By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — The Olean Common Council agreed Tuesday to a 40-year payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement for a new 60-unit apartment complex to be located behind a redeveloped Olean Center Mall.
People Inc., the Buffalo-based developer of the three-story apartment complex, will pay an initial $19,185 to the city with a 2% annual increase over the 40 years.
The apartment building will feature 50 one-bedroom apartments and 10 two-bedroom units, said Bryan Smith of People Inc. “We’re thrilled about the project being located in downtown Olean,” he told aldermen.
Smith said at the end of 40 years, People Inc. will be paying $41,531 a year for the PILOT.
The housing was originally proposed for seniors, but a market study by People Inc. showed a greater need for workforce housing.
The council vote was 5-0, with Council President John Crawford, D-Ward 5 and Alderman David Anastasia, D-Ward 7, absent. Alderman Vernon Robinson Jr., I-Ward 6, served as acting council president.
The housing component is separate from Rochester developer Angelo Ingrassia’s plans for $40 million mixed-use redevelopment of the mall into the Olean Towne Center, which got approval from the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency and the City of Olean Planning Board in the past week.
The developer is slated to receive up to $5.3 million in tax breaks to help revive the aging mall, which is largely vacant except for anchor stores JCPenney and Kohl’s.
The first work at Olean Towne Center is expected to be demolition of most of the former Bon-Ton store this fall. The work is designed to create a new, more inviting entrance to the mall.
Mayor Bill Aiello and the Common Council have expressed interest in possibly locating the city’s Youth and Recreation Department and Senior Services at Olean Towne Center. The city is awaiting the results of a study by Plywood Studios of Allegany looking at relocating the two city departments to the mall.
Aldermen also directed Water and Sewer Department Director Brad Kemp to get quotes from companies to clean and inspect two 33-foot tall reservoir structures on Mount Hermann with an underwater robot, and to install mixers and new valves.
Kemp recommended cleaning sediment from the reservoirs with a robot which could take video as it inspected the reservoirs. The cost was slightly higher than using a diver to do the cleaning, but the video will be very helpful in documenting the reservoir inspection.
Kemp was also authorized to proceed with requests for proposals to replace pumps and valves in city 37/38 well off East River Road. Only one of three pumps is currently in use.
It is less expensive to use well water, which does not require the same level of treatment as water from Olean Creek, Kemp said.
Aldermen authorized transfer of $254,800 in the Sewer Department for the Olean Creek levee and sewer line reconstruction project.
Also transferred was $4,881 from the contingency fund to pay city costs of cleanup week.
The mayor was authorized to execute a grant agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration for reconstruction design funds for the Cattaraugus County-Olean Airport’s rotating beacon. The FAA will pay 90% of the costs.
Aiello was authorized to sign another FAA agreement for funding for airport lighting and signage. No estimate of the total costs of the projects was discussed.
Acting on a recommendation from Assemblyman Joseph Giglio, aldermen authorized the mayor to apply for a $75,000 grant from the New York State Dormitory Authority toward replacement of the roof at the city-owned Fannie E. Bartlett House on Laurens Street.
During the public comment period, Salamanca resident Glenn Wahl again asked city officials to consider his recommendations on a sewage study to help eliminate sewage overflows into the Allegheny River.
The Seneca Nation last month filed a notice of claim against the city for failing to control the sewage overflows despite a more than 20-year-old state Department of Environmental Conservation order.
