By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- The village will soon own 13 and 13 1/2 Main St., the empty lot where Tony's Pizza used to stand. The Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted 3-0-1 to buy the lot at $4,000, …
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By ANDY GARDNER
MASSENA -- The village will soon own 13 and 13 1/2 Main St., the empty lot where Tony's Pizza used to stand.
The Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted 3-0-1 to buy the lot at $4,000, plus a $310 recording fee to the St. Lawrence County clerk's office.
Mayor Tim Currier said they are eyeing the lot to "increase parking in the downtown core."
He cited two ongoing renovation projects - the former Slavin's building, which is being converted to mixed use commercial-residential space, and the old mill at 38 Water St. That is being converted to a brewpub with two upstairs apartments.
The vote came with one abstention from Trustee Albert Deshaies. He also abstained from voting on a separate motion to hire a firm to fix blighted conditions at the former Massena School of Business, 22-24 Main St.
"Too much money involved we don't have definite answers for. I've got to do more research before I vote. Then you take a look at the taxpayers ... what's going to happen to our tax rate. As someone who's sat here for a long time, this is an older community we've got to hold the line on taxes," Deshaies said when asked why he abstained from the two motions.
The former Tony's Pizza, which was a downtown mainstay for several decades, was destroyed in a 2008 fire.