An illegal junkyard that does business as an antique store on U.S. Route 201 in Fairfield is a public safety hazard and will be cleaned up and posted with warning signs, town officials said Tuesday.
On Sunday, after missing a court-ordered deadline to clean its premises, the junkyard was liable for a fine of $5,000 and stands to accrue an additional $150 penalty for each day it fails to comply.
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In March, Maine 201 Antiques, owned and operated by Robert Dale, of Fairfield, entered into the court-ordered agreement with the town that established a June 15 deadline for the cleanup.
Now, Town Manager Josh Reny said the town is seeking an estimate from contractors to haul the junk away. It is also consulting with an attorney to see whether the property can be posted with warning signs to keep the public away.
The enforcement measures come after 18 months of wrangling between Dale and the town.
“It is sort of the last option of the town to pursue this,” Reny said.
Much of the material in question appears to have little or no value — furniture, lawnmowers and boat motors are among the items that have been left outside with no protection over the winter.
As recently as a week ago, Dale said he planned to comply with the order. While Dale’s recent activities have somewhat reduced the amount of visible junk and made it tidier, Reny said any apparent progress is not a true representation of the site’s current condition.
Some of the items, which include weather-beaten furniture, tools and car parts, have been put inside large storage tents that Reny said are not legal. Other items, including dozens of rocking chairs and bicycles, have been moved onto the roof of the building.
Reny said he wished that the situation hadn’t come to the point where the town must actively seek enforcement of the agreement with Dale, but said the business owner left the town left little choice.
“Every step of the way he’s essentially told us what we wanted to hear and done something different, or ignored the town,” he said.
Under the March agreement with Fairfield, Dale was ordered to reimburse the town about $10,000 in legal expenses. He also agreed to fix seven fire code violations and comply with the town’s land-use ordinance, which requires that materials stored outdoors be raised off the ground and enclosed in containers.
The sprawling yard of junk has continued to attract customers — on Tuesday afternoon, an artist was buying heaps of rusted metal to use in a sculpture.
But those customers, and Dale’s employees, are risking injury every time they set foot on the property, Reny said.
“The building is packed right full – floor to ceiling and on multiple levels,” Reny said. “We’re concerned it could collapse at any time. He’s creating an absolutely huge safety issue.”
Reny said that, over years of fielding a continuous drip of complaints from members of the public, the issue with Dale has taken on added significance.
To let the junkyard slide, he said, would effectively negate the town’s ordinances.
“We had to do something,” Reny said. Otherwise, “It essentially enables people to break the law and thumb their nose at the town.”
The junk has been at the center of a series of conflicts between Dale and the Fairfield Antique Mall, a business next door that used to have a business arrangement with Dale.
Their business dealings fell apart and Dale and mall owner Wayne Gamage have traded accusations that each is trying to harm the others’ business. Gamage said Dale tried to ruin sale days by burning refuse, filling his driveway with smoke, while both Dale and Gamage have blocked access to a right-of-way for the other.
Dale says the court order was the result of efforts by Gamage to shut him down, but Gamage said he called various state and town officials because he was concerned about the health and safety threats posed by the growing mounds of junk next door.
Reny said the town’s interest in Dale’s property predate the falling out between Dale and Gamage.
Gamage said that the piles of junk have become a breeding ground for hornets and also pose other dangers. Recently, a woman browsing the junk cut her hand on exposed jagged glass at Dale’s business and came to his shop to ask for help washing and bandaging the wound.
The biggest concern, he said, is the risk of a fire that could consume the buildings on both properties.
It’s only a matter of time, Gamage said, before an array of glass or mirrors concentrates the sun’s energy in a way that will start a fire. That’s just one of many scenarios that would end in disaster, he said.
“It’s not a question of if it will happen,” Gamage said. “It’s a question of when it will happen.”
Reny agreed that the property violates the town’s fire prevention standards and that is part of the town’s interest.
Dale’s business practices have brought him under the scrutiny of several town and state officials, including the state fire marshal’s office and Maine Revenue Services, according to Reny.
Dale’s propensity for clutter also ran him afoul of the Hallowell City Council, which forced Dale to clean up yard debris in that community after a four-year court battle that ended in 2010.
Reny said the town will decide its next step after consultation with its attorney but that he expected action to begin within the next week.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287
Twitter: @hh_matt
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