By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- Village Code Enforcement Officer Lisa Newby has issued 40 building permits since October, five for commercial building projects and 35 for residential work.

In a report to the village Board of Trustees Jan. 8, Newby also noted having done 50 rental property inspections since October, and plans to do 150 more by the end of March.

Her office has also issued 22 notices to residents about code violations regarding parking on front lawns or blocking sidewalks. In the hierarchy of notices, Newby said, “The first ones are a verbal warning, then a written notice left on a vehicle,” and finally, now that she and her deputy Kenneth Alberts have been authorized to do so, they will leave tickets for repeat violators.

Newby has also been working with landlords to be certain that tenants comply with trash collection procedures, particularly concerning the use of the village-issued orange trash bags.

The purchase of the bags, which help pay for the pickup service by Casella Waste Systems in Potsdam, is vital to the removal service.

Casella has reported several violations after finding the orange bags covering up other bags lower down in the barrel in an attempt to avoid the bag fees.

“I drafted a letter and sent it to landlords” to explain the situation to them, and she says the response has been good.

“I’ve been getting calls from them asking for guidance,” she said.

Some of them have said they were not aware of the problem and have been explaining it to tenants. Some of the landlords are planning to include requirement provisions in their leases, she said.