Tag Archives: town of webster

More Webster business news

28 Aug

pickled

I had an opportunity to sit down recently with Marissa Birke, owner of the new Pickled Paintbrush studio which will be opening in September at 36 East Main Street.

The Pickled Paintbrush will be kind of a do-it-yourself art studio designed mostly for children. Classes will focus on “process artwork,” Marissa said, allowing children to explore unconventional materials, get messy, and have a lot of fun.

The studio is still in the middle of renovations, but when Marissa finally gets it up and running, it’s going to be a tremendous addition to East Main Street.

More to come on The Pickled Paintbrush soon.

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And there’s good news from CrossFit Webster!

I haven’t gotten official word from the owners yet but it looks like CFW is not on its last legs yet. While its current location will be closing, it will be reopening in a new location on Empire Blvd. near Loew’s theater and the bowling alley.

At least that’s what I’ve heard so far, but I hope to get confirmation soon.

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Hazardous waste collection scheduled

22 Aug

Here’s a quick note from the Town of Webster, just in time for that end-of-summer garage clean-out project:

The 2018 Household Hazardous Waste Collection has been scheduled for Saturday September 15. This event is held in partnership with the Penfield Department of Public Works and will be held at their facility, 1607 Jackson Road.

Most household hazardous wastes like paint, flammables and other chemicals, are safe when used and stored properly, but should also be disposed of properly when they’re no longer needed.

The collection will take place from 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. To make sure no one has to wait in line too long, appointments are required for this event, and will be accepted through September 14. Webster residents should call 585-872-1443 (Monday through Thursday 7 am. to 3 p.m.) and Penfield residents call 585-340-8710. You can also go online here to schedule your appointment.

Waste collection is open to all Monroe County residents, but waste from businesses will not be accepted.

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Waterfront Art Festival returns this weekend

26 Jul

art fest

The Waterfront Art Festival returns to North Ponds Park this weekend, July 28 and 29.

This popular festival features artists from all over Monroe County, who line North Ponds’ scenic and shaded walkways, displaying an incredible variety of hand-made craft items in all price ranges.

What’s really nice about this particular festival is that all of the artisans’ work is juried beforehand, which is why it is all so different and so high-quality. I remember picking up several unique Christmas gifts last year.

Plus there are food trucks live entertainment, demonstrations and a wine, beer and cider-tasting tent. There’s plenty of free parking right on the grounds, and an expanded handicapped parking area.

The festival runs from 10 am to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday at North Ponds Park, off of Rt. 104 between Rt. 250 and Holt Road (you’ll wan to take the Rt. 250 exit off of Rt. 104).  Admission is $3, no charge for kids 12 and under. For more information, click here for the Waterfront Art Festival website.

 

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Webster community mailbag

20 Jul

Well, folks, I’m back in town after a 10-day trip with my daughter through Spain (with a side trip to Lisbon, Portugal thrown in for good measure). I tried my best to auto-post some blogs while I was gone, but finally I’m back at the keyboard to blog live and in person.

And to wade through about two dozen new emails I got in my absence.

First order of business, then, is a mailbag to pass along all that news that people passed along to me while I was in sunny Spain.

First off, don’t forget about the Webster Jazz Fest, which begins tonight (Friday) with Jazz in the Pubs, and continues Saturday night with Jazz in the Streets. This event features an incredible variety of great music, and I consider it one of the best events of the entire summer. Pretty much everyone in Webster comes out.

For more details about the Fest, including who is playing and when, click here.

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santa

Also tomorrow (Saturday) July 21, grab your kids and make your way down to the Joe Obbie Farmers Market for their annual Christmas in July event, featuring (of course) Santa Claus.

The Webster Village Band will be there playing holiday music and the entire market will be decked out in holiday splendor with special treats for the kids.

The Joe Obbie Market runs every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Webster Towne Center Plaza (Kohl’s/Target Plaza) at the corner of Ridge and Holt roads.

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This is most definitely not Webster news, but it’s a great cause and you golfers out there will want to know about it.

The 23rd annual Leatherneck Open will take place on Monday July 23 at Greystone Golf Club in Walworth. Veterans, active duty and civilians are all welcome to participate in the event, which helps support Marines all across Western New York.

The event begins at 11 a.m. with a presentation of the colors in front of the Greystone club house, followed by a shotgun start. It’s not too late to register; for that matter, they’ll be taking registrations that morning at the event.

For more information, click here.

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Next weekend, July 28 and 29, the annual Waterfront Art Festival returns to North Ponds Park.

The event features artisans from all over Monroe County, who line the sidewalks with their tents, selling high-quality art and craft items. Food trucks and live entertainment will add to the fun.

Hours are Saturday July 28 and Sunday July 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Admission is $3, with children 12 and under free. North Ponds Park is located on the Rt. 104 access road between Holt Road and Rt. 250 (use the Rt. 250 exit).

For more information click here.

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More news from the village:

The last Webster Wine Walk of the year is Saturday August 11 from 4 to 7 p.m. You’ll want to be at this one for sure, even if you’ve participated in these wine walks before, because there are different venues included this time around.

At 9 p.m. Kittelbergers Florists invites everyone down to their shop for fireworks to celebrate their 90th anniversary.

For tickets to the wine walk click here.

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Finally, this is news from the Town of Webster for folks who live on or near Gravel Road.’

Beginning the week of July 23, workers will be milling and paving Gravel Road between Regina Drive and Klem Road.

According to the press release from the Town,

During construction, traffic will be maintained with daily lane closures as needed. Flaggers will be used to guide traffic around the work areas. Continuous access to driveways and side streets will be maintained, except when work is occurring directly in front of these access points. In these situations, the delay will only be for a brief time until construction personnel indicate that it is safe to cross the work zone.

The work will progress rapidly and is expected to be completed by mid August. All work will be performed during the day.

For more information and a map, click here.

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Make a rain barrel — be an H20 hero

5 Jul

shipbuilders creek

Early last week I attended a Town of Webster meet-and-greet at the public library, where I met Sydney VanWinkle, who was representing an environmental organization called H20Hero.org. They’re working hard to protect our local water supplies, a precious natural resource.

One of their primary focuses right now is an area called Shipbuilders Creek Watershed, which encompasses (very roughly) the area from Bay Rd. east to Five Mile Line Rd., and Plank Rd. north to the lake. (See the map for specifics.)

When she found out that I live in the watershed, Sydney’s eyes got really big. It’s homeowners like me, who live in the watershed, that she’s particularly interested in reaching, because if we each do a little bit, together we can help their cause immensely.

Here’s a little background information from the brochure I picked up:

Shipbuilders Creek is an eight square mile watershed…discharging into Lake Ontario.

Over the years, the original land use of the watershed has gone from primarily agricultural to a mix of residential and commercial use, including relatively heavy commercialized areas along Empire Boulevard and Ridge Road.

Unfortunately, as the community developed, the value of the Creek as a resource was not always recognized, Sections have been piped, and water quality declined because of pollution from storm runoff.

And this is what we can do:

You can help restore Shipbuilders Creek by making your home part of the solution to storm water pollution. Storm water runoff from roofs and driveways transports pollutants including fertilizers, herbicides, grass clippings, sediment, automotive fluids and bacteria to the Creek.

Downspout connections, rain barrels, rain gardens and streamside plantings are easy ways you can capture and reuse rainwater, or soak it into the grounds, so that it does not become storm water runoff.

rain barrellThere’s a really good opportunity for you to find out more about all of this, and make a rain barrel for your own home, coming up at the Webster Public Library.

On Tuesday July 17, the library will host a Rain Barrels and Rain Gardens Workshop beginning at 6 p.m. Any and all town residents — especially those who live in the Shipbuilders Creek watershed — are encouraged to attend.

In addition to learning about rain barrels and rain gardens, participants will build their own rain barrel which they can then take home with them and start putting to good use.

All tools and materials will be supplied at the workshop. Workshop fee is $40/rain barrel. Pre-registration is required. To do so, click here.  Residents from the watershed area will also receive a $30 gift card for plantings.

If you can’t wait until then to find out more, Sydney will be at the Joe Obbie Farmer’s Market this Saturday July 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Webster Towne Center (Kohl’s/ Target Plaza) on Holt Road.

In the meantime, you can read more about the project by clicking here, or email Sydney directly at srv7357@rit.edu.

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Community meetings scheduled this week

24 Jun

 

welcome to webster

So I came across some information mostly by chance about a few community meetings coming up that I think everyone should know about.

The first is the Town of Webster Community Meet & Greet, Monday June 25 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the community room at the Webster Public Library.

Participants will get a chance to meet their state, county and town elected officials, along with first responders and leaders of several community organizations, including the Webster Special Police, who will be recruiting new officers during the event.  It’s a good chance to learn about upcoming projects and ask questions. Bring the kids, too, because there’s going to be some crafts set up for them.

Then on Tuesday June 26, the Village of Webster will host an Open House Meeting at the Community Meeting Room, 28 W. Main Street, to discuss updates to some of the local parks, and other plans for the village.

The meeting is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

I’m planning to be at both meetings, so I hope to see you there!

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Will Ridge Road get a Country Max?

20 Jun

Representatives from Country Max, a Rochester-based garden supply and pet supply store, were on hand at the Webster Planning Board meeting Tuesday night to present their plans to build a store on the southwest corner of Ridge and Hatch roads.

The proposal includes constructing a 26,000-foot building with outdoor nursery, bag yard and parking lot on a 6.72-acre parcel (which is actually comprised of two lots, at 1165 Hatch and 711 Ridge). Two entrances will be included, one off of Ridge and the other off of Hatch.

The plan is already getting a lot of attention. About a dozen town residents attended the meeting to hear the proposal. Several of them were residents of the cul-de-sac on Bishops Lane; the large store will be built pretty much in their back yards.

After an engineer representing Country Max presented the plans, many of those in attendance approached the podium to ask questions and express their concerns. Among them were:

  • noise levels from equipment and trucks
  • buffer space between the houses and the store
  • increase in traffic on Ridge and Hatch roads
  • intrusive lighting
  • maintenance of the buffer zone (which will include a mowed area and retention ponds)
  • possible unsightliness from discarded pallets and heavy equipment behind the store

There was a lot of discussion especially about the amount of buffer space between the Bishops Lane homes and the store, and what Country Max was planning to do to maintain some of the wild area in the buffer zone and conceal the back of the store from the nearby homes.

One woman simply asked “Why?” Why does Country Max need to build a brand new store in Webster less than a mile from Thomas Landscaping, less than three miles from Lowe’s, and when there are already Country Max stores in Fairport and Ontario.

“What’s wrong with some green grass on Ridge Road instead of just commercial here and commercial there?” she asked. “The Town of Webster is becoming the Mall of Webster.”

Another resident added to that thought by wondering why they were constructing a new building rather than moving into the empty Kmart or Grossman’s.

The Country Max representatives did their best to answer the residents’ concerns.

In addition to a 50-foot town-owned strip of green space on the north side of the cul-de-sac, the store will have a 100-foot buffer, they said. The store is only open during the daytime hours (no later than 8 p.m.) and there won’t be any after-hours loading. Lighting will not be intrusive, they assured the residents; even the after-hour security lighting will be pointing down, and the parking lot lighting will be pointing mostly to the north.

As for concealing the store from the residents’ back yards, Country Max is already planning a stand of evergreens along some of the back lot line. Several people asked that those trees be extended along the entire lot line, a proposal which the Planning Board members seemed to think was reasonable.

With regards to traffic, Country Max will be working with both the State of New York (which is responsible for Ridge Road) and the Town of Webster (responsible for Hatch Road). They don’t expect the increase in traffic to be significant enough to warrant a traffic study.

Planning Board Chairman Anthony Casciani even said that during busy hours, the existing traffic light at Hatch Road, and the ability to exit onto Hatch Road would both help.

The representatives also address the “Why?” question.

“We’re actually returning to Webster,” he said.  “We’re happy to be back, part of the Webster community. We’ll try to be as likable as we can, promise not to close other businesses down, (to be a) friendly competitor. It’s a great community to be involved in.”

The planning board meeting marks just the beginning of what will probably be a pretty long process. According to the engineer, if and when Country Max receives approval, construction won’t begin until at least the fall.

The discussion will continue at another public hearing scheduled for Tuesday night Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Town Board Room in the VanIngen Court Building, 1002 Ridge Road (that’s the one in back that used to be the library).

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Community Blood Drive will be back Thursday

6 Jun
8102

This year’s raffle prize bags fill a table, awaiting donor tickets. 

If you didn’t have a chance to get out this afternoon or evening for the Webster Community Blood Drive, please consider carving out an hour of your day tomorrow to do so.

The drive will return Thursday from noon to 7 p.m. at the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive, and with it the chance to win one of more than 30 raffle prizes.

That’s what Webster does at this one-of-a-kind donation drive. Two dozen Penfield and Webster businesses have donated more than 30 raffle prizes to the cause. (Check my earlier blog for a list of all the prizes.)  Every presenting donor (which means if you show up and sign in) gets 10 raffle tickets to drop in a table filled with raffle prize bags. PLUS everyone gets a Red Cross t-shirt AND a coupon from Bruster’s for a pint of ice cream.

Like, absolutely free.

And of course, there’ll be homemade cookies and juice boxes to reward you after your donation.

Then of course of course, remember that your donation will help save up to three lives.

What’s not to love? Just drop in — there are plenty of walk-in slots available, so you’ll be in and out in about an hour.

The need, by the way, is pretty desperate right now, so please don’t put off your donation until the next drive. (‘Cause there won’t be raffles and free ice cream there, for starters.) I’m signed up for a 4:15 appointment, so maybe I’ll see you there?

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Congratulations to Brandi, the lucky donor who walked away with the drive’s first prize, a gift basket from Schutt’s. 

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WFD hosts blood drive

30 May

CaptureYour next opportunity to be a blood donor is later this week, when our Webster Volunteer Fire Department hosts a donation drive this Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Community Meeting Room, 35 South Avenue.

The drive is being co-hosted by the North East Joint Fire District and is coordinated by Webster volunteer firefighter Jacky Ingrassio. She’s encouraging a friendly competition between Webster Fire Department and West Webster Fire Department to see which can donate the most units.

But of course they’re also hoping that all eligible donors in our community will come out and “answer the call,” and give blood in honor of our everyday heroes.

This drive is especially important as the Red Cross is experiencing an urgent need for blood, a situation which will only get worse as the summer progresses.

Zoom in on the poster to see how you can make an appointment, but of course walk-ins are always welcome.

Can’t make Thursday’s drive? Stay tuned for news about next week’s bi-annual Webster Community Blood Drive. (That’s the one with the raffles.) The big white signs should be going up this weekend.

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Historic properties to be recognized at Town Board meeting

7 May
sharon pratt

Sharon Pratt with an example of the plaques awarded every year.

The Town of Webster has a rich history, reflected in part by the many historic homes and businesses which are still standing, and in great shape.

For ten years now, the Historic Properties Committee of the Webster Museum and Historical Society has worked to recognize these buildings, and the owners who have put time and effort into maintaining them so they still retain their original charm.

Every May since 2008, the committee has presented commemorative plaques to a selection of these historic homes.

The plaque program grew out of a survey of historic properties which a small group of museum volunteers tackled about 18 years ago. They were looking especially for any homes which still had enough of their historical integrity that their original owners would still recognize them.

Museum secretary Sharon Pratt was one of those volunteers.

There were “more than we ever thought,” she said. Hundreds, even. So many that it took them a few years to compile their information, going to each house in turn, filling out a form and taking photos. In 2007 they decided take all that information and propose a commemorative plaque program to the town. It would be a great way to recognize the town’s visual history, they argued, and a way for the town to say thank you to the homeowners who are caring for that history.

The town agreed. In 2008 the committee handed out its first 10 plaques, and have continued the program with the Town’s blessing every year since.

Most of the 65 plaques that have been presented so far have gone to homes in the Town of Webster. Two years ago, however, the committee decided it was time to include the village as well. The first two village properties to be recognized were Holy Trinity Church and 135 East Main Street, a home which held the village’s first hospital.

This year, the committee will be presenting six more plaques, four to Town of Webster homes, and two to village properties.

The presentation will take place on Thursday May 17 during the regular meeting of the Webster Town Board, at 7:30 p.m. at Webster Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Road.

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email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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