POWNAL, VT - Residents living along Barber Pond Road in Pownal, Vermont say a dilapidated home on their street is not only an eyesore, it's a health hazard.
The property sits in severe disrepair, with the roof caved in, windows broken out, and piles of trash and solid waste filling the interior. Kathy Gaffney, who lives next door to the property, says the waste is now contaminating her well-water, and rodents have begun to enter her home. Gaffney wants the State of Vermont to step in, demolish the property, and clean up the natural wetlands on which it sits.
"When the health officer came out to survey the property, he said there is no difference between this situation and putting trash out for collection," says Gaffney, who is also a member of TAP (Taxpayers Association of Pownal).
Pownal Select Board member Dale Palmer says although his agency set taxes and
enforces codes in Pownal, he can't just kick someone out of their home and
demolish the property.
"We have rules and laws we have to follow. If a person wants to keep the
property they own in disrepair, they have the right to do that. There is no law
that says they can't," says Palmer.
Gaffney has contacted Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders assured Gaffney he has
assigned someone to the case, and will send letters to Pownal's town attorney
and the head of the Agency of Natural Resources to help figure out what to do
with the property. Senator Sanders says he will get those letter out by the end
of this week.
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