Tag: ken bates

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RVER Group Reimagines Houghton

Students want more to do in Houghton. Each class that has passed through these grounds has made the same complaint, year after year: “There’s nowhere to go, nothing to do.” The RVER Group knows this. They are working to change it.

Courtesy of Keystone Associates, Architects, Engineers and Surveyors, LLC, Binghamton, NYRVER, pronounced “river”, stands for Regional Ventures in Economic Revitalization. This board of community members started off as the Houghton Group, but soon expanded out of the college and into the whole of the town. Said Phyllis Gaerte, Chair of the Houghton Group, “Our concerted effort to include our local, county, and state elected officials in our discussions has been instrumental in us getting before the right people that can offer support and help us move forward.  We have developed a great working relationship with our county development and planning team. In the past few months, we have had the opportunity to meet with our Congressman, Tom Reed, and Senator, Catherine Young, as well as our county legislators.”

The idea for a group that would facilitate economic growth in Houghton was spurred on by the construction of the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex (KPAC). The building is the largest of its kind in the Southern Tier. With a capacity of 6,000, it presents opportunities to host live artists, trade shows, and athletic events that Houghton never previously had the means to hold.

These opportunities create traffic. Where there is traffic, there needs to be businesses ready to feed, clothe, and entertain the people coming into town. This is where the RVER Group sees potential for commercial growth in Houghton. “The work of the RVER Group has the potential to transform both the look of Main Street in Houghton and at the same time increase access to retail services, products, and other conveniences in Houghton. Students, parents, children, and local residents all stand to benefit from our efforts,” said Professor Ken Bates. Bates is one member of the RVER Group who is also a part of the Houghton College faculty.

Having only been established a year ago, the Group has already made some progress in town. They brought Tracy’s Delights on board from Tracy’s original location in Rushford. They also supported her and her husband, John, to add a full floral service to their store. They met with Addie’s Ice Cream, when Addie came to them, interested in adding a location in Houghton. The Group helped them in locating a space, providing work teams to help with renovations, and advertising in Houghton. This past Summer, the Group also worked to bring the Genesee Rapids to town. Although students weren’t here to see the Rapids, the Group had a great success in drawing crowds and advertising through their presence.

While the RVER Group does have some long-term goals in mind, they are working to accomplish four in the short-term. Said Bates, “The four top priorities of the RVER Group today are funding and then building the new town park; designing, funding, and constructing a new streetscape look to Main Street; building a convenience store/gas station in town; and locating a national chain fast food store in Houghton”

The Group plans to build a town park behind the firehall parking lot. The park would be adjacent to the field of dreams and have access to the Genesee River. The plans came about from Caneadea’s desire to build a park in their town, but not having the land to facilitate it. Houghton has agreed to give a plot of land to the town if they get a grant from the state government to build it. The Group hopes to see the park become a year-round attraction. Connecting with the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail that stretches from Rochester to just south of Mt. Morris, the park shows potential for hiking, skiing, and snowshoe trails.

A key part of the revitalization of Houghton is making the area along Route 19 more attractive and easily accessible as a place to spend time. This involves improving several aspects of the streetscape. Plans have been drawn up by Keystone Associates that would replace current lighting with more and better lamp posts that use LED light bulbs, expand the sidewalk through the whole commercial area, install bike racks and flower plantings, and add stamped-concrete crosswalks. The crosswalks are being installed in hopes to encourage motorists to slow down and make the town safer to walk through. The Group has also looked into adorning the street with seasonal decorations to make the town more inviting.

The biggest public project the RVER Group is working on is bringing a gas station and convenience store into town. This is a very important part of the group’s overall plan to improve commerce. As people come into Houghton for big events, having a local gas station will be vital to facilitating traffic. While the gas station will be useful for students, the convenience store provides an opportunity to buy snacks and necessities at all times of the day unlike the Campus Store, and without the trip to Fillmore Dollar General.

There are two central obstacles to establishing a gas station in town. The first is that because of our close proximity to the Genesee River, there is a lot of regulation by the state on underground gas tanks. The second is finding a gas company whose convenience store is willing to forfeit its liquor license as is the will of the College. The Group has ideas on how to overcome both of these in time.

The fourth major project of the RVER Group is currently under lock and key. They are looking to bring a national fast food chain into the town, but are not currently saying with which franchise they are talking.

The future looks bright for the RVER Group’s work in Houghton. They have been impressed with the community’s willingness to lend a hand in all their endeavors. “I am encouraged by the growth we have seen in just over a year and want to thank our team of volunteers who are committed to seeing the momentum continue,” said Gaerte. Their investment of time and work has already begun to improve the community. That’s their one true goal: improve the community and everyone prospers – financially, as well as communally.

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Anticipated 3 Bums Pizza to Open Soon in Houghton

With Addie’s Ice Cream now officially open for business, the limited dining opportunities available around Houghton have increased, but there’s still something missing from the campus. With hungry expectations still to be met and questions that need to be answered, people are wondering, why is the building across from Subway still empty? Where is the anticipated 3 Bums Pizza?

3 BumsAt the end of last semester, students were told that 3 Bums Pizza would be open upon returning this Fall. Currently, 3 Bums is still in the process of transitioning from their previous location in Belfast, to their new building formerly occupied by the Allegany Harvest Cooperative Market. With the original projected opening date of June 1, and mid-September quickly approaching, people are wondering what is accounting for the delay.

Owner of 3 Bums Pizza, Jake Hillman, stated, “While we had hoped that 3 Bums Pizza in Houghton would open quite some time ago, several issues have delayed our move. We’ve been working on some pretty extensive renovations the last several weeks, and as the project has progressed, those renovations have become even more extensive. Ever-changing building and fire codes make turning an empty space into a restaurant quite a task.”

Director of Community Relations, Phyllis Gaerte, said, “We are very disappointed at the delay, but in Jake’s defense, they ran into a number of tricky complications with state restaurant codes. Transforming an old convenience store presents unforeseeable challenges that 3 Bums is rising to meet.”

Hillman tells locals, “The good news is that we are in the home stretch of construction and will be open in the coming weeks.”

Soon 3 Bums will open its doors to students and the surrounding area. Business Professor Ken Bates states, “I predict Houghton’s relationship with 3 Bums to be mutually beneficial. It’s hard to imagine a college town without a pizza delivery business. Turning that around, it’s hard to imagine a pizza business in a college town that doesn’t have a big upside in terms of business success.”

3 Bums will also potentially provide opportunities for students, “3 Bums has employed Houghton students part-time in the past and now that they’re in town that will make this even easier.” Bates said. “We in the business department will be delighted to work with Jake in setting up internships with our business students to whatever degree that will work with his business model. Those discussions have yet to happen, but I look forward to welcoming Jake to the Houghton RVER Group meetings and working together to help his business succeed”

In the following weeks, Houghton can expect to see 3 Bums Pizza renovated and open for business. Hillman assures customers that “No one is more disappointed than we are that our new pizza place wasn’t up and running by the time students came back for the fall semester. We are committed to Houghton for the long term and are quite confident that taking the necessary time to make sure everything is done, and done right.”

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Collegiate Baseball Team “Genesee Rapids” to Debut Next Summer

Upcoming efforts to transform incoming traffic to the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex into a positive, continual impact on Houghton may have another attraction to accommodate: that of a collegiate summer baseball team.

FURapidThe idea for such a team was formed by Houghton graduate Ralph Kerr along with the input of the other members in the Houghton Group, an organization working to bring new business and development to the Houghton area with the new traffic brought in by the athletic complex. Originally inspired by his grandson’s position on the Niagara Power team last summer, Kerr began to consider the possibility of bringing such a team to the Allegany County area. “When I saw not just him but other young men from all over the country having an opportunity to grow as Christians and using baseball as a vehicle to do that, I was really thinking it would be terrific if we could replicate that same thing in Houghton where we already have such a beautiful facility that is just going to sit vacant all summer long,” said Kerr.

After convening a group of potential supporters of a new team and presenting his idea to them, community interest in the project became evident. Kerr was also eventually able to gain support from the Houghton Group in finding support from local businesses, including advertising on the field during games, and from members of the team board, who typically make a financial contribution to the team and participate in its management. Further support comes from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), of which the team is an affiliate, which is able to funnel donations to the team through its website.

One of the aspects of the team which drew interest was its potential to bring traffic to Houghton during the summer, a time during which many faculty and students leave the area, leaving a void of activity. “The first thing is simply people coming to their games from out of town. It becomes summer evening fun, wholesome entertainment. Around here, that’s pretty hard to come by. There’s not much going on here during the summertime,” said Ken Bates, a business professor at Houghton, a Houghton Group member, and a team board member. Adding that team members would most likely be staying in the town during practices and home games, Bates cited this as another source of economic activity in the area. Phyllis Gaerte, director of community relations at Houghton College and a Houghton Group member, spoke similarly. “More people in town to support small business is important, and having small businesses to provide for the needs of people who come to town is important,” she said.

As for the team itself, which has been named the Genesee Rapids, the search for skilled players has already begun. The team was awarded a franchise three months ago by the New York Collegiate Baseball League, a league which already comprises twelve other teams from the state of New York. The League was initially hesitant to take on another team, but after a representative toured the athletic field on the college campus, an agreement was reached. “[He] saw our field, walked around the grounds, and got quite excited about the possibility. …he said something to the effect that this field was on par with some of the fields in the major leagues,” related Bates.

Players on teams in the league must be registered college students by the time they play summer games, so most members are typically sophomores or juniors. Describing the recruitment process, Kerr explained, “The League receives applications from players from all over the country and they forward those to us … [and] they fill out a formal application that includes something about their testimony and where they are in their relationship with God as well as the position they’d like to play, a little bit about how well they play, and then we have references from their college coach and then some other references as well.” Kerr explained that the motivation to play on an intercollegiate team isn’t just for entertainment purposes. Some players have intentions of continuing to play even after college. “In 2010, 38 of the players from the league were actually offered major league baseball contracts,” Kerr said.

With recruitment already underway, those involved with the Genesee Rapids have a vision for what the final team will look like. “We are recruiting from all over the United States and Canada, and so we expect to have 30 players on the team. We may have some players from the college team, but we’re limited to four,” said Kerr. Also aiming to achieve ministry through baseball, it is hoped that team members will be Christians or have some foundation or expressed interest in exploring the Christian faith. “What we’re looking for at a minimum is young men who aren’t afraid to have people talk about Christ with them,” said Kerr. “If we can witness to a young man who’s willing to be witnessed to, I’m all for that.”

So far, the creation of the team has continued with positive results. “Just today we offered 12 contracts to our first 12 recruits, so hopefully within the next couple of weeks we’ll be announcing some of our first signees,” said Kerr. Community outlook appears positive as well. “I feel this will be an asset to the community and a catalyst for economic development and community revitalization projects we’re working on right now for the hamlet of Houghton,” said Gaerte.