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Post-Standard,
The (Syracuse, NY) December 20, 2001
THE TOWN AUTHORIZED NEGOTIATIONS TO BUY THE VACANT STORE PROPERTY. Sara Errington Staff writer Plans to buy and tear down the
former grocery store in Borodino took on new urgency when the
Spafford town board considered what would happen if the building caught
fire.
"If the wind and conditions are just right, we would lose a lot of
buildings in the village of Borodino," Supervisor Gordon Ireland
said at a Dec. 13 town board meeting. If a purchase agreement is drawn up, the board will have to approve
the purchase.
Borodino Fire Chief Dave Miller said his department has
pre-planned what to do if the store burns and how to protect nearby
structures.
The board also voted to accept a $90,000 county Community
Development grant, which, Ireland said, can't be used to purchase the
former store.
That grant is earmarked for a community center to be built once
enough property is assembled, but Ireland said he wants to focus on
getting the store building and then consider exactly what will be built.
"Before we spend our money, we ought to have a specific plan of
action, and we don't have that," Councilor Ronald Bourque said.
Ireland said that the grant application mentioned a specific goal:
Building a community center.
The town was unlikely to get money just to tear down an old
building, he said.
A community center could include a building, or it could include
recreational facilities, such as a softball field, basketball courts,
horseshoe courts, a picnic table or many other options.
Ireland told the 15 people who attended the meeting that there will
be plenty of opportunity for public input before anything is built on the
site.
Several residents said a store was needed in the area to serve the
current and future population.
"Everybody would like to have a store there, but under the present
circumstances, I don't see that happening," Ireland said.
The building is in poor condition and has little parking.
Ireland said he is working to get more money for the project, but
said it won't happen fast.
"For a small town like Spafford, the political reality is that
you're not going to get a great deal (of money.) It's going to go to
Skaneateles or Syracuse, or to one of the bigger towns," he said.
The best approach, he suggested, is to try to get the store, then
work on acquiring Frank Marcheterre's property east of the store, then
think about what to build.
"You've got to attack the problem one parcel at a time," he
said. Copyright, 2001, The
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