By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — In light of significant progress in the cleanup of the property at a 383 Water St., the Town Council last night granted property owner Stephen Ulwick an extension of time to finish the job. Ulwick’s property is the subject of a Cease-and-Desist order issued by Building inspector Benjamin DeChristoforo to remove all unregistered motor vehicles from the property.

Last night, Ulwick’s attorney Brian McGrail detailed the progress that has been made since the last extension of time was granted in February.

The 4.5-acre site has been strewn with as many as 20 junk motor vehicles and other assorted debris for many years and has been the source of frustration and consternation for neighbors.

On Nov. 3, 2021, Building Inspector Benjamin DeChristoforo issued the Cease-and-Desist Order under Section 154-8 of the Town Code to property owner Stephen Ulwick of 383 Water St. related to the storage of “abandoned, dismantled, inoperative, wrecked, junked and/or unregistered motor vehicles on a lot for more than 10 days.”

In January, through his attorney Brian McGrail, Ulwick appealed to the Town Council for an extension of time to comply with the Cease-and-Desist Order. The Town Council has been extending the time in increments based on progress updates provided by McGrail.

Meanwhile, a local building contractor and a towing company stepped forward and offered their services at minimal cost to help in the removal of the remaining unregistered vehicles. The Surianello family, owners of Heritage Builders, along with Joe Ardagna of Howe’s Towing have provided their heavy equipment to facilitate the removal of the junk vehicles, some of which are on remote parts of the property and need to be brought to an area where they can be accessed and removed.

In addition, 128 Plumbing and Heating has been donating its services to make Ulwick’s home habitable again. The home was condemned early in the process and Ulwick has been staying at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel at town expense. Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio said that Ulwick should be able to return to the home on April 7 once all the work is complete.

At last night’s meeting, McGrail detailed the work that has been accomplished on the property since the last progress report.

He noted that, while the Order pertains only to the unregistered motor vehicles, the Town Council had requested that other junk on the site also be removed. To that end, he reported, debris has been collected and set aside into large piles awaiting removal.

Regarding the junk motor vehicles, he said that 13 have been pulled and removed from the site since the last meeting. These include several very large trucks that could only be dragged or carried out by Suraniello’s large excavator because their wheels were locked. Those vehicles included a bulldozer, four dump trucks, a Chevy Blazer, a Dodge SUV, an old soil sifter and two old steamroller paving machines.

McGrail used a PowerPoint presentation to show the formidable effort involved in removing the large motor vehicles and pieces of equipment, some of which were buried under piles of other junk and debris. The images showed the exacting process of getting these vehicles onto flatbed trucks to be taken to recycling or junk facilities.

McGrail said that he has personally been on site every day, as has the property owner, Ulwick. McGrail said that Ulwick, a skilled equipment operator, has played an active role in the cleanup operation.

McGrail confirmed that 128 Plumbing and Heating has been donating its services to restore the electrical, plumbing and heating in the home so that Ulwick can return.

McGrail said that the remaining junk vehicles on the site include three pickup trucks, a box van and a dump truck. He requested additional time to reach and remove the remaining vehicles in a safe manner. One, he said was is such a position that a crane will be needed to get it out. He said that he spoke to local developer Ray Lawton, who agreed to donate one of his cranes and an operator to do the job.

“I think we’ve made some great progress,” McGrail said. He requested an extension of time until the Town Council’s April 25 meeting. At that time, he said, he hoped to be able to announce the successful completion of the cleanup.

Town Councilor Edward Dombroski observed that the photos that McGrail displayed don’t even begin to do justice to the massive effort that has gone into the cleanup.

Keeping the long-suffering neighbors in mind, Dombroski said that everyone wants to see the best possible end result. He said that he had no issues with granting the requested extension as long as Ulwick continues to demonstrate his willingness to go above and beyond just removing the vehicles and keeps cleaning up the other junk on the property as well.

McGrail agreed to that. “I think we’ve shown that commitment,” he said.

The Town Council voted to extend the time to comply with the Cease-and-Desist Order to April 25, at which point McGrail will provide another update.