James Pontillo and his wife Laura came home from vacation on Friday and found a notice on the old Odd Fellow's Hall in Stafford with a "Do Not Occupy" notice on the doors.
The doors had also been broken open.
He called the Sheriff's Office, and the arrival of deputies drew the attention of Stafford residents.
It's Pontillo's understanding that the town determined the building was abandoned and, therefore, condemned. He said he received no prior notice of an issue.
On Friday, a small band of Stafford residents volunteered to clean up the outside of the historic building.
"I was just kind of overwhelmed that some of the residents came up to see what's going on because the sheriffs were here because we had a break-in," Pontillo said. "They stopped and had a little talk. Before I knew it, they had put together a little work detail to come out and help me with the outside."
Asked about the status of the building, Pontillo said, "That's a good question. Because they're stating that the building has been abandoned. So I'm not sure. I haven't gotten a call from the inspection department. I haven't gotten a call from anybody, nor have any letters, regular mail, or emails. They have that information. So it's kind of interesting that they would say it's abandoned without maybe contacting me first to get some insight on the paperwork; it says that it was inspected. But I don't know how it was inspected when they don't have access. But all the doors were broken open. I'm not saying that they did it. So it's kind of interesting."
On Sunday afternoon, The Batavian emailed a series of questions about the notice and what Pontillo said about it to Supervisor Robert Clement and The Batavian has yet to receive a response.
There are apartments on the second floor of the building, and Pontillo said it's been a "few years" since his tenants were "illegally" (his word) evicted by town inspectors.
Pontillo said the town keeps frustrating his attempts to restore the building. He said when he gets a building permit, such as for a new fence or new roof, just as the work nears completion, he gets a stop work order.
He said he has the financial ability to complete the project if the town "would let me continue work."
Pontillo purchased the property at auction in 2010 for $40,000. The assessed value is $44,000. Pontillo said if he could complete the project, the assessed value would increase, meaning more revenue for the town.
"Look at all the money that was spent on attorney fees," Pontillo said. "They haven't really put that out there. But let's say it's $30,000 or $50,000. Well, if you want to waste that kind of money, they could have put half of that towards a fundraiser or something to fix the building up or donate to the historical society or something else. I mean, it's very foolish not to look at the revenue lost by not having a restaurant downstairs or a hairstyling shop; that's what we were getting ready to put on the other side. And having tenants upstairs. That's a lot of revenue from people who would be spending their money here."
Previously:
- Fences, and more, divide business neighbors in Stafford
- Pontillo needs to show some respect, and insurance, if he wants permission to go on property, owner's son says
- Owner of one of Stafford's historic buildings says neighbor preventing restoration work
- Stafford: The fence that divides a community
- Stafford ZBA to meet tonight on Pontillo fence isssue
- The Sunlight Dialogues: Stafford ZBA denies variance for too-high fence
- Stafford ZBA's denial of fence variance reversed on appeal
- Town of Stafford brings in engineer to inspect restoration of Odd Fellows Building
Photo by Howard Owens.
