ARKWRIGHT — The site of the former Arkwright Grange Hall could soon change hands. If the town has its way, it will soon belong to the Chautauqua County Land Bank.

The Town of Arkwright initially made plans to bid on the site at an upcoming tax foreclosure auction, with authorization from the Town Board to spend up to $15,000 to secure control of the site. However, the Town is first asking the Chautauqua County Land Bank to take over the site.

The Town Board passed a resolution to support the Land Bank in securing the site of the former Arkwright Grange Hall. The “derelict” building was defined as a “long-standing hazard” on Route 83. The Land Bank offered assistance in demolition of the structure in exchange for all of the Town of Arkwright’s available tipping fees.

Supervisor Brian McAvoy said because the Town’s plate is full with its own building projects, he would prefer the Land Bank to handle the former Arkwright Grange Hall site if it is willing to. If the Land Bank were to acquire the property, it would assume the duties of cleaning up the site to be marketed to potential buyers at a later date.

“Anything is better than what’s there now,” McAvoy said.

The Town was considering a public park at the site once it is demolished and cleaned up. The priority, however, was the cleanup of the site, which has been in disrepair for many years. McAvoy stated he would prefer more public input on plans if the Town were to assume control of the site.

If the Land Bank does not secure the site, McAvoy stated the Town is still interested in bidding on the site as a “Plan B” option. “We don’t want to have it go into the hands of somebody who is not going to clean it up,” McAvoy said.

Also at the recent meeting, two residents urged the Town Board to seek solutions regarding out of control dogs. McAvoy differentiated between dogs that pose a threat to others — which the Town would not likely be the authority to handle — and dogs that cause a nuisance, which the Town is seeking to address. In the instance of the two residents who spoke at the meeting, the matter was more serious than the Town would address with warnings or fines under a nuisance dog law.

“We want Arkwright to be a nice place to live,” McAvoy said. “… We can’t have the quality of life impacted like this. I don’t want it to stay like this, and it might take longer than you guys like, but we’ll work on it.”

The Town Clerk’s office issued seven dog licenses in the month of July. The Town Court collected a total of $412.50 in July. A building permit for a pole barn on Straight Road was approved, while three properties in violation responded after being issued a warning letter.

The Town Board also approved a renewal of its municipal insurance. A resolution was also passed to authorize the Town to increase its budget to account for the increase in CHIPS money allocated to the Town by the State. Various budget transfers were also approved.