Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne, D-Theresa, says a bill she sponsored to mitigate some of the concerns raised by neighbors of the village of Massena's Department of Public Works facility on Robinson Road passed the Assembly on Tuesday.

The Massena Village Board voted earlier this year to move its salt and sand piles from the site of the former DPW garage on South Main Street to the Robinson Road property.

Village officials received an offer to purchase the South Main Street property from a company that wants to build a multi-million dollar soybean processing plant on the land. Company officials have said the soybean plant would create more than 30 jobs.

The legislation will allow the village to use 15.4 acres of property currently designated as parkland for the DPW in exchange for designating 23.8 acres of neighboring village-owned property as parkland.

"Massena has been hit hard by changes in manufacturing in this country over the past three decades, and the opportunity for an agriculture-related business that could create more than 30 jobs in the community is great news for residents," Jenne said in a news release.

She said she has been in discussions about this economic development opportunity with Massena Mayor Timmy J. Currier and company officials for the past two years.

She said the mayor had shared the challenges of finding a new site for the DPW materials and asked for the assistance of state lawmakers after the village board decided to move its salt and sand storage facilities to the new site.

"I was also aware of the legitimate concerns being raised by neighbors of the village-owned property that houses the DPW garage and was pleased to work with Mayor Currier and State Sen. Joseph Griffo to take action that could mitigate some of those issues," Jenne said.

Currier said he was grateful for Assemblywoman Jenne's support in moving the legislation forward.

"Addie has worked closely with us on this legislation from the beginning, and, with her leadership in the Assembly, we are a big step closer to consolidating our DPW facilities and selling the parcel on South Main Street, which will result in new jobs," he said in the release from Jenne’s office.

Parkland alienation occurs when a municipality sells, leases or discontinues the use of municipal parkland. To use parkland for another purpose, the municipality needs the state Legislature to pass legislation authorizing the transfer, Jenne’s office said.

Jenne said the parkland alienation legislation will allow the village to store its salt and bulk materials, as well as organic materials, closer to the DPW garage and use a neighboring parcel recently purchased by the village as a buffer between the DPW storage site and the backyards of neighboring residents, her office said.

"The transfer will add more area to the existing greenbelt, allow the village to utilize the adjacent property in an effort to reduce the impact on neighborhood residents and village officials have estimated it will save an estimated 800 man-hours per year by having the storage materials at the same site as the equipment," Jenne said.

The legislation also passed the state Senate and now goes to the governor for his approval.