Resident takes issue with bank purchase

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By Matthew Saari

Just one day after successfully bidding on the former TD Bank property on Main Street, Granville town officials came under heavy scrutiny from one concerned resident.

At the Granville Town Board meeting last Thursday, supervisor Matt Hicks said the town and village were the high bidders in the recent online auction of the Main Street parcel.

“We’re the high bidders at $100,000 and are in transition to buy that building,” he said.

Immediately following the announcement, the board faced some questions from Jim Crouch, who asked:

“Wouldn’t it be better to put that $100,000 into something else, besides another building?”

Hicks initially deferred questions to the designated public comment period, at which time he explained the board’s reasoning behind participating in the auction.

The condition of the current town offices was the primary driving factor, Hicks said, adding that the town spent only half of the winning bid, splitting it with the village.

“I can give you a tour tomorrow if you like,” Hicks said, noting that over the course of the past three years the town has had to deal with mold remediation, sewer pipe issues, old out-of-code electrical wiring, a leaking roof and faulty furnaces.

“This place needs a new roof, new furnace, all-new electrical and it needs probably all-new sewer,” he said. “To me, it’s an old car – why would you put a whole bunch of money into a 15-year-old car for the same kind of money you can buy a two-year-old car?”

Hicks’ laundry list of issues did little to sway Crouch.

 

This is only a preview of the story published in the Granville Sentinel. To read the full story, pick up a print copy of this week’s paper at the newsstand or read it online here.