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AMHERST STATE PARK
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GRELICK GETS OK TO SIGN PURCHASE OFFER
FOR ST. FRANCIS SITE
Buffalo News, June 2, 1998 by Patrick Lakamp
Amherst lawmakers Monday authorized Town Supervisor Susan J. Grelick to sign a purchase offer for about 100 acres of prime land owned by the Sisters of St. Francis.
Board members voted, 7-0, to offer $5 million to the religious order and to schedule a public hearing for July 20 to consider borrowing $2.5 million to help pay for the property.
The Sisters of St. Francis, which owns the land just north of Williamsville, has indicated it prefers to sell the property to the town. Under the town's plan, the town and the state would each pay $2.5 million for the property.
Town leaders want the land for a major park.
Negotiations are now under way between town and state officials about how to pursue the purchase, said Town Attorney Phillip A. Thielman.
Because the state will provide $2.5 million from an environmental bond act, state officials have told the town the state wants title to about 68 acres of open space, including an orchard and the meadows, Thielman said.
The state would then lease the acreage to the town, Thielman added.
Under the state's plan, the town would take ownership of the sprawling four-story motherhouse and the 12 acres around it, Thielman said.
Bernadette Castro, the state's parks and recreation commissioner, said the state would like the park to be called Amherst State Park, according to Ms. Grelick.
However, Council Member James P. Hayes has suggested the town sponsor a contest among schoolchildren to name it.