GOWANDA — Citizens of Gowanda had some very mixed reactions regarding a rumored new business coming in at the latest Gowanda Village Board meeting.

Gowanda resident and creator of the “Say no to Dollar General in Gowanda!” petition, Lisa Crassi, brought a key topic of discussion to the attention of the meeting during public comments.

“I heard the Dollar General was looking into coming to Gowanda,” Crassi stated. “I heard it from someone hearsay, who heard it from an owner who was approached. All the sudden, a survey site showed up on our property, which is another whole can of worms.”

Crassi’s concerns about property values and questioning the necessity of another “dollar-themed” store seemed to resound with many in attendance.

“The location itself would have a detrimental effect on the property values of houses around it,” Crassi stated. “I think the chosen location is very ill-planned. It’s residential. There’s seven (Dollar General) locations within 15 miles of here, so it’s not really going to bring anyone to Gowanda.”

A similar debacle with Dollar General is currently taking place in Forestville, where a petition has also been circulated in opposition of the store’s presence. Crassi’s petition, which can be found at www.change.org/p/say-no-to-dollar-general-in-gowanda, has already gained attention from many.

“There are close to 500 (signatures) and someone felt strongly enough to photocopy it and go door to door,” Crassi said of her petition.

Crassi further stated that the property in question (on Buffalo Street, between Caroline and Bader avenues) is within .4 miles of a Family Dollar already in Gowanda, among other concerns.

“The Dollar General and Family Dollar are very similar,” Crassi said.

She further alleged that Dollar General stores have a history of coming into towns they consider poor and slash their prices to try and steal business from other businesses in the community.

“It (could) steal up to 30 percent of our local stores income,” she stated.

Following Crassi’s comments, Mayor Smith thanked her for participating and for her passion in the matter, before replying to her main inquiry on the board’s opinions.

“Here’s where we (the board) are on Dollar General — technically, we’re nowhere,” Smith stated. “The village has received notice that Dollar General plans to present a completed application for potential business in the village; they have not done so yet.”

Smith went on to say that Dollar General has only shown them an intent to apply for business in Gowanda so far.

“The village is not in the position to really know anything officially, except for the fact that we were given notice of the properties they were going to survey,” Smith said, before further elaborating on the process. “Then what they do is survey site those, make offers to the homeowners … and then they bring it to the village in what’s called a completed application. (That) could take as long as seven to nine months from now.”

Owner of the property in question, Ralph Hill, then approached the mic for comment.

“I own the property that everyone says the Dollar General is coming in at,” Hill stated. “I came down here because I heard people are against me selling my property.”

Hill, who used to survey construction properties himself, then elaborated on his theories as to why Dollar General chose his property specifically.

“The reason why, I think, they’re looking at my property and my neighbor’s property is because there’s not many properties in the village that are 300-feet deep,” said Hill. “Plenty of room to put in the store and a parking lot.”

Additionally, Hill emphasized that despite being at the center of the rumors, he is relatively out of the loop when it comes to details on what store could be purchasing his property.

“The people I’m talking to still haven’t committed to me what store is coming in, all they’ve told me is that it’s a big box store that’s family-friendly,” Hill stated. “I still don’t know (if) it’s Dollar General, as far as the property goes, I really don’t know.”

The conflicting information on who is interested in Hill’s property raised some eyebrows in the room. Hill then closed his comments with his stance on the matter, before exceeding his time on the floor by addressing Crassi directly, instead of the board.

“Obviously I’m in favor of whoever is gonna move in there,” stated Hill. Following the statement by Hill, Mayor Smith again elaborated on the board’s next moves with the Dollar General.

“The village will look at all the information in their completed application and we will consider that along with any other information we receive, like your words here tonight, and your thoughts here tonight,” Smith stated. “We (the board) will collectively gather information in the next 6-9 months. I know many, many people signed the petition. We understand that whatever decision is made, some people will be on one side, some will be on another. We have to make the best decision possible, which only comes from good information. I don’t believe the board can have an opinion until we see an action plan.”

Citizen Jack Boyle made a point about the lack of businesses in Persia and possibly pushing Dollar General in that direction.

“I’d love to see it (Dollar General) go in next to the liquor store (in Persia) … because there’s hardly nothing on that side of the creek,” Boyle stated. “Cattaraugus (County) doesn’t have a gas station, there’s a lot of stuff we don’t have on that side of the creek.”

Smith thanked Boyle for his comment and noted the abundance of community participation in the matter.

“The whole reason we do this is because people care about what comes here,” Smith stated. “So I appreciate your passion and interest.”

In other business, a motion was made to give Gowanda’s volunteer firefighters cancer insurance, following a report given by Treasurer Traci Hopkins.

“Effective January 1, the village was mandated to provide cancer coverage for volunteer firefighters,” Hopkins stated. “In addition to that, I received an email afterwards stating that they’ve been notified that there’s an option where we can upgrade our policy so that it could cover all cancers, instead of just what’s required by law. So, we have a decision. It will cost the village more … another $663.”

Smith barely let Hopkins finish speaking, before providing his heartfelt response.

“Six hundred-some dollars to cover all kinds of cancers for people that volunteer their time to save people’s lives. … I’ll make that motion.”

The next meeting of the Gowanda Village Board will be Feb. 12 at 6 p.m.