BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Vacant and unsafe structures with garbage strewn across properties is leading to rodents entering livable, neighboring properties.

Tom Spinner, a landlord in the village of Massena, said he has encountered numerous critters in the last year, an issue that has risen due to neighboring properties that are unclean, he said.

"I take pride in my properties. I always said, from day one when I bought my first apartment building 30 years ago, I would live in any property I rent," he said.

But now one of his properties on Sycamore Street has cockroaches and mice in the middle of summer.

"I've never seen a cockroach in a single property of mine, ever. We might see a mouse or two in one now and then but that was always during the winter when they start to come inside," he said.

Spinner called on the village board to do more to combat unsafe properties and trash accumulation that has led to the infestations throughout the village.

"I've been setting traps all year and with Sycamore, I mean, you buried garbage inside these places," he said.

Mayor Greg Paquin commented that he saw a "staggering" amount of trash removed from a now boarded up property on Sycamore Street but residents said the garbage was actually boarded up inside.

Code Enforcement Officer Aaron Hardy confirmed crews can only clean up what is around the property and are not allowed to touch personal property.

"It's not an eviction. We're securing an unsafe structure," Hardy said.

Chief of Police Jason Olson also commented on the matter, saying the police department would need to get either a criminal or civil search warrant to take property.

"This would be a civil search warrant to be able to go into a building like that. That's something we should have a discussion about with our attorney," Olson said.

While a number of properties remain boarded up on Sycamore St., Mayor Greg Paquin confirmed county officials are set to take action and demolish one property on the street.

He commented that county officials signed an agreement with the village to tear down one property on the corner of Sycamore St. that has been condemned. He said that the project will hopefully be completed by the end of October, though there is no guarantee.

Paquin said three other properties on the street will also be up for tax auction later this month after the county foreclosed on them for tax delinquency.

Officials said they doubted anyone would purchase them, which would allow the village to petition the county to tear them as well.

"I'm sorry. It's frustrating but it's a process. We can talk to the animal control officer again from the town about trapping for you to get some of the rodents out of there. We'll do our best to help," Paquin said.

Trustee Ken McGowan also commented on the matter, saying it's a matter of bad neighbors bringing down neighborhoods.  

"It's not like when you and I were kids and everybody took care of their homes and you knew people. I have no idea. You know, you're doing a great job and then you get these out of towners. They don't care about us. They get their ten bucks and they're off. We never see them.

Then police and fire and code and DPW are called and we're spending our money that we should be spending somewhere else," McGowan said.

Hardy chimed in again, saying the village would likely have another property to deal with during the October board meeting as well.

"It's very likely we will be talking about two or three more properties during the October meeting again," Hardy said.