Village joins with town and county to clean up 41 Main after fire earlier this year

by Dan McClelland

The village board hosted a public hearing at the start of the regular May village board meeting where village leaders were seeking comments on the unsafe and dangerous condition of 41 Main Street.

The corner lot at Main and Pine has stood filled with tons of burned and half-burned wood and debris from the dramatic blaze several months ago of the building that once housed Tony’s Barber Shop.

Mayor Mary Fontana said that the clean-up of the property falls under Local Law No. 3 of 2001 which authorizes the clean-up of the parcel, with shared services from the Town of Tupper Lake and Franklin County.

She said the entire cost would be assessed to the taxes on the property.

“So that is our plan at this point. I know we’ve all talked about the need to clean up that lot at length.” She said she has spoken to Town Supervisor Rickey Dattola and County Legislator Nedd Sparks and both are supportive of the clean-up.

She asked for a motion to proceed and one came from Trustee Leon LeBlanc and Deputy Mayor Eric Shaheen. The motion to proceed passed in a roll call voice vote.

“We are hoping to start by the end of May, but we have three crews to mobilize, she answered in response to a question from Trustee Shaheen about when the work could start.

She said she called Village DPW Supervisor Bob DeGrace, who will reach out to Highway Superintendent Bill Dechene about coordinating the work ahead by their crews. She also said she has a call into the county highway department to determine what it could bring to the joint effort.

“Franklin County is coming down to help?” asked a very surprised Free Press publisher.

“It is!” confirmed the mayor. “That’s huge for the three governments to come together,” , saying the collective local government effort “will really mitigate many of the costs” of hauling all that debris away and disposing of it.

She said the debris has to be hauled to the county landfill in the north end of the county and the tipping fees there will represent the major share of the costs.

The town, village and county crews will haul the materials to the landfill, she noted.

In tipping fee costs ahead, she estimated between $10,000 and $15,000. “It could be less!” For the same work to be done by a private hauler or private resident the cost would easily be between $30,000 and $50,000. “So we think this is the right move for the community!”

All costs of the clean-up will be assessed to the taxes on that lot. It has been reported that back taxes on that parcel are at least $80,000.

The county, she said, has taken possession of that parcel already for the back taxes owed. “It is expected to be auctioned off for sale in October,” the mayor said she has been told.

County officials will notify anyone who bids on it that “they should expect a hefty tax bill from the village for those tipping fees at the county landfill.”

“If anyone was going to bid on the property with the debris still on site, we think it would dramatically drive down any bid amount, and then any new owner would be responsible for a $30,000 to $50,000 clean-up. So we think this is the best path forward.

“I spoke to County Treasurer Fran Perry and she told me she will disclose to bidders before the bidding of the clean up costs” that are now accrued to the property.

The assessment of the parcel will not be assessed until 2026, so if you buy it at the auction, your next tax bill will be hefty,” said Trustee Eric Shaheen, who has bid on many properties at county auctions in the past.

“Still a lot less than having to pay (for the clean-up) out of pocket!” added the mayor.

Earlier in the meeting Code Enforcement Officer Pete Edwards said that after the fire at 41 Main Street, “now it is a dangerous pile of wood with nails, jagged metal and other hazards. So I cited the owner for its unsafe and dangerous condition earlier and the 30-day window is up. So the next step is this public hearing,” as part of the due process provisions.

“Our hope is it can be cleaned up by the village, town and hopefully the county.