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Canton school district voters to be asked Tuesday to approve tearing down two houses near Banford school for parking

Posted 5/15/17

CANTON -- Voters in the Canton Central School District during Tuesday’s budget vote will be asked to decide on a plan to buy two houses, which will be demolished to make room for parking. A budget …

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Canton school district voters to be asked Tuesday to approve tearing down two houses near Banford school for parking

Posted

CANTON -- Voters in the Canton Central School District during Tuesday’s budget vote will be asked to decide on a plan to buy two houses, which will be demolished to make room for parking.

A budget newsletter from Canton Central says there are major parking issues, which the 60 or more new spaces could help alleviate.

Canton Central Superintendent Bill Gregory said the owners of 77 and 79 State Street are willing to sell, but the voters must first approve spending the money. One of the properties is going for $106,000 and the other at $140,000. Those are fair market value prices, the newsletter says.[img_assist|nid=198697|title=Vehicles at a recent Canton Central event are parked on lawns and in parking-prohibited spaces due to a lack of space. Photo courtesy of Canton Central School District. |desc=|link=none|align=right|width=250|height=188]

“The contingency is the voters have to approve it. If they don’t approve it, the offers will be null and void,” Gregory said.

“The daily scene at Banford Elementary School: fire lanes blocked, vehicles double and triple parked, children interspersed -- accidents literally waiting to happen,” the newsletter says.

The process would still need to clear a couple more hurdles, if the voters approve the expenditure.

“A number of other things that have to happen. There would have to be another vote for a capital project … we wouldn’t go to referendum on that … until the fall, probably,” Gregory said.

The newsletter says the project could be eligible for up to 85 percent reimbursement from the state.

The budget newsletter is at goo.gl/N8wLnY.