Junk Man He Has Explanation For The Nine Cars And Various Auto Parts In The Yard
They’re works in progress.
That’s how Timothy Messner explains the nine cars, pickup cab, Willys frame, three front ends, tires and doors in his yard.
“It does look kind of grungy, but we’re working on a small budget,” said Messner, who lives at 557 West Miles Ave. A car hood and a car for sale grace the front of the home in a quiet neighborhood. Most of the cars are behind the house.
The city of Hayden wants Messner to clean up his mess, quickly. Hayden filed court papers to that effect late last week.
“The council felt it was getting a little bit gross,” said Hayden city administrator Bob Croffoot. “It’s a junkyard.”
Croffoot said the city’s building official and city attorney both asked Messner to clean up his yard in March.
“It was discussed with him, and nothing happened,” Croffoot said. He said the neighborhood is zoned for single-family homes.
“A person goes into that zone with an idea he’s protected, that a rendering plant or service station won’t go in next door,” Croffoot said. “It (the mess) starts affecting people around him, with property values and so forth. There are limits.”
Messner, 34, said there are good reasons why he’s got so many vehicles in the yard.
The 1965 Chevrolet truck is being restored, as is the 1960 Dodge truck. The 1980 International Scout belongs to a friend. The 1980 Ford Thunderbird is waiting to be stripped.
The 1977 Plymouth Volare donated its engine to a pickup truck, so it’s also waiting to be stripped. The 1941 Willys body, frame and motor, now in three different parts of the yard, are waiting to be merged into one working rig. A pickup cab and another Willys are awaiting removal.
And when Messner or his fiancee need to go somewhere, they drive the 1975 Dodge Monaco or the 1979 Cadillac.
“Friends gave them to me,” said Messner, looking around at the collection. “In order to fix one, it takes five or six, actually.”
Five or six is way too many for one neighbor, who asked not to be named.
“I want him to clean that damned thing up,” the man said. “It’s got to be stopped, period. I don’t want my house degraded because of that.”
Messner said he’d cover some of the cars and remove a couple, but doesn’t have the money to do more. He works for a temporary service, doing odd jobs.
“If they (the city) would stay on top of it, they’d see that we’re trying,” said Jennifer Jones, his fiancee. “We don’t have the money to spend getting all of this cleaned up. We barely have enough money to make the house payment and buy food for the kid.”
Croffoot said the city could go in and clean it, but he’d rather see Messner make some progress. “If they’re making an effort, we’re flexible,” Croffoot said. “We’d just like to see something positive.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo