MAYVILLE – A long-time problem property near Chautauqua Lake Central School will soon be cleaned up.

During the Chautauqua Town Board meeting, board members approved a bid by Lang Enterprises of Mayville to clean up 7127 Beaujean Road which is located not far from the village line.

Since the summer of 2023, neighbors have complained about that residence on Beaujean Road. There were complaints that numerous people were living on the property in outbuildings and tents, burning trash and not using proper sewers.

At least four times fires have occurred on the property and the burned out buildings remained.

Sheriff deputies have visited the residence following complaints by the neighbors.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation was also contacted.

The Chautauqua Town Code Office had written them violation notices, but no one would appear in town court.

Eventually the town board took the property owner to state Supreme Court and the owners were ordered to clean it up, but never did so.

The state Supreme Court agreed to permit the town to clean up the property and bill the owners. If the bill is not paid, it will be placed on the property taxes.

The town went out to bid to have the property cleaned up and three bids were received. Supervisor Don Emhardt said Lang Enterprises was the low bidder at $6,100. The second lowest bid was for $9,500 and the third bid was for $11,200.

The work is expected to begin in June and take 30 days to complete.

In unrelated news, town Councilman Tom Carlson was critical that no new postcards were sent out to remind town residents of the spring clean-up.

Town Clerk Rebecca Luba said the decision was made last year that they would not be sending out postcards to save money. She added that they included the information on the town website.

But Carlson was concerned that some senior citizens may not have been aware. “You do realize the spring clean up affects the older generation more than the kids. It’s more difficult for them to remember,” he said.

Carlson has also been critical that the town Highway Department no longer visits individual households, but instead requires residents to bring their trash to town barns.

In 2024, town Highway Superintendent Terry Sanden announced the change, saying that it’s safer for his employees to not visit individual households. It also cuts costs.

Carlson expressed his disagreement. “I don’t like where this is going. I’ve spoken about this before,” he said.

Luba said they’ve discussed creating magnets that residents can keep on their refrigerators year-round, since the dates don’t change.