FARMINGTON - After several attempts to clear a property considered an illegal junkyard on High Street, a town crew using a bucket loader and two Dumpsters went to work Tuesday morning.

Items covering the porch, driveway and yard at 202 High St. were accumulated by owner Paula Allen Nielsen, who told selectmen in November that her efforts to put used items into the hands of those who need them had snowballed.

During the November public hearing, the board determined that the collection violated the town junkyard law and was a public nuisance.

After several attempts to clear the area, on Monday a court judge gave the town the right to enter the property immediately and clear the situation. Judge Valerie Stanfill also ordered Nielsen not to accumulate any more items in the yard, porch or driveway .

"We were at an impasse in June," said Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser. "But both parties came to an understanding Monday that 'we have to do what we have to do.'"

Nielsen was cooperative on Tuesday, Kaiser said, but she could have faced an arrest during the cleanup if she had objected, according to the judge's order.

After Kaiser had sent four letters dating back to November 2006 to Nielsen regarding the condition of her yard, selectmen held a public hearing and gave her 30-days to remove the items. If the work was not done, the town planned to remove the items and charge her for the work. That was in November 2007.

Kaiser told the board that a junkyard could not be operated without a permit and that her home is also within 500-feet of the University of Maine at Farmington and within 300-feet of a neighbor. Junkyards are not permitted within 500 feet of an educational institution whether its a collection of junk or reusable items, he said.

The town adopted a junkyard and auto junkyard statutes in 1999.

Nielsen did not contest the decision with the town's board of appeals, according to court records, and signed a consent agreement with the town in December 2007 that would have given her until Feb. 14 to clear the yard.

A town crew appeared at the property March 27 for a cleanup but was denied entry onto the property, the records state, which brought the issue to court in June.

At that time, she was given a final date of July 19 to dispose of the items but she didn't meet the deadline, Kaiser said. A court hearing was also set for July 21.

"The town has tried to be reasonable," he added.

Nielsen was allowed to set up a temporary tent-like structure in the driveway to keep some furniture she wanted and other items she planned to give away, Kaiser said. But, the structure can only be temporary, maybe 30-days, he said.

"We could have taken everything," he added.

During the June hearing, the town was also given the right to tack on a special property tax to reclaim legal fees of $940.40 spent in consultation on the matter with the town attorney, Frank Underkuffler. Now, there will be additional charges for Tuesday's cleanup of the property, Kaiser said. That work included public works employees and equipment with help from some Franklin County Detention Center prisoners.