The following is a timeline of actions and events related to the former Odd Fellows Building, 6177 Main Road, Stafford. The information comes from documents obtained by The Batavian with a Freedom of Information Law request to the town of Stafford for documents related to the building. We also include links to our prior coverage.
June 25, 2009, The Bataivan, Stafford Trading Post may move to new building
Aug. 30, 2010, The Batavian, A bit of Stafford's history going up for auction, and that has some residents worried
Dec. 17, 2010, James Pontillo secures the deed to 6177 Main Road, Stafford, after winning the property at auction for $40,700
In the Dec. 10, 2010, Board minutes, Chairman William VanAlst informed the board that James Pontillo had not submitted a site plan review.
March 21, 2011, Board minutes, James Pontillo submitted an application for an area variance to erect an 8-foot high fence on the west and north borders of his property.
Oct. 29, 2011, The Batavian, Fences, and more, divide business neighbors in Stafford
Aug. 8, 2016, Board minutes, “Mr. Pontillo addressed the Board Members regarding his frustration about obtaining a building permit for his property.” There was a long discussion. “The most important requirement is that he submits a complete engineering drawing plan to the town code officer.”
April 11, 2011, ZBA board minutes, the board votes to deny Pontillo an area variance for an 8-foot high fence.
May 16, 2011, ZBA board minutes, Lester Mullin, code enforcement officer informs the board that Pontillo is planning to build a two-foot high flower box and put a six-foot fence on top of the flower box. The board tells Mullin that it is a code enforcement issue.
Sept. 30, 2012, The Batavian, Reward offered for illegal dumping of garbage bags in Stafford
Nov. 16, 2013, The Batavian, Owner of one of Stafford's historic buildings says neighbor preventing restoration work
Nov 26, 2013, The Batavian, Pontillo needs to show some respect, and insurance, if he wants permission to go on property, owner's son says
Jan. 12, 2015, James Pontillow issued an order to remedy notice. Items listed include, finish roof, repair/replace fire escape, complete permenant outside surface, attach electrical meters, clean up construction debris, ensure electrical is safe, provide town an electrical inspection.
Aug. 18, 2015, The Batavian, Stafford: The fence that divides a community
Sept. 15, 2015, The Batavian, Stafford ZBA to meet tonight on Pontillo fence isssue
Sept. 16, 2015, The Batavian, The Sunlight Dialogues: Stafford ZBA denies variance for too-high fence
Nov. 20, 2015, order signed by Judge Mark J. Grisanti, Genesee County Supreme Court, reversing the Zoning Board of Appeals denial of a zoning variance for Pontillo’s 8-foot tall fence.
Nov 20, 2015, The Batavian, Stafford ZBA's denial of fence variance reversed on appeal
Feb. 7, 2016, letter from Gene Sinclair, code enforcement officer, to James Pontillo. Sinclair expresses concern that the apartments in the building are occupied: “If in fact this is true and the building is in the same condition that this office was allowed entry to previously, this would be in violation of fire and life safety codes.” Sinclair
March 22, 2016, notice and order to remedy to James Pontillo, asserting that there has been construction and alterations without permits.
April 21, 2016, Stafford Town Judge Robert A . Penepent signed a search warrant authorizing Gene Sinclair and Lester Mullen to inspect the property, including the interior.
May 17, 2016, The Batavian, Town of Stafford brings in engineer to inspect restoration of Odd Fellows Building
June 24, 2016, letter from Richard B. Henry, with Clark Patterson Lee, a consulting firm, to Lester Mullen, code enforcement officer. The letter advises the town to pursue evacuation of the building due to the threat to the safety of the occupants. CPL had previously inspected the building, which “revealed new electric, plumbing, gas-fired furnaces, and questionable fire separations.” Pontillo’s failure to provide an engineering report and obtain a building permit “puts the tenants at risk since it is unknown whether the new systems are installed property.” The letter notes Pontilllo appeared to be continuing work on the building despite a “stop work” order. “Due to the seriousness of this exposure, we strongly recommend that this matter be turned over to your attorney for immediate action. Mr. Pontillo should provide a set of plans and specifications which address fire separation, egress, accessibility, interior finishes of the B and A2 occupancies, and the exterior finishes. He will also need to supply an electrical inspection certificate.”
Sept. 12, 2016, board minutes, Mr. Pontillo is accused of doing building/renovation work on his building without obtaining building permits. He has not, as requested at the Aug. 8 meeting, submitted engineering drawings. The board voted to refer the matter to the Genesee County Supreme Court to seek eviction of the tenants in the building and bar occupancy until a certificate of occupancy is obtained.
Nov. 7, 2016, letter from James Pontillo to James Clement, town supervisor. Pontillo claims that a court ruling a fine against him was to be terminated. The Sheriff’s Office withdrew $3,000 from his bank account. He states he’s made six Freedom of Information Law requests for documents and all have been denied. He states he continues to work on the building. “I continue to keep the property safe for my tenants,” Pontillo wrote. “Remember, no one on any of the inspections found any unsafe concerns that warrant evacuation of the property.”
Nov. 11, 2016, email from Kevin Earl, town attorney, to Robert Clement, town supervisor. Earl provides a timeline of events related to the fine against James Pontillo. He states a criminal action was initiated against Pontillo and Pontillo was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $2,500. Pontillo never appealed that conviction. In a separate action, Judge Mark J. Grisanti, Genesee County Supreme Court, overturned the ZBA determination about the fence. Earl said that Pontillo’s statement that Grisanti never ruled that the fine in the criminal case was terminated.
Jan. 4, 2017, Mark Boylan, recently appointed town attorney, taking over the case against James Pontillo, notes in an email to the town supervisor that Pontillo’s attorney, Peter Sorgi, raised an issue that there was no summons and complaint was filed on the new case against Pontillo. Boylan agreed and said that if there were a court appearance on the case, Sorgi would make a motion for dismissal and likely be successful. He suggests a meeting to resolve the issues pending with code compliance.
Feb. 6, 2017, an email from Town Attorney Mark Boylan to Peter Sorgi, attorney for James Pontillo, providing a summary of a Feb. 2 meeting. The goal of the meeting was to bring the building into compliance with building codes. “It was agreed that within the next 30 days, the attorneys will confer and agree on an independent structural engineer to inspect the building and create a ‘punch list’ of repairs/renovations/modifications that will be required to bring the building into compliance.” Pontillo agreed to retain a licensed engineer to draw up and stamp engineering plans to complete the punch list items. Once approved, he would receive the necessary building permits. He will have 12 months to bring the building up to compliance.
Feb. 28, 2017, an email from Mark Boylan, town attorney, and Peter Sorgi, Pontillo’s attorney, reminded Sorgi of the prior agreement and noted that there has been no progress on the agreement. “Despite their reluctance, my clients remain receptive to resolving this outside the courtroom, though I am constantly reminded by them they have been down this same road many times before and that judicial intervention may be the only way complete your client to comply with state law.”
March 30, 2017, email from Peter Sorgi to James Pontillo informing Pontillo that the town has dropped its lawsuit but the town will re-file if he doesn’t schedule an inspection soon.
May 17, 2017, email from Mark Boylan, town attorney, was sent to the code enforcement office, town supervisor, and town clerk. “Predictably, Mr Pontillo has failed to apply for building permits. He has also failed to submit any type of engineered drawing for the building.”
June 12, 2017, letter from Diane Matla, housing quality standards inspector for PathStone, to James Pontillo, providing Pontillo with a deficiency notice and that repairs must be made within 24 hours for a named tenant. “Section 8 apartments must meet HUD’s Housing Quality standards at all times. If the repairs are not made within 60 days, housing assistance payments will be stopped, and the tenant will be asked to move. There is only a 24-hour notice for landlords to correct deficiencies related to safety and heat.
June 16, 2017, order and notice of violation to James Pontillo to correct code deficiencies, including “building is clearly unsafe,” “building is neglected,” “building presents a threat to life and safety,” the building is unfit for habitation, and the building lacks sufficient fire resistance.
On July 17, 2017, James Pontillo applied for a building permit to replace the building's roof with a metal roof.
Aug. 10, 2017, the first "not to be occupied notice" was posted on the building.
Aug. 14, 2017, Board minutes, there are ongoing violations at 6177 Main Road. An unsafe building notice was posted. A letter from the town attorney to James Pontillo outlining the building’s alleged deficiencies has been drafted. The email discusses the cost of demolition. The county will “temporarily” reimburse the town for expenses. If the property is sold at a tax lien auction, the town won't need to pay back those costs if the amount covers the cost of taxes in arrears plus expenses. But if the auction price is less than the taxes owed, the town would need to repay the cost of demolition. During a legal proceeding with the county, Pontillo was required to submit tax returns, which indicated he had “only $18,000 in income.” Boylan states, “It appears Mr. Pontillo may not have the money to defend himself in a lawsuit nor will he have any money to bring his building into compliance.” Boylan tells the town not to expect to recover costs if it does anything to remediate the code issues. The longshot solution is to convince Pontillo to deed the property to the town, then the town could demolish or make improvements in the hopes of selling the property at a price sufficient to cover the costs. He said he had no idea what the costs would be and if environmental remediation might be required if the town were to remove the building.
Aug. 28, 2017, letter from James Pontillo to Gene Sinclair, responding to a violation notice received Aug. 17. The letter references a prior violation notice and a meeting between the two. He thanked Sinclair for informing him of the garbage dumping complaints. He lists seven tasks he is undertaking, from removing back steps, detaching the back deck, removing doors to the back entrance of the basement and replacing them with block, replacing the story staircase landing, blocking front steps with railing, completing the back of building wrap as well as the east side. He also mentioned getting help with resolving an access issue with the neighboring property owner. Further, he said on July 14, he stopped in to see Sinclair, and Sinclair said he would stop by the following week for an inspection, but Pontillo said he never got any followup information. He said he was surprised that the building was placarded “not to be occupied” on Aug. 10. He says Sinclair did not make the proper notifications.
Oct. 10, 2017, letter from James Pontillo to Gene Sinclair. Pontillo questions whether Sinclair has made a real inspection and what are his real concerns. He states hell ocntinue to work on the building “despite your barrage of complaints.”
June 7, 2018, an order was issued to James Pontillo to correct code violations, including a non-weather-proof roof, a removed fire escape, a non-weather-proof coating on the building, unsecured building coverings, and no ice/snow breakers on the roof.
July 11, 2018, letter from Gene Sinclair, code enforcement officer, to James Pontillo, noting that various projects to remediate code issues at the building “have been going on for at least five years,” adding that “the building has become an eyesore in the middle of the hamlet.” He asks Pontillo to respond soon in writing with his intentions and time frame for completing the projects.
July 16, 2018, letter from Gene Sinclair, code enforcement, to James Pontillo. The permit for the roof replacement has expired, the roof hasn’t been completed and Pontillo must apply for a new permit.
Jan. 4, 2019, letter from code enforcement officers Gene Sinclair and Gerry Wood proposing a meeting to review areas of concern with code compliance.
April 29, 2019, an order to remedy was issued to James Pontillo, giving him 30 days, citing the condition of the roof, no demonstration of a working fire alarm system, no fire separation, and open lath on walls, concluding the building is unsafe, neglected, and presents a threat to life and safety.
May 9, 2018, an “Order and Notice of Violation” was sent to James Pontillo for the non-weather-proof roof, non-weather-proof coating on the building, removed fire escape, unsecured building coverings, no ice/snow breakers on the roof, and no security meters attached to the building.
Aug. 15, 2019, Gene Sinclair, code enforcement, filed a complaint against James Pontillo, stating that Pontillo has refused to comply with a 30-day demand to remediate violations on the property.
Aug 15, 2019: James Pontillo was issued an appearance ticket for alleged failure to remediate code violations. He was ordered to appear in Stafford Town Court on October 1.
Jan. 8, 2020, Email from Town Attorney Mark Boylan confirming a conversation with Peter Sorgi, the attorney for James Pontillo, that Pontillo will provide a plan to remedy violations on the property before the February court appearance, that he will then provide architectural/engineered drawings, a formal plan for the Landmark Society or other historic preservation entity to finance the project within 60 days, and that the plans will be submitted to the Stafford Planning Board for approval.
Jan. 9, 2020, email from Mark Boylan to Stafford Code Enforcement about his conversation with Peter Sorgi. He said Sorgi “recognizes he has almost no defenses to the complaints.”
Nov. 9, 2020, notice of unpaid taxes and the potential for foreclosure.
Aug. 10, 2021, letter from James Pontillo to Gerry Wood, code enforcement officer, asking that the town provide a reason as to why the building is “considered to be dangerous and unsafe.” He promised to address “overgrowth” and that the building inside and out will be cleared of debris.
June 12, 2023, Board minutes. James Pontillo complains that he has wrapped the building three or four times and he claims that the wrapping has been torn down and that sections of the fence has been removed or damaged. He had other complaints but stated he wants to cooperate and get things done and resolved amiably.
July 19, 2023, a Stafford business owner filed a complaint about bird feces. He complained that the condition of the building allowed “1000s” of birds to live inside. “The amount of feces is unbelievable. It is a health hazard … the building has been in disrepair for ten years. Please have the building repaired or demolished.”
July 1, 2024, The Batavian, Stafford condemns former Odd Fellows building, volunteers pitch in with clean up effort
