After CTV News spoke to a Ryley, Alta. man, who said he had to sell his home to pay thousands of dollars charged by the municipality to paint his home – officials for the Village of Ryley released a statement in response.

The statement, released by a Village of Ryley official, outlined the municipality’s side of the case.

On Monday, CTV News reported that Bill Yarmovich, 86, who lives on pension, had sold his home in the village in order to pay the cost of painting it.

He said he was issued a bylaw notice in 2015 for having ‘unsightly premises’, and he was told to paint his home. He said he tried to do the work himself, as he is a retired contractor.

However, he said the work ran into some delays, and didn’t make the deadline set by the village. As a result, a contractor was brought in and he was charged thousands of dollars – which he said he couldn’t pay.

At the time of reporting, the village told CTV News they were seeking legal counsel before commenting.

The statement was released late Tuesday afternoon (read the full statement below).

The letter said the Village Council updated Community Standards Bylaw in early 2015 – and then updated it again in October of that year. In 2015 and the following year, officials issued 244 notices to residents over issues – officials said notices went to a variety of people. Of those notices, 29 Notices of Entry (stating the municipality would go in to do the work) were issued, and a total of 20 citations were contracted to finish the work.

As for Yarmovich’s case, the village said he hadn’t lived in the home in question for more than five years, and when the first Notice to Maintain was sent to him on April 24, 2015, and he was asked to remove trees that had grown across the street and blocked the sidewalk, in addition to painting his home.

Officials said on May 19, 2015 Yarmovich told officials he wasn’t sure what to do with the house, and said he might knock it down.

The Village said officials told Yarmovich he would have enough time to recovery from a rib injury or plan to have his home painted or demolished. The statement disputed Yarmovich’s claim that a third of his home was painted when contractors finished the work, saying: “[He] did not paint 1/3 of his house. He painted 8 or 10 boards on the east gable end.”

In total, the village said he had 16 months to paint his home and deal with issues on the property.

Finally, on September 6, 2016, the village said he was told his home would be painted the next day – and he was sent an invoice for $3,200, not including GST and an $85.00 administration fee.

The village said he turned down an offer for a payment plan.

Village of Ryley Statement RE: William Yarmovich by CTV Edmonton on Scribd