Richmondville got more details on plans to put a scrap yard at the old Kivort Steel in Warnerville at a public hearing on the project Thursday.
Sale of the 16-acre site by the Kivort family to Judith Mills of Long Island hinges on the property getting a junk yard permit, said Joanne Crum, who was representing Ms. Mills.
Ms. Mills plans to put in a scrap yard and recycling center along with a small retail business and eventually, a pet rescue facility, but there's no point in moving ahead unless the Town of Richmondville agrees to a junk yard permit, Ms. Crum said.
Access would be from West Fulton Road-something that alarmed neighbors, who weren't aware the spot is zoned for commercial use and who pointed out the intersection is already dangerous enough.
Others, like Alton Makely, said allowing a scrap yard there would jeopardize his sale of property he owns at Route 7 and I-88.
"It's the best corner between Schenectady and Oneonta," he said, "and we have some people very interested in cutting a deal with us.
"Stan [Kivort] and his dad did a great job when they had it, but this is 65 to 70 years later and I don't think we should have a junkyard on Route 7."
Ms. Crum countered that there's "an entire cemetery and several feet" between the two properties.
"If it's all that valuable, it's for sale," she said. "Buy it and be done with it."
Wayne Pfohl, who owns ZMS Structures at the State Police barracks, said in an email to the town board that he looked at the Kivort site for his own business, but found the buildings unsafe and in disrepair and too near the creek.
"It's taken several years to tidy up Route 7," he wrote. "Do we really want a tower of scrap metal [there]?"
Robert Kivort, president of Kivort Steel, located in Waterford since 1999, took exception to Mr. Pfohl's criticism.
"I just drove past that place and it didn't look that great," he said of ZMS.
Mr. Kivort also blasted a letter from Bob Nied of the Center for Sustainable Rural Communities sent to the board linking the site to a Superfund site in Southington, Connecticut as "conjecture and innuendo" and containing very few facts.
In his letter, Mr. Nied wrote that the Environmental Protection Agency has identified Kivort Steel is a "potentially responsible party for generating some portion of the waste found at the Superfund site."
He also pointed to "historical practices at the Kivort site that may have resulted in contamination."
Codes Enforcement Officer Don Clarke said he asked Mr. Nied to document his claims, but has received nothing.
Neighbor Mike Spenello said he's not opposed to the project, but wants more information and Dottie Smith, who also lives in Warnerville, spoke in favor of it.
"We need free enterprise in this county," she said. "As long as it's done properly, we need it."
Ms. Crum said the scrap yard would be fenced and the recycling of things like washers and dryers--which could include crushing-would be done inside in a Morton building.
The project is expected to create three to five fulltime jobs.
Historically, the site was used as a scrap yard as long ago as the late 1920s and '30s, Ms. Crum said.
Supervisor Dick Lape said the town is still gathering information on the site and the project and so the public hearing will remain open until at least the town's May meeting.