Dale Losselyong, owner of an illegal junkyard in the Mendenhall Valley, decided he wanted to tell his side of the story after he saw his name in the Empire.
The Empire published an article this week about the Assembly’s decision Monday night to appropriate money for a private contractor to clear more than 200 vehicles from Losselyong’s property.
Losselyong had so far failed to comply with court orders to clear his property, the Assembly reasoned, so it seemed necessary to take action before the problem worsened. Assembly members voted to appropriate $250,000 for a private contractor.
But Losselyong said he has made progress clearing the property, and his attorney has asked for a 30-day extension of the deadline. Bureaucratic hurdles and unfair treatment on the part of the city have prevented him from being able to clear his property in a timely manner, Losselyong argued.
“Every time I did something that was right, they’d shut me down,” Losselyong said. “I’m at my wit’s end, and I don’t know what to do.”
Losselyong said he tried to attend the Assembly meeting Monday to try and explain himself, but found the doors to City Hall locked. Unable to enter the building, he said he was forced to listen to the meeting on the radio.
“They acted like I was public enemy No. 1,” he said.
Losselyong’s attorney, Brandon Marx, said good progress has been made to clear many of the vehicles off his property in the past month. On Jan. 9, Marx requested a 30-day extension from the court and they were hoping the Assembly would take that into account.
At Monday’s meeting, Assembly member Maria Gladziszewski was the only dissenting voice in the appropriation vote, saying the city should wait for Losselyong to comply.
“We’d like to make that case now to just buy a little time so he can fix this without expense to the city,” Marx said. “He has four guys that he’s working with. It takes time in order to prepare (the vehicles), to remove the tires and the fluids.”
Marx also contends the initial 90-day timeline set out by the court was unachievable because it was based on Losselyong’s own estimate of the number of vehicles, not an official count.
“Within two weeks, an official inventory was done,” Marx said. “There was no way he could get rid of all those cars in that time.”
Marx contends the court failed to work with Losselyong, who initially had no legal representation.
If the city were to follow through with its plan, it would ruin Losselyong financially, Marx said. The city would employ whatever mechanisms they can to get reimbursement.
Losselyong has admitted in court to all but one of the city’s charges, according to Emily Wright, assistant municipal attorney representing the city in the case. Marx doesn’t dispute his client is in the wrong, but he says he wants the city and the court to give Losselyong more time to fix the problem.
“The question is, is it right?” Marx said. “It could break him, it could put him into bankruptcy, everything he’s worked for may be lost.”
But the city has tried to work with Losselyong for years, said Jill Maclean, CBJ director for community development.
“We really just try and ask people to comply, it’s just easier,” Maclean said. “After 3½ years it’s reached a point where the CBJ had to take action.”
Judge Daniel Schally denied the request for a 30-day extension on Tuesday, Wright said. The City Manager’s office is still in the negotiating process with Island Contractors, the company which won the bid to clean Losselyong’s property.
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at 523-2228 or psegall@juneauempire.com.
