Town Board monitoring cleanup of property

The Belgium Town Board this month said it is pleased with the progress a couple has made to clean up their property and would like to see the work continue.

A Feb. 4 review of Richard and Laurie Miske’s conditional use permit for the property at 2186 Hwy. A referenced several junked cars.

Town Chairman Tom Winker visited the property several weeks ago.

“There’s a whole lot less cars than where we had started,” he said. “I think everybody realizes the price of steel isn’t the best now, but I think the long term goal of this body, and I think you too, is to get the vast majority of it cleaned up.”

Richard Miske said a “nightmare” occurred at the junkyard. Many of the vehicles don’t have titles and are considered abandoned, but somebody showed up two years later with a title for one and demanded money from the junkyard. Miske said they paid $1,000 to “shut him up.”

The Miskes’ conditional use permit was granted in 1995 for a landscape and repair business. It notes a limit of 15 vehicles parked outside at one time.

Supr. Tom Bichler requested the permit be reviewed again in six months.

“He had cleaned up. He has made improvements,” Bichler said.

Miske agreed to the six-month review.