Owner of rickety old Oakfield house agrees to tear it down
It's true, there is a house falling down in the Town of Oakfield and -- if all goes according to law -- it will only be a bad memory come Aug. 21.
Local authorities gave Thomas Capwell until then to tear down the delapidated house he owns on Fisher Road and he has agreed to do so.
His promise was made at Tuesday night's Town Council meeting after members had already voted on the matter.
Capwell arrived a half hour into the meeting. By then, the council had set the tear-down date and -- on a motion made by Councilman Michael Cianfrini seconded by Councilman Tim Kabel -- voted to have a town crew do the job at the owner's expense if the deadline is not met.
They also agreed to allow a maximum of 30 days to remove the debris.
Before voting, some council members expressed skepticism that Capwell would comply in a timely fashion. It's not like this is a new issue.
Oakfield code enforcer Tom Smith said the house was posted back in 2006 as "uninhabitable." But he also noted that it was built before some codes existed or were enforced.
According to Ritchie Kirkum Jr, the house has been in seriously bad repair for quite some time now.
"I fully intend to take it down and clean it up," Capwell told the Town Council, although he expressed concern about being given only 30 days to haul away the debris.
