{"id":87259,"date":"2017-12-07T11:53:55","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T16:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=87259"},"modified":"2017-12-07T11:53:55","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T16:53:55","slug":"codes-violation-hearing-ends-in-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=87259","title":{"rendered":"Codes violation hearing ends in threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sullivan Town Council upholds CEO Ball\u2019s order to remedy<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Martha E. Conway<\/em><\/p>\n

(Sullivan \u2013 120617) A contentious hearing on a codes violation case on Fyler Road ended in threats last night at the Sullivan Town Council meeting. Code Enforcement Officer Larry Ball presented a detailed timeline of complaints against Jeffrey Mulcahy, owner of the three-family home that was the subject of the hearing, including visits to the property and correspondence to Jeffrey Mulcahy trying to remedy the problem.<\/p>\n

Code enforcement presents complaints from public<\/em><\/p>\n

Ball said he received a complaint of a berm on the property, which contained garbage, debris and rubbish with items with sharp objects sticking out of it. He said when he went to the property to assess the complaint, he observed and photographed exposed garbage, rubbish and concrete after erosion of the dirt on top exposed the hard fill and trash beneath.<\/p>\n

Ball said Mulcahy started cleaning it up, and he was allowed to convert the property into a three-family property upon complying with all related property and fire codes.<\/p>\n

Ball said he received another neighbor complaint about the berm and returned to the property. He photographed and wrote a citation based on his observations during that visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn order to remedy was served on the property,\u201d Ball said. \u201cAccording to town code, it has to be sent by regular and certified mail. The certified mail postcard was returned unclaimed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty days later, Ball returned and took more photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the debris remained in place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another complaint came in that Mulcahy was now dumping soil next to the pile; he said it did not contain debris. The following day, Ball sent out another order to remedy, providing two options: to remove the rubbish and debris within five days or request in writing to the town supervisor a hearing of the Town Council.<\/p>\n

Ball said he posted the order on the property, took more photos and handed a copy to Mulcahy, who had arrived at the scene. He then mailed copies via regular and certified mail.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter five days, it becomes a cease and desist order,\u201d Ball said. \u201cHe came in and requested a hearing before the town board.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sullivan Town Council agreed to hear the case Wednesday, Dec. 6, Ball said, and Mulcahy requested to move the date to Jan. 3.<\/p>\n

According to Ball, Supervisor John M. Becker denied the request, and a letter of denial was sent via regular and certified mail.<\/p>\n

Property owner responds<\/em><\/p>\n

Mulcahy presented the board with photos showing he had removed the debris and said it was recycled concrete. He said the state Department of Environmental Conservation did not specify a size limit on the chunks of concrete that could be used, but he pulled out anything with sharp protrusions or rebar. He said he then covered it, but the work isn\u2019t done because he had limited time and works out of state.<\/p>\n

He said he asked for the hearing to be moved because he wanted legal representation, and his attorney wasn\u2019t available tonight.<\/p>\n

Mulcahy said his commitment to the property is evidenced by the fact that he paid $97,000 for the property in 2005, and it\u2019s assessed value has risen nearly 80 percent since then.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything I see, I clean up,\u201d Mulcahy said. \u201cI live two houses down. My sister and step-sister live across the street. My dad has the farm behind the property.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he wouldn\u2019t do anything to negatively impact any of their properties.<\/p>\n

According to Mulcahy, the debris is not on the tenants\u2019 side of the berm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at tile with a drain,\u201d Becker said. \u201cI want to know what the state took down that was dumped here. Is there asbestos in these tiles?\u201d<\/p>\n

Becker said there was no way of knowing what could be leaching into the surrounding soils.<\/p>\n

Mulcahy referred to one of the complainants\u2019 spouses as a pedophile; Becker told him to be very careful, as the meeting was being recorded and members of the press and public were present. Mulcahy said he didn\u2019t care if he was being recorded. Becker said he might find himself facing a slander or libel suit if he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not your attorney,\u201d said Town attorney John Langey, \u201cbut anyone trucking in impacted product needs to be very, very careful doing so. These could be petroleum-contaminated materials, and it would become what the DEC defines as a spill. When your people get rid of it, you\u2019ll want to be very careful because now you\u2019re in the [waste handling] stream, and there could be DEC involvement. Then your real headaches will begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulcahy said he is going to cover it with dirt and trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you get it all out?\u201d Langey asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I let anyone dump on my property, I\u2019d know what was going on, and I\u2019d do my homework,\u201d Becker said.<\/p>\n

Mulcahy said he planned to bring in soil and horse manure in the spring in which to plant greenery.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Becker said. \u201cThen you have a [consolidated animal feeding operation] situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything goes over the property line, it\u2019s trespassing,\u201d Langey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spread manure on the fields all the time,\u201d Mulcahy said. \u201cWhy can\u2019t I use it here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a different situation,\u201d Becker said. \u201cYou can\u2019t spread manure in a residential area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not residential, it\u2019s ag,\u201d Mulcahy said.<\/p>\n

Neighbors discuss impacts<\/em><\/p>\n

Tami LaRosa, one of the neighbors who complained, said they did so out of concerns for health and safety reasons, as well as the well-being of a child who lives on the property with the berm.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did remove some concrete, but he covered it,\u201d LaRosa said. \u201cIt\u2019s blocking water drainage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulcahy said it wasn\u2019t his property, and Becker told him he had his turn and to let LaRosa speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s blocking the flow of water, and the berm is probably 15 feet high now,\u201d LaRosa said. \u201cThere are animals and snakes and everything you can think of crawling around back there now. It\u2019s an eyesore, and people driving by are slowing down to look at it now. My sump pump\u2019s been running non-stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaRosa went on to say she felt the dumping feels like retaliation for reporting that the house was flaling down.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy landlord, when you call him, he comes right over and takes care of things,\u201d she said. \u201cThat house was wide open so animals could get in, the roof was falling in and there were children living there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becker said water flow issues fall under riparian law, and her landlord\u2019s attorney will have to take care of that. LaRosa said he is working on that.<\/p>\n

Neighbor Valerie Brown said the concrete and construction debris beneath the soil came from a gas station\/car wash operation at the corner of Kirkville and Fly roads in Onondaga County; she said she followed the trucks to find out the source.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the person who got arrested for standing behind the truck trying to stop it from dumping more,\u201d Brown said. \u201cEverything he\u2019s told you is a falsification. That debris in there could be poisonous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulcahy said the only thing he had to add is that LaRosa\u2019s rental has had flooding going back to 1993 because the foundation was dug too deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you put any dirt on top of debris?\u201d asked Councilman Jeff Martin. \u201cWhy are you burying it before we resolved this here today?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulcahy said the majority of it is in the driveway right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was stacked so high, I don\u2019t see how he could have gotten everything out of there,\u201d LaRosa said.<\/p>\n

Boards asks questions, renders decision<\/em><\/p>\n

Langey said the town council\u2019s job was to determine whether it would uphold Ball\u2019s order or determine it to be unnecessary.<\/p>\n

The board adjourned briefly for advice of counsel.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou went down the road to whom?\u201d asked Councilman Kerry Ranger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a friend running an excavator for the [state Department of Transportation], and he was bringing it in for $20 a load,\u201d Mulcahy said. \u201cI got 50 loads free from Ricelli.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranger said he didn\u2019t know if it was legal to haul the debris across the county line.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour story is not coming together for me,\u201d said Councilman John Brzuszkiewicz. \u201cThe timeline is not coming together for me. I feel like the timing of your covering it up is questionable, and I have concerns about what is in the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel there is malice and spite against your neighbors,\u201d said Councilman Thomas Kopp. \u201cYou are entitled to a berm, but it should be constructed according to code.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was okay until you tried to cover it up today,\u201d Martin said. \u201cIt appears you are trying to circumvent the process here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought if you could see it in the driveway,\u201d Mulcahy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drove by there tonight, and I guarantee it\u2019s not out of there,\u201d Ball said. \u201cFive days after service, [the order to remedy] became a cease-and-desist order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, because I requested a hearing,\u201d Mulcahy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m hearing the town board saying they want it all out of there,\u201d Becker said, adding that he wants him to remove the asphalt, concrete, and all construction debris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m appealing this,\u201d Mulcahy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fine,\u201d Becker said.<\/p>\n

Ball said there are berms on three sides of the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncilman Kopp summed it up best when he used the word \u2018malice,\u2019\u201d said Becker. \u201cThe neighbors are now under duress because of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sullivan Town Council voted unanimously to affirm the order to remedy, giving Mulcahy 30 days to remove all materials. If he does not complete the work within the time allotted, the town will contract with someone to get it done.<\/p>\n

The cost would go on Mulcahy\u2019s tax bill for the property.<\/p>\n

Fire Inspector Bill Pindle said whether materials are going in or out of the property, clearance needs to be maintained around the fire hydrant adjacent to the property.<\/p>\n

Ernest Hotaling of Marsh Mill Road asked if the town had to go through the same process when it recently demolished a structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cErnie, we\u2019re not talking about that right now,\u201d Becker said, visibly irritated. \u201cI\u2019ll come back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becker said construction and demolition debris has to be disposed of in conjunction with Madison County\u2019s flow control law; Langey said enforcement was out of their purview.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarry, can you go through that berm with a rod or something to make sure there\u2019s nothing under it?\u201d Becker asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no way to determine it\u2019s all out of there,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do our best to make sure it is,\u201d Langey said.<\/p>\n

Mulcahy moved to the rear of the meeting room as the board finished the paperwork on the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming after you, Bill\u201d he said to Pindle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Pindle asked. \u201cAre you threatening me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to get you,\u201d Mulcahy said, then swept his arm across the front of the room where the board was sitting, \u201cand I\u2019m going to get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you threatening me?\u201d Pindle repeated.<\/p>\n

Mulcahy repeated the threat, and Pindle stood up and announced he was calling the state police.\u00a0Mulcahy again repeated the threats as Pindle walked past him and exited the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cErnie, the neighbors were looking at graffiti of a middle finger staring at them every day,\u201d Becker said, unaware of what was transpiring at the back of the room, \u201cso we took care of it and knocked it in so they wouldn\u2019t have to look at it, and that\u2019s the end of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other business<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Becker said there is a measure under consideration at the county to purchase a piece of property for a park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in Delphi Falls, and a donor is offering $750,000 toward the purchase to turn it into a park,\u201d Becker said. \u201cThe county would have to put up $150,000. There are two falls and I think 60 acres. Planning wants to put a trail around it. It\u2019s going to be more than $150,000 when all is said and done, but $150,000 isn\u2019t chump change.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Becker, the parcel has been privately held for 75 or 80 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d have to make it safe, there\u2019s a house there, and I\u2019ve back up and said no because of the ongoing costs,\u201d Becker said. \u201c[Cazenovia Town Supervisor] Bill [Zupan] is in favor of it, I think, and I told him Cazenovia should own it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becker said the town would be putting something up on its website because he\u2019d like public input on the matter.<\/p>\n

The Sullivan Town Council also<\/em><\/p>\n