CHARLEMONT — The Selectboard has extended Stagecoach Auto Repair’s deadline to clean up its property and remove junk vehicles by six months.
Selectboard members voted unanimously to extend the deadline issued to Stagecoach Auto Repair owner Brian Dupree to remove the more than 200 unregistered vehicles on the property. The vote came at the request of the Conservation Commission, which said Dupree was making progress on his goals, but fell behind and missed the July 1 deadline due to weather conditions this past winter and spring.
“In the last year, he’s gotten about 100 cars out, maybe even a few more. He was doing great at the beginning, getting 18 cars out a month. He was way ahead of schedule and then he just dropped off,” Conservation Commission member Thorne Palmer told the Selectboard last week. “Part of that was because the ground froze and all the cars that were buried … were frozen in the ground, and then mud season happened and he couldn’t get his heavy equipment in there.”
The Conservation Commission had previously ordered Stagecoach Auto Repair to remove 12 vehicles a month, citing concerns about their proximity to Mill Brook.
Palmer told the Selectboard that the commission was pleased with Dupree’s progress on removing the collection of junk vehicles that had accumulated on the property over several decades. He said, given the delays in progress were weather-related, the board felt it was appropriate to give the company an extension on the deadline.
“We’re asking for an extension because we gave them till July 1, and it just wasn’t enough time to get all the cars he needed to get out,” Palmer said. “He did get over 100 cars out, which is great. He’s making progress.”
Selectboard members agreed with the Conservation Commission’s assessment and said they wanted to see progress continue at the property.
“I don’t see how the town has any incentive to take away his motivation to do that,” Selectboard member Wilder Sparks said. “I would hate to discourage the man. It’s clear he’s sincerely trying and it’s a crazy amount of effort.”
“This has been going on for a long, long, long time, and this is the most activity that I have personally seen, and I think it’s a good thing and I would love to see it keep going,” Selectboard Co-Chair Jared Bellows added.
The board agreed to extend the deadline by six months and leave more detailed stipulations on how many vehicles per month must be removed up to the Conservation Commission.