ELDRED — The Town Board of Highland voted to acquire property located at 564 Route 55 in Eldred on January 14, with hopes of demolishing the current structure and creating eight more municipal …
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ELDRED — The Town Board of Highland voted to acquire property located at 564 Route 55 in Eldred on January 14, with hopes of demolishing the current structure and creating eight more municipal parking spaces in the future. The property was recently appraised at $85,000, however the town acquired it for $78,000 via bid process.
The town is now in a 30-day holding period on the property and is set to close in February. The purchase was made using a portion of the remaining ARPA funds, which were allocated to towns across America by the Federal Government in 2021.
“[With this purchase] we are able to control the narrative in the look and feel of our town,” Town Supervisor John Pizzolato said, who also went on to note his hopes in not requiring the use of town taxpayer dollars to complete the demolition and construction on the property, noting the board would “seek out every opportunity” for external funding, such as RUST grants.
Pizzolato also mentioned that members of the town board will join him at the New York Association of Towns meeting in New York City in February, where they plan to learn of and act on more funding opportunities to assist with this project.
There is “no rush to act” on transforming the property, according to the Supervisor. The property is Section XIII excempt, which ensures that the town will need not pay property taxes while it is under their ownership. Additionally, the Supervisor said that the building that sits on the property is in a “stable state.”
Looking years down the line, the Supervisor said that the town’s Comprehensive Plan makes a note to create more municipal parking, with this being in line with that idea.
“We feel this [purchase] is a good investment,” Pizzolato said.
After being led through the State Environmental Quality Review, or SEQR, by legal counsel Javid Afzali, the board gave their negative declaration, in which little to no potential negative environmental impacts regarding of the purchase and its intents were noted.
In response to the town’s request for comment on the idea of purchasing the property for its intended purpose of creating more parking, Commissioner of the Department of Public Works (DPW) of Sullivan County, Edward McAndrew, said in a letter that the “eight spaces are more than doable.”
The Commissioner also noted his approval was in part due to the property’s proximity to the controlled intersection where Brook Road and Eldred-Yulan Road meet.
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