HUTCHINSON HOSE PROPOSES LAND SWAP WITH TOWN

Buffalo News,   August 11, 1998  by Patrick Lakamp

       finally -- on a parcel near its fire hall, the Hutchinson Hose Company has proposed a land swap with the town.

       It'll take a while for the town to make the deal, because it doesn't own the land yet.

       The Sisters of St. Francis owns the parcel, a small piece of the 80 or so acres the religious order is negotiating to sell to the town and state governments.

       The parcel -- 300 feet wide along Sheridan Drive and 642 feet deep -- is adjacent to the fire hall.

       The fire company has sought for years to buy the land, but the religious order refused, preferring to sell the parcel as part of the larger land deal.

       Once the parcel falls into town hands, fire company officials said Monday that it would like to trade nearby land it now owns off Sheridan for the parcel.

       "We want that property badly," said Sherwood Bestry, a former Amherst town justice appearing for the fire company at a Town Board work session.

       The fire company now uses the sought-after parcel under an agreement with the religious order.

       In proposing the trade with the Town of Amherst, fire company officials said they want to preserve the site for training and recreational uses. The fire company built and maintains a ball diamond on the property.

       The parcel the fire company proposes to give to the town is smaller, about 42 feet wide along Sheridan and 642 feet deep.

       The fire company would be willing to pay money to make up the difference in the appraised values of the properties, Bestry said.

       The land the town and state expect to buy will make up the bulk of a state park that the town would operate and maintain.

       The fire company's land, if given to the town in a swap, would provide access from Sheridan to the park.

       Supervisor Susan J. Grelick said the town hasn't made any decisions yet regarding access to the Sisters of St. Francis property.

       Town officials have said they expect access routes to the property from Reist Street, Sheridan Drive and Mill Street.

       The fire company's land is big enough to build an access road through to the park, said Council Member Michael G. McGuire.

       A vacant house sits on the fire company's property.

       Bestry said the Fire Department would tear down the house before trading the property to the town.

       While negotiations still continue among town and state officials and representatives from the religious order about the town's purchase, town officials appear to look favorably on the Fire Department's proposal.

       "I would think if there's some way to accommodate you, we will," said Council Member James P. Hayes.