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Massena village moving old DPW facilities to new lots; purchase criticized

Posted 2/3/16

By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- The village will buy 36 parcels of land adjacent to the Department of Public Works. The village treasurer and a concerned citizen told the board Tuesday they should have …

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Massena village moving old DPW facilities to new lots; purchase criticized

Posted

By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The village will buy 36 parcels of land adjacent to the Department of Public Works. The village treasurer and a concerned citizen told the board Tuesday they should have given homeowners notice before moving on the deal.

Village Treasurer Julie Sharlow took the floor during public comment, outlined the board’s plan and protested it.

Of the 36 parcels in question, there are 18 on Urban Drive, 22 on East Hatfield and one large lot on Bayley Road.

The plan is to move everything from the old DPW station on South Main Street to the new lots.

Sharlow said she lives next to the plots in question and doesn’t want what’s at the old DPW near her home.

“It’s a dump,” she said of the South Main Street station. “Stored there are materials, a sandpile, the salt dump, crushed stone, a mound of plastic bags twice the size of this room filled with leaves and it’s also a snow dump.”

The room to which she referred is the board room at the Town Hall, which is large enough to accommodate more than 100 people.

“I’m a little frustrated this came across my desk this afternoon and was put on the agenda this (Tuesday) afternoon,” she said.

Village resident Shawn Gray, a former county legislator, said he agrees that the nearby residents should be given notice before the item went to a vote.

“I don’t think that’s fair to impacted residents,” Gray said. “When you do something major that’s going to affect that many homeowners, they deserve to be notified publicly.

“Why the rush, because you’re meeting again in two weeks.”

Mayor Tim Currier said the village is buying such a large amount of land in order to create a buffer zone between village equipment and debris and the nearby homes.

“We want to purchase enough … to ensure there are appropriate buffers and good neighbors,” he said.

Currier says the public will get their say prior to the village finalizing any purchase agreement.

"I fully recognize that public input is important and a vital part of our decision to move forward and the Village Board will provide plenty of opportunity for public input before proceeding. I recognize we must be good neighbors, and we will be,” he said via email the day after the meeting.

Gray also wanted to know if the board was acting so quickly because of time sensitivity.

“I don’t know if I’d term it as time sensitive. We’re in negotiations” and there is no signed purchase agreement, Currier said.

The purchase will cost the town $33,000, according to the resolution which passed unanimously.