There has been considerable thought given to the responses to this article about the future of The Wiss Hotel. And the January 23rd Village Board meeting was informative. I applaud The Batavian for reporting on it fully and fairly. Le Roy needs a means for people living in Le Roy to stay fully informed about issues that could affect their quality of life, and their wallets.
I have a few reactions to what was said at the Village Board meeting 1/23/13. Of foremost concern is the safety of residents and businesses adjoining the vacant Wiss. I realize that it has deteriorated in recent years. It needs roof repairs, and the Fire Chief Tom Wood has decided that the Fire Department will not go into the building if there is a fire. But, I remember not too long ago, our voting to buy a new fire truck with extension ladders that could fight a fire if it were to occur by extending over a building such as The Wiss, as it could over any tall buildings here. And, we have plenty of other equipment in the Fire Department to come up alongside any of the windows of The Wiss and fight a fire through them. I wonder, what in The Wiss, a building devoid of electricity, natural gas, or any other service to it, would make it a danger as far as a fire is concerned in the next few months.
Also, I remember that The Wiss burned quite a lot on the inside in the 1990s when it was full of occupants. I assume the Fire Department went inside then, rather than possibly fighting the fire from outside, and maybe that’s why the fire didn’t affect the neighbors. But the fact that it did burn and did not spread might suggest that it won’t spread if something happens now. And we have had other buildings on Main Street burn to the ground in past years when we had much less technology or expertise to fight them, and it appears those fires were contained to one building per fire. Maybe they were built with enough of a firewall to prevent a fire from spreading. Maybe a hole can be drilled into the wall between The Wiss and the adjoining building to find out what is there. Knowing how buildings and houses used to be constructed, it’s probably a few feet thick of multiple layers of brick is between The Wiss and the adjoining building. .
I applaud Bill Farmer for his continuing work to resurrect The Creekside Inn. But, consider this, that building burned out completely from the inside, and some outside and it did do some damage to the neighboring building, but how much? Maybe any amount is too much, if it is your property that is next door, but the potential for this exists everywhere. The fire that destroyed The Creekside was likely caused by the fact that it was occupied, not because it wasn’t. There was a restaurant there, and tenants there. The Wiss is in a perfect location for the Le Roy Police and the Le Roy Fire Department, being right across the street, to watch over it no matter what decision the Village Board makes regarding it. We and its neighbors allow The Creekside to remain empty, and are patient with the work that needs to be done there. Why wouldn’t we be equally patient with the Le Roy LLC who wants to pay us $10,000 for The Wiss and put $200,000 for starters into this building?
Another issue is the cost if the Village takes it upon itself to hire a firm to tear it down. Do our Village residents really want to pay $146,000 to $212,000, even $280,000 to accomplish this, knowing that asbestos and contamination remediation are likely to need doing, which could increase the cost even more? If the cost were kept to $212,000 or $280,000, I’d be surprised. And I think anyone knows that taxes will go up to pay for it. This property, if torn down by the Village, should continue as Village owned property, if this is the fate of The Wiss. If the land is worth $250,000 as one business man suggests, than there is no harm in holding onto it indefinitely to insure the Village doesn’t lose its shirt as it has so many times, as one commenter refers to the Village’s “profit seeking.” And as for others looking to the Village to vote for their interests, and their private speculation on The Wiss property, while their ideas may be good ones, there is no other plan for The Wiss property on the table, flushed out as Rick Hauser and the Le Roy LLC has (Hauser a proven developer and rehabilitator of Main Streets in small towns such as Perry). Only the Le Roy LLC has a plan. No other plan for the property has been made public.
As for the issue of Walgreen’s because it replaced privately owned houses and buildings, this wasn’t an issue the Village could fight. Did the Village Board have an approved comprehensive plan saying that this development couldn’t occur as it did? While, I can understand and appreciate a previous group who developed a comprehensive plan for Le Roy, and the frustration the members must feel that it wasn’t enacted, the fact is what happened with Walgreen’s was a private decision made lawfully. The Wiss, however, is owned by the Village and therefore what happens there is a public decision. Secondly, the money offered the owners of the land where Walgreen’s is was so great, there was no competing by anyone else, with an idea to preserve any of what was there. Even if any of it had historic preservation status, this would not have prevented what happened there. It was a foregone conclusion that this was going to happen, and it’s a tribute to some of the individuals who have fond memories of what was there, who can go on, shop at Walgreen’s and not only be optimistic about Le Roy’s future, but work at it ensuring Le Roy has a future.
But, I do have a question about numbers shared with us by the Village Board at Wednesday’s meeting. The taxes seem lacking that were reported to be paid to the Village by Walgreen’s if they amount to only $9,400 a year. I thought that the Village taxes are being paid by the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and are much more than $9,400. That I believe was printed in The Daily News. Yet it is true, that Walgreen’s provides jobs, and brings in sales tax as well, which filters back to us from the County. I was in favor of Walgreen’s even though my family had a lot of history with The Masonic Temple which was torn down to make room for it.
It was inevitable that Walgreen’s establish opposite The Wiss, but it isn’t inevitable as to what happens to The Wiss. The Wiss is on an opposite corner, establishing the beginning of a block of stores that define the north side of Main Street. It is likely not historic in a preservation sense, but a lot of history has gone down there. And there is a registered LLC that is willing to buy the building and has verbal commitments of $200,000 to get started, the willingness to fix the roof and make the building safe in the short-term (more quickly than a demolition company can be hired and the job done). The LLC will prevent the Village having to spend our tax dollars to tear it down. The revitalization of The Creekside started with a new roof, and so can The Wiss. I urge residents to speak up about this rather than write a larger check for their Village taxes when that time comes once again.
The Village Board should accept the Le Roy LLC's offer because, if for no other reason, their offer will cost the Village taxpayer the least (nothing at all in fact). We expect the Village Board to make decisions that are logical in every other area. I would hope we wouldn't expect any less of them here. Good synopsis Jennifer.