NORTH SYRACUSE — Code enforcement issues are piling up in the village of North Syracuse. Since the resignation of Brian Johnstone in October, the village has been without a codes enforcement officer. His replacement is slated to start in mid-January, according to Mayor Gary Butterfield.
At the Dec. 8 meeting of the North Syracuse Board of Trustees, Butterfield updated the board on several ongoing codes situations. The property at 118 Grove St. needs a roof repair and other improvements, and the owner has been “nursing” the project for quite some time, Butterfield said.
East Syracuse-based developer Brolex Properties is building senior housing at 440 S. Main St. in North Syracuse and has fallen behind on its weekly Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) inspections.
“Our engineers let us know that they’re not receiving the inspection reports,” Butterfield told the Star-Review.
The village issued a stop-work order to Brolex, but Butterfield said the developer continued interior and roof work. Butterfield said he stopped by the site and spoke with a superintendent.
“He said, ‘Oh, we’re just cleaning up, we’re not working.’ Standing over his shoulder are people on the roof,” Butterfield said at the meeting.
North Syracuse has referred the Brolex matter to Clay Town Court. Butterfield said the court is expected to issue an appearance ticket to Brolex for failing to complete the required inspections.
“They did send some equipment over there to deal with the [code] deficiencies,” Butterfield told the Star-Review. “We’re not quite ready to lift the stop-work order.”
North Syracuse Department of Public Works Superintendent Ed Ware said Brolex has not completed a compaction test for an access road at the site, and North Syracuse Fire Chief Patrick Brennan said there is only one fire hydrant near the site.
“We are pro-business here in the village of North Syracuse, but we need to follow the rules,” Brennan said at the Dec. 8 meeting.
Brandon Jacobson of Brolex Properties told the Star-Review that Brolex has cleaned up some trees at the site per the village’s request and sent the current SWPPP reports last week. He said he was not aware the village planned to pursue actions in Clay Town Court.
Bridging the gap
Architect Sheila Weed is conducting inspections for the village until the new codes officer starts. Her hourly rate is $60. The village’s engineering firm, CHA, is also assisting with inspections. A North Syracuse Fire Department member is doing fire safety inspections.
“We can look to Clay and Cicero if we need help,” Butterfield said. “We’ve managed to survive so far.”
North Syracuse isn’t the only municipality struggling to fill its code enforcement job. Butterfield said there is a shortage of codes officers, and the civil service list North Syracuse reviewed only had three candidates.
Johnstone left North Syracuse for the codes job in Cicero in October. The town of Van Buren went two months without a codes enforcement officer after Casey Palmer resigned in October; Van Buren appointed Christopher Perdue to the position Dec. 7. The village of Solvay is currently without a codes officer.
