At a special noon meeting on Monday, Aug. 3, the village of Liverpool board of trustees voted in favor of granting a revocable license agreement to Constine LLC to grant use of a 15-foot strip of land on the Basin Block to install a storm drainage pipeline along a 40-foot strip of village-owned property.
Constine LLC — owned by Liverpool businessman Val Lamont — owns two prominent Basin Block properties, 110 S. Willow St., the location of the White Water Pub, and 201 First St., where the Limp Lizard Barbecue does business.
A year ago, the Village Planning Board approved Lamont’s plan to create a 49-space parking lot in the center of the Basin Block. That lot would be shared by the Limp Lizard and the White Water.
The plan also calls for the construction of an outdoor deck at the rear of the Limp Lizard building.
Lamont and Village Code Enforcement Officer Bill Reagan met at the site on July 30 to discuss the drainage situation.
Following a brief public hearing at the Aug. 3 meeting, the trustees voted to authorize Mayor Gary White to sign a construction and maintenance agreement with Constine LLC, regarding the drainage pipeline.
White asked the trustees – Christina Fadden Fitch, Nick Kochan and Jim Rosier (Dennis Hebert was absent) – if the village should consider selling its Basin Block properties.
“We should retain ownership,” Kochan said. “If other properties there find that they need drainage in the future, this line could be shared equally and publicly.”
Village attorney John Langey said he’d contact Lamont’s attorney, Bob Ventre, to move the project along.
The Basin Block is bounded by Lake Drive, First Street and South Willow Street. JGB Properties also plans a major mixed-use development along lower First Street and South Willow Street.
