BETHEL — The Bethel Town Board voted last Wednesday night to move forward with an emergency cleanup of a property at 32 Foster Road after officials said violations at the site have continued for more than a decade.

During the meeting, Supervisor Daniel Sturm read a memo from the Building Department requesting that the town seek bids for the cleanup of trash and debris at the property.

According to the memo, the town has had a violation on the parcel since 2012. The property owner has previously promised to bring in dumpsters and clean the site, but the memo said no meaningful progress has been made.

“The violations have been growing in size over the years and have become a nuisance and a detriment to the public,” Sturm read from the memo.

Sturm said the town has dealt with the property in court in the past and previously authorized cleanup efforts, but had difficulty finding contractors willing to take the job.

“We got no contractors that were willing to enter that property and clean it up,” Sturm said.

The property includes abandoned vehicles, junk vehicles, garbage and other debris, according to discussion at the meeting. Officials said photographs of the property showed the scope of the problem.

Building Department consultant BJ Gettel, participating remotely, said the property has continued to generate complaints.

“Everybody that’s been out there can see the amount of garbage, the amount of vehicles, the garbage inside the vehicles,” Gettel said. “It needs cleanup.”

Gettel said she began working on the issue in 2017 and said promises to clean the site have not been fulfilled.

“Unfortunately, the promises never came through, and they’re still not coming through,” Gettel said.

After the meeting, Sturm said the town previously had trouble securing bids because contractors had safety concerns about entering the property.

“There were some concerns about public safety about entering that property,” Sturm said.

The board voted to authorize the town to seek quotes and proceed with the cleanup.