BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Village of Massena Code Enforcement officials have shut down the property located at 18 Park Avenue after deeming it unfit for human occupancy during a recent fire code inspection.

Code Enforcement Officer Aaron Hardy confirmed the department was able to conduct a fire inspection in accordance with village regulations for rental properties last week, leading to the property being shut down.

Hardy told North Country This Week the property was found to be in violation of a number of State Fire Code and local property codes, including violations for unsafe living conditions and unsafe devices in the home, among others.

According to State Fire Code, unsafe devices can range from unsafe furnaces and boilers, to faulty electrical wiring, unsafe stairs and various other safety hazards.

Hardy confirmed the property is now boarded up in accordance with State Fire Code regulations and all habitants, both those who were in a lease agreement with the property owner and those who were not, have since left.

Occupants were issued a 72-hour notice following the failed inspection to gather their personal belongings and to vacate the premises in accordance with state law, Hardy said.

Village of Massena Code Enforcement was assisted by Village of Massena Police in securing the structure and ensuring no occupants remained after the 72-hour deadline passed.

Village officials will proceed forward with legal action against the property owner, Whitney Verkade, in an effort to permanently shut down and eventually take control of the property, according to Village Mayor Greg Paquin.

Verkade, who lives in California, also owns a number of other properties throughout the village under his company High Cap NY LLC. Those properties include 138 and 140 Liberty Avenue, 3 and 5 Cedar Street, 72, 74,76,80, 82, 84,86,88, 90, 92, 94, 96 Woodlawn Avenue and 19 Douglas Road.

Verkade also purchased the Cascade Inn property in Canton earlier this year.

Paquin informed over three dozen residents of the village's intentions at the village board's most recent meeting on Aug. 20.

"I wish, guys, I wish I could snap my fingers and make it better. I really do. But it's going to take some time and it has to play out in the courts," Paquin said.

Paquin confirmed the board is moving forward with nuisance property litigation after Verkade failed to live up to a previous settlement agreement.

"So, the village board is going to start a nuisance property litigation. "We came to an agreement with the owner. He promised certain things in the settlement agreement, and for roughly three months it worked. It's not working anymore. We are going to reinstitute the litigation against the owner for a nuisance property. And in doing that, it's a process. We're going through the courts. So anyone that's dealt with the courts, you know it's going to take some time in the end," Paquin said.

Paquin said if the village were successful the village would assume control of the property and shut it down.

"Then it would be boarded up, and then at some point, unfortunately, as (Trustee) Ken (McGowan) has pointed out before, it would fall on the taxpayers of the village to tear it down. But ultimately, that's the end goal, and there's not going to be a settlement. This is going to the end of it, win or lose," Paquin said.

While the village has taken steps in recent weeks to shut down the property, many of the over three dozen residents who attended in-person and online said the action should have come sooner.

Public sex, drugs, vandalism and violent crime were all discussed during the August board meeting, with residents calling on the village board to condemn the property and remove the habitants that were described by many as "squatters."

Others called the property a "nuisance" to the community due to an absentee landlord.

Village officials have taken action in recent months to crack down on such properties, including with the creation of a landlord registry that will allow Code Enforcement to conduct annual fire inspections of properties to ensure they are up to code.

Village officials have also received outside assistance from St. Lawrence County officials to move forward to address unsafe properties at 31, 33 Pine Street and 21 Tamarack Street.

Code Enforcement Officer Walter Bean informed village trustees that the property owner of  those properties failed to meet the deadline for an “Order to Remedy.”

The properties, owned by Down Family Revocable Trust, are in an advanced state of disrepair, according to Bean. He said they may constitute a danger to nearby properties and to the public’s safety due to the proximity of the structures to the sidewalk and street.

“It’s unknown if the place is occupied. I tried to establish that. We’ve got no contact from the owners. The owner of the property has yet to reach out to our office or remedy any of the issues,” Bean said.

Village trustees said they also planned to establish a committee to complete an "extensive" review of the village code to "give it more teeth."

"Our code was written about 20 to 30 years ago, where if someone didn't mow their lawn, we'd send a letter and the next day it was mowed. That doesn't happen. Our code needs to be overhauled, in the sense that it needs to be overhauled in terms of what we can do punitively towards a repeat offender status," Paquin said.

Paquin said Trustee Ken McGowan and Deputy Mayor Chad Simpson would be working with a committee that would likely include local landlords as well to find a common solution to the existing village code.

"I wish I could snap my fingers and take possession of that property today. But I promise you, I don't want a board with that type of power. You don't want this board to have that power. You don't want a future board to have that power. There's a process, and we're going to follow all I can ask everybody else is, continue to be vigilant. Continue to be safe. If there's a problem, call the police department," Paquin said.