November 22nd, 2017
ARKPORT, NY – Arkport village code enforcement officer Bill Rusby told the Mayor and village trustees’ Tuesday evening that a representative for a major retailer has been in contact with him about the possibility of opening a retail business in the village. Rusby said that Staci J. Cranor, of the Broadway Group, has contacted him numerous times about the possible purchase of a large piece of land where the village storage barns are and turning that into a building site.
Two current setbacks facing them are that the property is in a flood zone and currently only designated for agriculture use. In order for things to proceed, the area would have to be rezoned as commercial and an elevated foundation constructed for the building. Village Mayor Charlie Flanders explained to Rusby that the next step should be to send it before the planning board. A major concern, mentioned by trustee John Hedges, was that if you put a large commercial building in that area on a two foot artificial foundation, how would it affect the nearby residents? Most thought that it would have a negative impact as far as water flow goes.
In other news, Flanders said that the village has had numerous complaints on their recent water billing. “The system and procedure are new,” explained Flanders, “and residents will just have to bear with us until we can get all the bugs worked out.” Flanders noted that the actual bills look different, so he cautioned residents to not be alarmed by that aspect. A discussion will be held at next month’s meeting about the water rates and debt service. An increase is expected in the near future.
And finally, new DPW head Joe Dwyer said that this will definitely be the last week of collecting leaves so if you want the village’s assistance don’t procrastinate and get those leaves to the curb.
