By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted 4-0 to request the state legislature to allow the village to use a 15.4-acre Greenbelt parcel near the current DPW offices for DPW storage. In exchange, they will offer a 23.8-acre adjoining parcel as Greenbelt land which is supposed to be reserved for recreational purposes.

The board has been trying to find a new storage facility for DPW bulk materials such as salt and sand. They are selling their current lot on South Main Street to St. Lawrence Soyway. They have announced plans to open a soybean processor and employ 30 to 40 people. Officials with the company in 2017 said they expected to be up and running by May 2018, but nothing has happened yet.

The proposal to move the DPW storage to Robinson Road has led to residents on adjoining streets showing up at village board meetings and getting into heated exchanges with elected officials. The residents say moving the storage area will lead to more local truck traffic and a diminished quality of life in their neighborhood.

One of the more vocal residents, Tom Seguin, was at the Tuesday meeting but did not speak during public comment.