 days to choose a successor.

The committee, which has 80 members, met on Saturday morning and picked Draper for the job. Draper had been serving as vice chairman. That spot will now be filled by Michael Mele of Murray, who is the chief deputy for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. He is also chairman of the Murray Town Republican Committee.

Draper is in his first two-year term as an Orleans County legislator after getting elected in November 2017. Prior to that he served 24 years as the Shelby town supervisor.

His goals are “to keep the party unified and together.” He said his role is to keep party finances sound, and to have quality candidates seek positions at the village, town and county level, as well as for state and federal positions.

This year the election calendar has moved up with local and state primaries now aligned with the federal schedule. That means candidates are circulating petitions for a June 25 primary, instead of one in September. Those petitions are due next week at the Board of Elections.

A primary is expected for county sheriff with current Undersheriff Chris Bourke and Rochester Police Sgt. Brett Sobieraski seeking the position. Randy Bower, the current sheriff, isn’t seeking re-election.

Other primaries also are expected at the town level.

MEDINA – The Village Board voted to spend about $40,000 to buy a new police vehicle on Monday, less than a month after a police car was totaled.

An officer was driving a 2017 Ford Explorer on March 6 when the vehicle slid on an icy street and hit a tree.

The village’s insurance company is paying $20,550 towards the wrecked vehicle. Medina will use that money plus pay an additional $18,863 to buy a new 2019 Ford Explorer.

The village will also have to spend about $6,300 in other changeover costs, putting in a cage and electronics.

Police Chief Chad Kenward said there aren’t many police vehicles on the market. The 2020 police cars won’t be ready until November, at the soonest. There were only two new vehicles he could find that could soon be ready for the Police Department.

Besides the Ford Explorer which is in Easton, Pa., Kenward said there is a pickup truck in Niagara Falls that could be used for police.

That vehicle was $300 more than the Explorer. However, Kenward said no other police agencies in the county use the pickup truck. He has pushed for continuity in the Medina PD’s equipment.

“I really don’t want to be the guinea pig,” he said about trying a “police truck.”

HOLLEY – The village will use more than $130,000 from a revolving-loan fund that is being closed out. The money for Holley will go towards a new waterline on Thomas Street, said Mayor Brian Sorochty.

Holley is eligible for the money because it is a previous recipient of the Community Development Block Grant. The CDBG was repaid by a local business with those funds going to a revolving-loan fund managed by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The state is requiring those revolving-loan funds to be closed down. The communities can direct the remaining funds to projects if they are targeted to increase handicapped accessibility of a public place or if the project serves a low-income area.

The new waterline on Thomas Street, between Route 31 and South Main Street, met the threshold for serving a low-income area, Sorochty said today.

The Village Board last week had a public hearing on using the funds for the project. Holley can use $105,000 from the village share of the revolving-loan fund. The Orleans County Legislature also directed $28,990 from a portion of its share of the revolving-loan fund to the Holley waterline.

Mayor Sorochty said engineering will now get started on the waterline, which serves six homes, the police department, the fire hall, two commercial businesses and the Holley Hotel, an apartment building with 40 units.

Construction could happen later this year on the project. Once the new waterline is done, the mayor said the street will likely be repaved. He would also like to see new sidewalks for that section of Thomas Street.

“We’re looking for more money (for the sidewalks),” he said.

Press Release, Department of Environmental Conservation

File photo: A black bear is pictured in Kendall on West Kendall Road in this photo from Aug. 11, 2014.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation today reminded New Yorkers to take steps to prevent bears from easily accessing food sources like bird feeders and garbage. Due to poor natural food availability last fall, many black bears went into their dens with low fat reserves and as they begin to emerge from winter dens, have already begun seeking out food sources around homes.

DEC has already received several reports that bears are knocking down bird feeders to eat the seed. Feeding bears either intentionally, which is illegal, or unintentionally through careless practices around properties, has consequences for entire communities.

DEC advises everyone who lives in or visits bear country to remove items that are attractive to bears. People should take down bird feeders by April 1, store garbage inside secure buildings, and feed pets indoors. Allowing bears to find food naturally keeps them out of trouble and reduces negative interactions with people and property.

For more information about how to reduce human/bear conflicts, visit the DEC’s website.

MEDINA – A business that was among the first to make a significant investment in Medina’s recent Main Street renaissance has made another improvement to its business.

Maurizio and Dan Passalacqua, brothers and co-owners of Avanti, about a month ago debuted a new wood-fired oven for cooking pizza, chicken wings, pasta and other food. The brothers say it’s a more authentic way of cooking the food, and gives it a distinctive taste.

Angelo Passalacqua holds a finished pizza out of the wood-fired oven. Angelo has been in the pizza business for more than 50 years. He accidently drove through Medina about two decades ago and told his sons the downtown had lots of potential.

“People are becoming more sophisticated,” Dan Passalacqua said last week at Avanti. “They don’t want the ordinary.”

Maurizio built the wood-fired oven and the brothers have been experimenting with it since last August. After several months of trial and error, they felt like they had perfected the process, learning the best temperatures for cooking the pizza, wings, appetizers and pasta.

“Nothing happens by chance,” Dan Passalacqua said. “It’s trying, trying and trying until you find the right thing.”

In a conventional gas-powered oven, the heat is about 500 to 550 degrees. With the wood-fired oven, the temperatures hit about 750 to 900 degrees. The 12-inch pizzas only take about 1 ½ to 2 minutes to cook.

Dan demonstrated last week. The pizza required constant vigilance in its short time in the oven, with Passalacqua checking temperatures and turning the pizza to get even color on the edges. He wanted a slight charred look.

“The feedback has been incredible,” he said about the pizzas. “It’s the new craze out there.”

Passalacqua said the pizzas in the wood-fired ovens are all made with about five ingredients. The pizza he is shown cooking was made with dough, tomatoes, mozzarella cut that day, and basil leaves. The flour for the dough comes from Naples, Italy, and the salt is from Trapani in Sicily.

The brothers grew up in Italy. Their father, Angelo, split time in Sicily and Niagara Falls, running six pizzerias in both locations. Angelo’s owned Leon’s Pizza at a mall in Niagara Falls for decades.

Dan and Maurizio both earned college degrees locally and they pursued careers as stock brokers. They spent their youth working for their father in the pizzerias.

A pizza cooks inside the wood-fired oven at Avanti.

They pursued white-collar careers, but they didn’t like the unpredictability of life as a stock broker. And they missed making Italian food.

Angelo was driving through Medina about 20 years ago. He was lost and didn’t intend to drive down Main Street. At the time the downtown was struggling with empty storefronts. Angelo liked the look of the historic Main Street and he urged his sons to come take a look.

“He fell in love with the town,” Dan said. “He saw the potential.”

Maurizio decided to open Avanti, an Italian expression that means “welcome.” He sold gourmet pizza, subs and breads from a storefront with about 2,400 square feet. Avanti opened in 2001 with about 15 employees.

The business was an immediate success. Dan decided to join his brother after six months.

“We decided right away to stick with higher quality,” Dan said. “We’ve stuck by our guns.”

It didn’t take long and the brothers wanted more space for the business and to expand the dining area. They purchased the former Mark & Dale’s clothing store at the corner of Main and West Center streets. It was a major renovation that took three years. It opened in 2006, nearly quadrupling their space.

That ambitious project inspired others to take a chance on downtown Medina, said Cindy Robinson, the Medina Business Association president.

“They’ve had a big role in the rebirth of downtown Medina,” Robinson said. “They were one of the first big investors in downtown. They purchased a building and didn’t just lease. They showed it’s worth the money to buy a building and fix it up.”

The brothers and their father opened Avanti in Albion in December 2012, renovating a former Pizza Hut on Route 31.

They now have about 50 employees working at the two sites.

Dan Passalacqua and his father Angelo make a pizza at the new oven at Avanti in Medina. The oven is fed oak wood, and gets up to 900 degrees.

Angelo Passalacqua, 78, has been in the pizza business since 1966. He continues to work full-time, making the dough and sauce for Avanti, and getting the cold cuts ready. He said consistent quality is the key to success.

Robinson praised the Passalacquas for pushing for excellence in the building projects, and with their menu. The latest project with the wood-fired oven will draw people to Medina, which she said is gaining a reputation in the region for its many restaurants.

“The foodies are coming to Medina as a destination,” she said. “There is definitely a foodie paradise in Medina, and they (Avanti) were the start of that.”

Dan Passalacqua said the family is pleased to see how the entire downtown has been transformed in the past 15 years or so. The businesses work well together, and they promote the area as a destination, which benefits all of the merchants, he said.

“All of these businesses on Main Street have shown that we can compete with the best of them,” Dan Passalacqua said.

For more on Avanti, click here.

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) released the following statement regarding the Special Counsel investigation:

“The Department of Justice’s summary of the Special Counsel investigation demonstrates what we have known for two years. There was no collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia, nor was there evidence to support an obstruction charge against the President. It’s now time that House Democrats put aside their witch hunt and join Republicans in focusing on the issues that Americans really care about.”

New York’s senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, said the entire report from special counsel Robert Mueller should be made public.

“Above all else, the American people deserve transparency and accountability,” Gillibrand posted on Twitter. “Attorney General Barr must release Mueller’s full report to the public without any delay.”

Schumer posted on Twitter that Americans “deserve the truth” about the full report.

“The American people are entitled to see the Mueller report, and its underlying documentation, for themselves,” Schumer said. “They do not need or want the Trump Administration to summarize, sanitize, or spin the report. They simply want the truth.”

Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan

CLARENDON — The first of four new signs for Clarendon pioneer cemeteries was installed this morning by Melissa Ierlan and her husband, Fred Seeman. Ierlan, the town historian and code enforcement officer, secured funding for the signs through the Elizabeth Dye Curtis Foundation in Orleans County. The cast-aluminum signs are made by Sewah Studios in Ohio.

The signs are replacing wooden ones that have become rotted and difficult to read.

Robinson Cemetery is on Route 237 at the intersection of Glidden Road.

The signs include an image of the Clarendon water falls, and they include quotes from David Sturges Copeland, who wrote the History of Clarendon in 1889. “Buried here are those whose labor, energy, spirit and love once lived in Clarendon,” the Robinson sign states. “May they not be forgotten.”

Each of the signs highlight some Clarendon residents buried in the cemeteries. The Robinson Cemetery includes Chauncey Robinson, a veteran of the War of 1812 who was a prominent abolitionist in the community.

Here are images of the other signs that should be installed soon.

Pettengill Cemetery on Hibbard Road is also known as the Christian Graveyard and Manning Cemetery. Clarendon’s founder, Eldredge Farwell, is buried here.

Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo shows the wooden sign for Pettengill Cemetery, which is also known as “Christian Graveyard.”

Maplewood Cemetery is on Route 237, south of the Clarendon hamlet and north of Hinds Road.

Root Cemetery, also known as Cook Cemetery, is on Munger Road in Clarendon.

Lemuel Cook is buried at this cemetery. He fought in the American Revolution and died on May 20, 1866, at the age of 107. He was the last living pensioner of the American Revolution. Cook saw action at the Battle of Brandywine and Yorktown and met General George Washington.