By JIMMY LAWTON

DEKALB JUNCTION St. Lawrence County Planners this week are expected to pass site plan recommendations for a Family Dollar Store on to the DeKalb Planning Board.

Developer Lawrence Tillack, of Lawrence Construction, Canandaigua, who is heading the project, said he hopes to begin construction in July.

For years, the only shopping options in the 519-person hamlet were Dale’s Convenience Store and several antique shops. Population of the entire Town of DeKalb is 2,434.

St. Lawrence County Planner Matilda Larson, who reviewed the site plan for the new Family Dollar Store, said she saw no major issues that would delay Tillack’s plans, but recommended some small modifications to the project.

Larson said the plan includes an 8,000 square-foot store with a 40-foot driveway and 27 parking spaces, which she believed would be more than adequate to accommodate traffic. Family Dollar is a self-serve, cash-and-carry neighborhood discount store serving low- to middle-income neighborhoods at 6,800 locations from Maine to Arizona.

Tillack said the store will likely create six to eight full-time jobs and will be a healthy addition to DeKalb's tax base.

"I think it's good news for the people up there. They don't have a lot of retail operations in the area," he said.

Family Dollar stores are open seven days per week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He said the stores, which traditionally carried a variety of convenience items, now carry a wide range of groceries as well. "They sell a lot of groceries now, I think that will be good for a small community," he said.

Larson said the soil in the area could cause problems with the septic system. She said a specially designed system would be one way to resolve the issue. An alternative option would be to tie into the existing sewer system. Larson said the building’s proximity to the existing lines would make that option feasible.

“We’ve recommended they do one of these two things,” she said.

Larson said the other recommendations from the planners included replanting of vegetation, as trees will need to be removed to complete the project.

She suggested lights be pointed at a downward angle as to not disturb residents in the area.

Larson said none of the issues were particularly troubling and the store would likely be approved.

“I suspect the community of DeKalb will be excited to see a retail operation of this size open in their town.”

Tillack plans to begin work on the store in July, pending approval from the DeKalb and St. Lawrence County planning boards.

Tillack, said he develops stores for Family Dollar throughout the North Eastern region.

He expects no problems in planning process and hopes the store will be open in November.