Owner wants to sell house to village so parking lot can expand

The village is considering buying the property at 29 Russell St. as a way to expand an adjacent municipal parking lot.

The property is being offered by Eugenie Yeo, who noted to the Village Board on Wednesday that there already is a driveway connecting the lot to Russell Street.

“I want the village to buy it because it would be more convenient and better in the future,” Yeo said.

Village Mayor Bill Murphy said the proposal is worth considering but needs to be assessed based on plans for the parking lot, which is behind the Russell Street property.

“The village doesn’t have money just to go out and buy a house when we want to,” he said. “It’s not like we need to suddenly buy a house. If we decided to do it, it’s going to be a long process.”

Murphy said it would

take six months to a year to arrange such a deal.

“We’d have to figure out a way to raise the money for it,” he said.

The parcel at 29 Russell St. is 0.17 acres and has a market value of $138,000. The house there was built in 1900.

Yeo said she has lived in the house since 2003 and is looking to sell it because her children have completed college. She said the village, if it takes her up on the sale, could demolish the house to expand the parking lot.

Murphy assigned Village Board member Vincent Buono to review parking plans before deciding whether the purchase would benefit the village.