Ontario County supervisors cleared the way for construction of a $24 million culinary education center in Canandaigua, approved a new animal abuser registry and renewed school resource officer agreements during a wide-ranging July meeting that also exposed divisions over attorney pay and compensation for after-hours arraignment work.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the major contracts, funding structure and construction awards for the Finger Lakes Community College Culinary Arts Center of Excellence, which is planned for 2.5 acres at 150 Lakeshore Drive. The project is intended to replace the college culinary program’s current space at New York Kitchen, which will no longer be available after the spring 2027 semester.
FLCC culinary center moves into construction
The board established a $24.04 million capital project for the culinary center and approved an agreement involving Ontario County, FLCC and the Canandaigua Area Development Corporation.
Under the agreement, the development corporation will donate the Lakeshore Drive property, valued at $1.76 million, along with up to $9.38 million in construction funding and professional architectural, engineering and construction management services. The Sands Family Foundation will provide funding to the development corporation through a separate agreement.
New York state has authorized $11.14 million for the project through the State University of New York. The local share, including the property donation, is also expected to total up to $11.14 million.
Supervisors awarded five construction contracts totaling more than $17 million.
Genesee Construction Inc. received a $2.1 million contract for site work, landscaping and irrigation. VIP Structures Inc. was awarded about $8.21 million for general construction and kitchen equipment.
Thurston Dudek LLC received a $1.35 million plumbing and fire-protection contract, Pipitone Enterprises LLC was awarded nearly $3.5 million for heating, ventilation and air conditioning work, and Callea Electric Inc. received a $1.9 million electrical contract.
The board also approved a construction management contract with LeChase Construction Services LLC for up to $544,950 and an architectural and engineering contract with DJC Architecture PLLC for up to $495,000.
Additional contracts included up to $20,000 for construction materials testing by Whitestone Associates Engineering and Geology NY PLLC and up to $211,498.50 for environmental monitoring by LaBella Associates.
The environmental work is required because the project site is subject to a state-approved brownfield management plan. Monitoring during construction will include observation, sampling, laboratory testing and analysis as the ground is disturbed.
The project budget includes $852,397 for potential construction change orders and nearly $1.9 million in general contingency funding. Construction-related contracts are scheduled to run through July 31, 2028, with limited extensions available if needed.
Groundbreaking will take place Tuesday.
School resource officers renewed
The board approved agreements to provide sheriff’s deputies as school resource officers in seven school districts during the 2026-27 school year.
Marcus Whitman, Bloomfield, Manchester-Shortsville, Honeoye, Victor and Naples each requested one full-time officer. Each district is expected to pay about $140,449 for 1,632 hours of service over 10 months, plus applicable overtime.
The full-time billing rate was set at $86.06 per hour, with an overtime rate of $129.09.
Phelps-Clifton Springs requested one full-time and one part-time officer. Its estimated cost is $197,327, with the part-time officer billed at $54.69 per hour and $82.04 for overtime.
The agreements run from Sept. 1 through June 30.
Divided vote approves attorney raises
Most resolutions passed unanimously, but a group of salary increases for five senior county attorneys divided the board.
Supervisors voted 13-6 to raise the annual salaries of Senior Assistant County Attorneys Joseph Nacca and Sandra Packard, Senior Assistant Public Defenders Patrick Conklin and Mollie Dapolito, and Senior Assistant Conflict Defender Victoria King Hudson to $148,930.
Nacca and Packard had been earning $139,660. Their increases were made retroactive to May 24.
Conklin and Dapolito were also earning $139,660, while King Hudson was earning $136,920. Their increases took effect immediately.
The resolutions cited the attorneys’ experience and salaries approved for employees in comparable county legal positions. The minutes note that the Management Compensation Personnel Committee did not recommend the increases for Nacca and Packard, although the Ways and Means Committee later approved them.
Supervisor David Baker said the five resolutions had not been passed out of committee. Baker, Donald Cotter, Esther Dickinson, James Kennedy, Jan Regan and Tim Schiefen voted against the raises.
CAP Court stipends rejected
The board later rejected a separate proposal to pay additional stipends to county attorneys who appear in person at Centralized Arraignment Part Court outside their regular workweek.
The proposed stipends were $75 for weekday morning sessions and $150 for Friday evening, weekend and county-holiday sessions.
Attorneys in the district attorney, public defender and conflict defender offices participate in CAP Court proceedings during mornings, evenings, weekends and holidays in addition to their standard 37.5-hour workweeks.
The proposal failed 13-6.
Tate Colburn, John Cowley, Roslyn Grammar, Jack Marren, Kristine Singer and Chairman William Wellman supported the stipends. The remaining 13 supervisors present voted against them.
Jail staffing, new positions and department changes
The board approved a temporary labor agreement intended to help address staffing shortages at the Ontario County Jail.
The agreement allows certain retired full-time employees in the Sheriff’s General Unit to return to part-time work at a salary step above the usual entry rate. County officials said the arrangement could make it easier to retain experienced employees after retirement and reduce the effects of the shortage.
Supervisors also created three positions.
A new assistant county attorney will focus on matters involving the Department of Social Services and will be funded from the county’s fund balance.
A mental health service coordinator position will be supported through an Assisted Outpatient Treatment grant from the state Office of Mental Health. The position will end if the grant funding is exhausted or terminated.
The board also created a project manager position in the Department of Public Works.
Supervisors authorized the transfer of six finance-related positions from Social Services to the Finance Department as part of a broader consolidation of county financial functions. The employees will remain physically located within Social Services and continue performing finance work for that department.
Tax refund request denied
The board unanimously denied a property tax refund or credit sought by Eric Wangler and Mary Crowley-Wangler for property at 3940 State Route 364 in Gorham.
Wangler submitted a written statement arguing that a lake-access designation had been improperly removed from the property record for the 2025 tax year without notice. He said the designation was restored for 2026 and maintained that his request involved correcting a recordkeeping error rather than disputing the property’s assessed value.
The county’s real property tax director recommended denying the application after an investigation. The Governmental Operations and Insurance Committee accepted that recommendation, and the full board voted to deny the request.
Several supervisors explained their intent to support the denial before the unanimous vote.
Immigration enforcement concerns raised
During public comment, Geneva resident Lisa DeFrancesco raised concerns about federal immigration enforcement activity in the region.
DeFrancesco said immigration agents had detained local residents and described agents monitoring restaurants whose workers live in or near Geneva. She asked supervisors to ensure the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office follows an earlier county resolution concerning cooperation with federal immigration authorities and urged county officials to raise their concerns with state and federal lawmakers.
The minutes do not record a response from the board.
Other action
Supervisors approved the budget for a federal lead-hazard reduction program totaling nearly $1.1 million, along with a $257,027 transfer from the county’s fund balance.
The board authorized maternal and child health education services, expanded yoga and fall-prevention programming for older adults, and appointed Robert Richardson to the Office for the Aging Advisory Council.
The county also agreed to lease three localized weather stations for snow and ice operations at an annual cost of $9,597, plus $90 for shipping.
Other approvals included fiber access for Greenlight Networks along a county-owned railroad corridor in Victor, improvements at the County Road 4 and Freshour Road intersection in Hopewell, and the sale of 18 tax-foreclosed properties through an online auction.
The highest accepted auction bid was $510,100 for one property purchased by Kuzo LLC.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
