BRADLEY – The owner of a Main Road property that the town has threatened to take to court told the town council last week she has done everything town officials requested to clean up her property.

For years, town officials have been at odds with Muriel Pulk about her property, which has been cleaned up several times – more than once, with the assistance of town staff – only to soon become an eyesore again. Fed up town councilors last month agreed to explore possible legal options; Town Attorney Eric Stumpfel said he believed the town had a compelling case, and that Pulk could be cited for land use violations – with fines of up to $100 a day – dating back to 2009.

That led Pulk to go to the council’s meeting last week to tell them she had done as they wished. She said family issues have sometimes made it difficult for her to keep up with the mess. She said she had picked up items lying around the yard and put them away; Code Enforcement Officer Charles Norburg agreed, saying much cleanup work had recently been done, and he did not believe any violations were still existing.

Councilors, however, noted that issues have been ongoing for years, and Pulk did nothing this time until threatened with court action, while other landowners, who have been in noncompliance with the land use ordinance, cleaned up their properties promptly when notified; they said Pulk at the least needed to communicate when notified – something she has not done in the past. Town Manager Melissa Doane added that attorney fees, at $120 an hour, have been racked up by Stumpfel as he worked on the issue. Doane did not have an exact figure for what Stumpfel’s fee would be to date.

Town officials were waiting to hear back from Stumpfel this week to decide what, if any, further action should be taken.