Ashes to ‘eyesore’: Sheridan still focused on debris cleanup
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SHERIDAN -- The Town Board is in an impossible position.
After the former Pawn Starz property at Route 20 and South Roberts Road was destroyed by a fire more than a year ago, debris from the building has remained at the site ever since.
The Town Board wants to fix the issue, but that has proven easier said than done.
Town Board member Joe White noted there has been a lot of "misinformation" spreading throughout the town regarding the town's ability to address the property. "There's a lot of people that don't understand the process that we have to go through in order to alleviate that mess," White said. "Legally, we can't just go in there and run rampant over this thing. That leaves us open to a lawsuit, and we don't want to put that on the taxpayers either."
The town has placed a lien on the property, but it is far from the first to do so. White stated that eight other liens are ahead of Sheridan in order, and the owner of the property is allegedly not planning to address any of them.
"We just can't go in there and clean it up," White said. "... It's just a legal nightmare."
The Town Board previously stated on multiple occasions that the property owner offered to sell the property to the town of Sheridan, but if the town acquired the property, the liens attached to it would also be assumed by the town. All eight other liens, in addition to that of the town's, would need to be satisfied upon the town's acquisition of the property.
The town has also fined the property owner for the mess, but the fine was not paid, and multiple demands to clean the site have been ignored.
"It's frustrating because we went to court on this ... and it doesn't get it resolved," Code Enforcement Officer James Crowell previously stated. "Then to top it off, we stand in line to collect our money with everybody else."
White described limitations the town has, such as utilizing town equipment to clean up the property, because the town would be footing the bill for one resident's mess, while the owner retains control of the property.
Because of the fire damage sustained, the debris is considered hazardous, which also adds to the difficulty of cleaning the site.
Taking the property owner to the region's Supreme Court is also an option, but the cost of doing so will be a sizable expense of taxpayer money. Outside counsel would need to be retained to pursue the matter through the Supreme Court.
"We'd have to go over the tax cap, and that would cost people in the town of Sheridan. They want to pay more taxes? I don't think so," White said. "That's what we're trying to avoid. Unfortunately, it takes a while."
During heavy winds, debris from the site has often blown onto other nearby properties and onto Route 20. The town received estimates to install a fence around the property to keep from debris being blown onto the road and neighboring properties, but the property owner has refused to allow the town on his property to install a fence.
"The bottom line is, he still has the same rights as any other citizen," White said.
The property also created headaches in the town before it burned down. The Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and the New York State Police Special Investigation Unit had the site under investigation in 2018, focused on the trafficking of narcotics and stolen property. Officers claimed to have seized narcotics and other contraband while executing a search warrant on the property. The location also previously hosted a "swingers club" known as the Badd Kitty Club.
"If we clean it up just to get rid of the eyesore, he's still going to own it. What's he going to do with that property then? We're trying to prevent another eyesore," White said.