The former Shakers Bar building on King Street in the Brockport business district has been empty for just over two years. The bar was originally closed down for Alcohol Beverage Control law violations and was foreclosed upon by Monroe County earlier this year for back taxes in the amount of about $100,000.

According to Village Attorney Roy Heise, the county has had three inquiries into the purchase of the property by individuals wishing to open a bar, but once the prospective purchasers toured the building and saw the amount of deterioration, the interest disappeared.

Now the county has approached the Village of Brockport with a proposal – the village could purchase the property for about half the back taxes owed and the Monroe County Community Development Agency (CDA) would fund the purchase through a grant. In other words, the county itself would fund the purchase on Brockport’s behalf.

The grant has not been guaranteed by the Community Development Agency – there is a formal application process, but Brockport officials have been told the project would be highly favored. The CDA looks for projects that meet two criteria: the removal of blight and the creation of an economic benefit. Officials believe the demolition or restoration of the Shakers building would fulfill both those criteria.

Brockport would have several options regarding the building, if it assumed ownership. The favored idea at this point appears to be the demolition of the building and the construction of a municipal parking lot on the site. But Brockport trustees have instructed the village engineer to perform an inspection to determine if there is any chance that the building is salvageable for a reasonable amount of money.

The village board decided at its December 4 meeting to make a purchase offer for the property contingent upon receiving the CDA grant. The grant application must be filed by February 1, winners are announced in May and the funds generally become available in August.

Trustee Mort Wexler raised concerns about removing a property from the village tax roles. Already, approximately 70 percent of properties within the village are exempt from property taxes (the SUNY Brockport campus, churches and municipal buildings).

Other board members agreed that the tax base is a concern, but pointed out that the county-owned property, as it is now, is off the tax roles. The building had been for sale for a couple of years before the bar was closed, according to Assessor Bill Weber.

The approximate yearly village taxes on the property are $1,000. However, Police Chief Gary Zimmer said that when the bar was open, he had to schedule two extra officers, on overtime pay, every Friday and Saturday night to handle the problems that emanated from Shakers. "So the taxes covered about a month’s worth of the overtime," Heise said.

The Shakers building and the Clinton Street police station are joined at the backs of the buildings. Continued deterioration of the Shakers building poses a threat to the police station, Heise said. Recently, a roof drainage problem at the Shakers building caused several inches of water to build on the roof. Weber said that if the roof had collapsed there probably would have been enormous damage done to the police station as well.

"It is a blight on the community," Mayor Mary Ann Thorpe said, "there’s no doubt about that. No money has been put into it in many years."

The board agreed that if a reputable business does show an interest in purchasing and renovating the building, it would likely support that proposal instead of demolition.