FARMINGTON — Selectmen gave a Town Farm Road property owner two weeks to start making improvements to his yard after deciding Tuesday that the yard is an illegal junkyard and violates state laws and local ordinances.

An inventory of vehicles at the 331 Town Farm Road property, owned by Katherine Gajdukow and Keith Melancon, was undertaken by Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser in September.

Although Kaiser notified the owners of applicable laws, the unregistered vehicles and a variety of other accumulated materials still clutter the yard, which lead to Tuesday’s hearing.

Melancon, who does auto and small mechanical repairs at his home, told the board he needed 11 months to clear the yard because snow is coming and he has taken full-time employment as a repair/maintenance person for a local fast-food restaurant where he’s on-call for repairs at all hours.

Some of the vehicles, about nine, have accumulated because people have just dropped them off for him to fix, he told the board. He’s in the process of fixing some but one car can take 80 hours of work, he said. Others are part of his Chrysler collection. They run but it’s hard to register 10 or more vehicles, he said.

He also has five to seven antique tractors that he races at the fair and half a dozen snowblowers that he takes to various homes and leaves during the winter so he can clear the customer’s yard, he said.

The board was not receptive to granting him 11 months but wanted vehicles moved and the driveway and area around the trailer cleared by their next meeting when they’ll review the progress. They suggested he call vehicle owners and give them a week to remove their vehicles.

As for cars just dropped off, “it’s as easy as calling a towing company and hauling them off,” Selectman Jon Bubier said.

“Give me the time and it will be cleaned up,” Melancon said.

The yard looks terrible and has resulted in numerous complaints, Pike told him. The small yard and proximity to the road concerned Selectman Nancy Porter while Selectman Ryan Morgan felt the items all around the skirting of the trailer raises a “huge safety issue.”

“With all this material, if there’s an emergency, how do people get in or out,” he said.

Chairman Stephan Bunker told Melacon his property is not the only property of concern in town, noting the board’s and code enforcement officer’s attempts to work with property owners.

The board also reviewed progress on a property at 466 Industry Road owned by Marc Hand and rented by James Hasty. Although some progress has been made, Selectman Dennis Pike motioned that the property must be cleaned up by their next meeting or the town would clear it and add the cost to the owner’s property taxes.

The board unanimously agreed.

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Selectmen call for clean up of Town Farm Road property in Farmington.

Selectmen call for clean up of Town Farm Road property in Farmington.

Selectmen call for clean up of Town Farm Road property in Farmington.