Avon Still In Play For “Project Wave?”

"If they chose this site, and we made it very clear, literally they could plug in and all the utilities are in the ground and there's no infrastructure needed here or at the sewage treatment plant," Rountree explained.

That could be seen as an attractive selling point since this week U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced his push for $300,000 to $500,000 in USDA funds for infrastructure improvements at the Batavia Ag-Park site.  In a letter to the USDA Sen. Schumer characterized the sewer and road upgrades he’s requesting “a critical infrastructure need in Batavia.”

The support of a U.S. Senator and the fact that dirt is actually being moved at the Batavia site appears to indicate Project Wave’s final destination may only be a formality at this point in the process.  Yet Rountree and his team are staying optimistic after an aggressive pitch that included top representatives from Barilla.

"When you can talk from the sense of someone who's gone through this, we were surprised that we didn't have the deal right after that phone call because he said there is not a promise that Livingston County makes that they do not exceed their delivery," Rountree said.

All Good News For Dairy Farmers

"I think it’s great to know Livingston County has a chance at it," Malachy Coyne of Coyne Farms in Avon said. 

Coyne Farms has been in operation since 1922 and with 1,000 cows and 2,000 acres of land they are a rather large mid-sized dairy operation.  For Coyne and his team it doesn’t matter so much where this “Project Wave” ends up, so long as it’s in the region.

"I think for the dairy industry in this area specifically it spells a good feeling about long-term stability," Coyne explained.  "To have end-product manufacturing this close, it just adds to the confidence that we can invest in our own farms long-term and be able to be in business."

Confidentiality agreements prevent the company behind this project and many local leaders from saying where exactly this process stands and who is behind it.  Sources close to the ongoing negotiations suggest that a formal announcement could still be a couple months away.