by Andrew Martin

     Efforts by Jolley Associates to build a new gas station in Jeffersonville, just off Route 15 have come to an end. On Friday, January 20, it was announced that the Jeffersonville Village Board of Trustees had entered into an agreement to purchase the 4.2 acre lot from Jolley Associates for a price of $402,500. The agreement between the parties was reached after months of behind the scenes negotiations and secured with a $5,000 deposit that was comprised of donations from Jeffersonville residents.
     “The significance of this agreement cannot be overstated,” says Tammy Fenton, chair of the five-member Jeffersonville Board of Trustees. “The Jolley development would have devastated our community by disrupting an essential floodplain and forcing floodwaters farther into the Village during periods of significant rain or snowmelt, resulting in damage to property, disruption to local businesses and ultimately the loss of residents and the erosion of our community’s economic fabric.”
     The Jolley Associates had previously applied for the necessary permitting to build their proposed 16-pump gas station and convenience store complex in March of 2011. It was also around that time that the Village of Jeffersonville began developing new flood hazard bylaws in order to prohibit construction in the floodplains near the village.  
    

This is the land Jolley Associates had purchased and planned to build a gas station and convenience store on in Jeffersonville. The Jeffersonville Board of Trustees recently announced  they had entered into an agreement with Jolleys to purchase the 4.2 acre lot for a total of $402,500. In the photo much of the lot is underwater due to flooding in Jeffersonville Village. 
                                                                                      Photo courtesy of the Jeffersonville Board of Trustees

According to Fenton, the current plan is that the funds required to pay for the purchase of the lot will come from grants and fundraising efforts and not through an increase in taxes. The Village of Jeffersonville has roughly eight months to close on the purchase of the lot, and during that time the Trustees and citizens involved will be exploring different fundraising options. Fenton explained that the trustees will be warning a public meeting regarding the topic in the near future, and that the purchase would likely be a major item discussed at the annual village meeting in May.
     “Our goal is to use no taxpayer money, and to fund the purchase through grants and private donations. Did we want a lower price? Certainly,” commented Fenton, “But this is a fair price…ultimately we felt we could not afford not to buy out Jolley…We based our decision to buy on two words: flood mitigation. That’s what this is about. We are not opposed to development – in fact we want development, just not in the floodplains.”
     Fenton went on to explain that another reason the Trustees decided to buy was the fact that they felt they could easily incur $400,000 or more in legal expenses trying to fight the project and come out with nothing to show for their efforts.
     Jolley Associates first purchased the land, which was formerly part of the Bell-Gates Lumber Corp. on Route 15, in May of 2010 for a price of $350,000. The company also spent tens of thousands of dollars in engineering studies, design work, and legal fees over the next year and a half. The price of $402,500 being paid by the  Trustees for the lot will cover some of the expenses incurred by Jolley Associates, but not all.
Once the company’s plan to build a gas station and convenience store became known, it faced a great deal of opposition from residents of the village. The strong opposition and lengthy process involved with acquiring the necessary permits may have been a factor in the decision by Jolley Associates to approach the Trustees in mid-August with an offer to scrap their plans to develop and sell the lot back to the Village. One condition of the offer from the company was that it not be publicized until an agreement was finally reached, a request which would allow the company to continue pursuing its permits for development in case the Trustees decided not to purchase the lot.
     “We wanted to let residents know what was going on, but our hands were tied,” says Fenton. “Now that the ink has dried [on the purchase agreement], we’re able to go public.”
     The Village has set up a separate bank account for contributions from residents meant to help fund the purchase of the lot. The Trustees are also seeking guidance from local land trusts and other organizations about how to proceed. And while the focus for now is on raising the necessary funds to finalize the purchase, there is already some talk of how a Village-owned space could be utilized in the future. Area residents have suggested a number of ideas for how the Jolley parcel might be used, including green space for farmers’ markets, sports fields, community concerts and festivals, and even a skateboard park with features that could divert water during inevitable periods of flooding.
     “In conjunction with other improvements planned for the Village, eventually we’ll be looking at ways the land can be used to bring more people to our great community and support our local economy,” says Fenton. “Ultimately it will be up to the residents to decide. They’re the ones who are making all of this possible.”