Albion village asked to add sidewalk on Orchard Street, assist with trees in downtown

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2018 at 1:56 pm

Photo by Tom Rivers: This photo shows Orchard Street in the Village of Albion including part of the back parking area for the Lake Country Pennysaver. A property owner next door would like to see sidewalks on the street.

ALBION – A property owner working to establish a wedding venue and also a store that sells candy and ice cream has asked the Albion Village Board to add sidewalks on Orchard Street to make the street safer for pedestrians.

Natasha Wasuck of Spencerport next spring expects to open “The Lockstone” at 160 North Main St. The building was the longtime site of Burgio Tire and then a carpet store.

Natasha and her husband John Wasuck bought a site on Orchard Street as an overflow parking lot. They would like to have a sidewalk on the street.

Sidewalks are generally the responsibility of the property owner, Village Attorney John Gavenda told Wasuck during last week’s board meeting.

The village has received grants before to add sidewalks and there is some money in the village budget for sidewalk work.

Gavenda questioned if Orchard Street was the best place for the village to spend public money for a sidewalk. He said Orchard is a low-volume street, and there are other streets with more foot and car traffic in need of sidewalks and sidewalk repairs.

He noted Linwood Avenue, and sections of Ingersoll and East State streets, for example.

Wasuck said she was bringing up the issue to see if there was interest from the village with the project.

The board didn’t take any action, but praised Wasuck for working on the buiding just north of the Erie Canal.

Village officials will see what funds are set aside for sidewalks in the budget and determine a priority system for spending the money.

In other action at last week’s meeting:

• The board approved closing a section of West Bank Street, from Liberty to Main streets on Saturday, Nov. 24. It will be closed to traffic from 10 a.m. to noon. so Gotta Dance by Miss Amy can shoot a dance video that studio owner Amy Sidari said will be a celebration of Albion.

“The community is welcome to be part of the visual,” she said. “Let’s let Albion be happy.”

• The following were accepted as members of the Albion Fire Department: Christine Bloom, Paul Urquhart and Scott Warney.

• Adam Johnson, owner of 39 Problems on Main Street, asked the board for help in getting state approval to allow new trees to be planted in front of his store. Johnson said he would pay for the trees and install them.

But he said he needs help doing the paperwork to get the state Department of Transportation permission. The board said it would assist with the effort. If the DOT allows the trees, Johnson needs to work with Jay Pahura, the DPW superintendent, in picking the types of trees.

• The board approved spending up to $100 for ads on the Orleans Hub and Lake Country Pennysaver to promote Beggars’ Night on Oct. 26. The event starts at 6 p.m. at the fire hall. Last year there were 687 kids in costume for the event, going to merchants in the downtown for candy and treats, said Lisa Stratton, president of the Albion Merchants Association.

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