Compound Cleanup Continues

BUTTE — When consistent squatters at the property known as ‘the compound’ on South Bodenburg Loop had become enough of a persistent problem to warrant its own meeting with authorities and public officials, members of Butte stood for their community. Concerned neighbors began volunteering to donate time, equipment, labor, and eventually one man said he wanted to pitch in to pay legal fees in order to evict squatters and rid the property of the years of accumulated junk and trash.

“It really is a good feeling to know that there’s other people who have a sense of pride in where they live,” said Mike Morrow.

Morrow began collecting donations to pay Neil Ainesworth, the attorney for Mason Henry, who owns the problem property with Raymond Close. With the Writ of Assistance from Ainesworth, the squatters were evicted on Nov. 15. While officially, those living on the compound were given 24 hours to remove all of their belongings from the property, neighbors who monitored the property spent nearly a week helping people retrieve things from the compound.

With the squatters evicted, the next step was to make sure that there would be no way for the vacant lot to reaccumulate illegal activity. A small barrier was constructed across the driveway to the property and junk vehicles were moved in front of the entrance so no one could drive in. Last week, 10 volunteers spent two days continuing the cleanup at the compound.

“I started networking with a bunch of awesome people from herein the Butte that wanted to do something. It just kind of facilitated the energy to get the solutions,” said Dave Miller.

As a developer and resident of Butte, Miller was one of the first to raise his hand to offer to help get the ball rolling to pay attorney’s fees at the meeting at Butte Elementary School in late October. Miller and a group of 10 locals asked for the help of local businesses to clean up the mess of nearly 100 junk vehicles, trailers, snowmachines, and intermittent piles of trash still visible from the roadway. On Monday, Nelson Excavating helped to demolish the remnants of the burned out buildings. Alaska Waste also donated 40-yard dumpsters and Alaska Demolition offered some donated runs to their dump. The buildings and trash picked up on Monday filled eight of the 40-yard dumpsters.

“It’s been really really nice to have that so that they don’t have generators running all night long and big job lights running all night long and people coming and going all night long,” Morrow said. “The community is very happy to see what’s taking place.”

One of the 10 volunteers from the area that helped to clean some of the compound on Monday and Tuesday of last week used his skid steer to clear the way for equipment moving in to clean up the refuse. Each day, the local resident pulled the cars that create a barrier from access away from the entrance and put them back at the end of each work day.

“Persist and persevere,” Miller said. “Our hope is to make improvements that trickle through the whole community and hopefully prevent kind of this trend.”

The work that began in the end of November has already dramatically changed the appearance of the compound. Without squatters actively living on the property, no trash has been added to the strewn filth since moving day when the Writ of Assistance was served. Miller said that the hope of the group of volunteers was to have the demolition done and cars cleared out by Christmas, but the sheer amount of junk and trash left over will take more time. Along with the three local businesses and 10 residents who have volunteered some or all of their services for free, the group has made contact with a hazmat company to clear volatile waste.

The next plan is to construct a massive steel gate to do the job that the line of junk cars is doing now. With the necessity of man hours, equipment and steel, Morrow has taken up the duties of collecting donations for the reclamation of the property. Those wishing to donate to the compound cleanup cause can call Morrow at (907)355-7205.

“We don’t want more junk up there,” Morrow said.

While the feelings of those volunteers driving heavy equipment to clean up the compound are positive, the problem of crime has not been erased altogether. Miller had to respond to someone who had walked onto his property armed just a few weeks ago. The lingering effects of interactions with squatters from the compound keep Butte residents aware of the crime problem that still exists.

“My attitude is, we don’t want anybody to fear our efforts to do good,” Miller said. “We’re not trying to disrupt anybody, but we also want to help people be in a better place and that mess is not a better place.”