A proposal to construct a building to house a Family Dollar store on Route 20 in Richfield Springs has local residents rallying together against the project. At last week’s village board meeting, after welcoming developer Anthony Cocca to the meeting, Richfield Springs resident Joseph Spytko told the CEO from Ohio “that will be the last cordial remark you’ll hear” from anyone that evening. He continued by saying the he “was flattered you want to locate a store in Richfield, but certain sites are unsuitable.” The site being considered for the store, located east of Carey Park Drive, on the north side of Route 20, is unsuitable due to traffic, gas tank and wetlands conditions. “Let the due process work; notify everyone and listen to them,” Spytko advised. Resident Nathan Thompson pointed out that Price Chopper had to build up 10 feet before starting construction, and asked how far they would be required to build up before beginning construction. Cocca responded that they would have to build the ground up eight feet to get out of wetlands before they could start construction. “We used to be able to see the sunset but now we can’t with Price Chopper there. If we sit on our front porch we can see some nature,” responded his wife, Elizabeth Thompson. “You’re going to take away the last bit of nature we see.” Pointing out that their property on Carey Park Road is the lowest point in that area, Thompson described conditions of garbage blowing in from Price Chopper, then added that the proposed store’s dumpster and delivery will be located in the back of the store, in plain view of their one acre property, which they purchased in 2003. At the time, they were surrounded by farmland and were not told that a Price Chopper was going to be built on that farmland. When Marty Dowd, of JGB Enterprises, asked about the wetlands, Cocca said “I believe wetlands won’t be an issue. Wetlands only cover (approximately) one-tenth of the property.” Traffic issues were raised by Richfield’s town supervisor, Larry Budro, who also lives on Carey Park Road. “Did you turn left (out of Carey Park Road) to come to this meeting? It’s an accident waiting to happen. And now you’re going to add more traffic,” he asked. “This is just unacceptable, and there is no way to fix it.” “The traffic will have to be addressed by the DOT (Department of Transportation),” Mayor Lenny Butler said. Why was Family Dollar building a new building when there were so many vacancies in the community, asked Marianne Braasch. The company, which has a chain of stores throughout the country, prefers to build new stores so that all of their stores look the same, Cocca said. They did consider the empty Great American building but that did not work out. Referring to plans in their initial stages for a Dollar Tree in the Price Chopper center, Butler asked, “How can two dollar stores make it in the same town?” “It’s two different markets,” Cocca said. When Village Trustee John O’Connor was asked who owns the property, he said he did not know. Rumors that his wife, Linda, owns the property, through Curcio Realty, were confirmed by Village Clerk and Treasurer Jerry Buck. O’Connor could not be reached for comment. Residents said they are not against growth and jobs, but they just want to see important issues like traffic, landscaping, drainage and lighting issues addressed.
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