By Mike Pettinella
For Video News Service
It looks as though Genesee County will be fortifying its police presence at Batavia Downs Gaming for at least another year.
The County Legislature’s Public Service Committee on Monday afternoon approved a contract renewal between the Sheriff’s Office and Batavia Downs Gaming that calls for deputies to be at the Park Road facility for its 2024 summer concert series as well as on the gaming floor and at The Hotel at Batavia Downs.
Sheriff William Sheron told the committee that the pact follows the same terms and conditions from 2023, except for enhanced patrols at the casino and hotel and an increase in rates per the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Sheriff’s Employees Association labor agreements.
The new contract will run through May 31, 2025. According to the resolution, funds have been budgeted in the 2024 adopted budget and will be offset by the revenue received from Batavia Downs Gaming.
In other action, the Public Service Committee:
— Approved a contract renewal with Orleans County Jail to house Genesee County’s female prisoners through the end of the year at a rate of $90 per day per prisoner. Genesee County Jail Superintendent William Zipfel said the $90 rate is $10 to $30 less than “the going rate.”
Undersheriff Brad Mazur said there’s a chance that the new Genesee County Jail on West Main Street Road in Batavia will be ready to accept prisoners before the end of 2024, effectively ending its housing agreement with Orleans County.
— Approved the acceptance of a $167,000 grant from the New York State’s Law Enforcement Technology Program for state fiscal year 2024-2025. The grant will be used to purchase law enforcement technology and equipment, including for oral analyzers that test for six drug categories.
The committee passed a related resolution that allows the Sheriff’s Office to use opioid settlement funds to buy three Automated External Defibrillators to equip patrol vehicles and a Thermo Scientific TruNarc Analyzer to rapidly identify drugs and reduce the handling of potential harmful drugs by deputies.
Mazur said the hand-held analyzers can test for up to 500 substances “right through the packaging,” without having to touch the substance. The cost of these items is $35,884.
— Approved a salary schedule amendment to create one 39-hour, bi-weekly assistant public defender position in line with standards set by the state Indigent Legal Services Office.
Public Defender Jerry Ader said he has found “that it’s easier to find someone to work part-time, even without benefits.”
— Approved a resolution to raise monthly hangar rents at the Genesee County Airport by up to 10 percent, impose a new transient overnight hangar fee of $50 per night, and increase daily ramp fees to $10 per day and $75 per month.
It is estimated that this action, which is effective on July 1, will generate an additional $14,000 per year in revenue.
Highway Superintendent Tim Hens said the airport has a waiting list of those needing to rent hangars at the Saile Drive facility.
— Authorized the state Department of Transportation to use three county roads as detours while it replaces culverts along Route 63 through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in the Town of Alabama.
The affected roads are as follows:
Lewiston Road from Niagara County to Route 63.
Lewiston Road from Route 63 to Knowlesville Rd.
Knowlesville Road from Lewiston Road to Orleans County
Hens said work is expected to start on July 15 and last for about three months.