By MAIRE O’NEILL

Municipal Judge Alan Kirk gave Jay Stimmel of White Rock until Oct. 31 to finish replacing a roof on his Kayenta Drive property. During a pro se trial Monday in Los Alamos, Judge Kirk fined Stimmel $500 in each of four separate citations for having a roof in disrepair but suspended $300, $300, $250 and $500 in those cases until Oct. 31. 

The cases all relate to Stimmel having begun to replace his roof in 2015 when he obtained the first of three permits from Los Alamos County. After almost two years of having the roof covered with tarps, the County and multiple Municipal Hearings, the roof remains unfinished. County staff alleged that no progress has been made on the roof and expressed frustration that the project was still unfinished.

While testifying on behalf of the County, Michael Arellano Chief Building Officer, estimated that the project could have been completed in a day and a half. He said the tarps used are not rated for UV rays and are not appropriate to protect the roof and that tarps and the materials stacked on the roof are a safety issue. Ironically, Stimmel is reportedly a safety compliance officer for the State of New Mexico.

Associate County Attorney Kevin Powers said the County’s continual and primary concern is to get the roof fixed. He said ownership of property takes responsibility and that Stimmel doesn’t take that seriously.

“This has gone on too long”, Powers said.

Judge Kirk told Stimmel he didn’t know how to fix the situation, adding that he had given Stimmel almost a year and a half with tremendous leeway and a huge number of extensions when the issue came to court the first time.  He said he was frustrated that there was no clear path forward besides sticking Stimmel in jail to get it done.

“You put me in a situation where I don’t know what I can do. If I put you in jail, it won’t get the roof fixed,” Judge Kirk said. “I don’t know why it would take two years to get this resolved. The goal here is to get the roof fixed.”

Judge Kirk asked County staff to inspect the roof for progress every two weeks from now until the deadline. He also told Stimmel he wanted before and after photos taken on each day Stimmel works on the roof.