SENNETT -- The opening of Bonca's, the former Pioneer Restaurant, without a certificate of occupancy, was not discussed at the Sennett Town Board meeting Tuesday night. Code enforcement officer Paul E. Weiman Jr. was out of town on vacation and was expected to return Wednesday.

After the meeting, Dave Sikora, town supervisor, talked about what might happen next. He said the town doesn't have a plan to follow regarding the C.O. violation, but it does have a procedure.

"They (Rybach & Rig Property LLC) are in violation of Sennett's ordinance law," Sikora said.

"A zoning law violation is a misdemeanor," town attorney Don Cheney said. "It may carry up to a year in jail."

"Paul Weiman will review what has been done and make a recommendation to the town board," Sikora said.

This could happen during a regular town board meeting, or a special meeting could be called. Once a C.O. is requested, the code enforcement officer inspects the building, reviews the codes, and sends a paper to the applicant.

Sikora said the July 8 letter that Weiman sent to Rybach & Rig outlined in detail what still needed to be done after Weiman and town engineer Ken Teeter inspected the building in early July.

"If you attempt to open without a certificate of occupancy issued by the Town of Sennett, the town will seek an immediate injunction," that letter said. Once all criteria are met, a final inspection takes place and the certificate of occupancy is issued.

"Paul Weiman has to come to the board and recommend an injunction," Sikora said.

The code enforcement officer has law enforcement powers that no one else has. Sikora said that if a special meeting were requested, he would do his best to get everyone together. The board would have to vote for an injunction, and it would pass with a simple majority.

If the board votes for an injunction to shut down the business, town attorneys Cheney and Tom Blair would petition the court for an injunction order. The judge could say shut down immediately and go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for relief or stay open and go to the ZBA.

"The first administrative relief is in the local jurisdiction," Sikora said, so Rybach & Rig would still need the ZBA to grant a variance.

"If Weiman wants to issue a cease and desist order, he doesn' t have to tell us," he said. "Every day the business is open, he can issue a cease and desist order."

Weiman can also issue an appearance ticket, which would require a court appearance within a certain time period, similar to a parking ticket.

"It's not an order to tell them not to sit and eat ice cream," he said. "Weiman's responsibility is to investigate the alleged violation."

Sikora expressed optimism about the matter.

"I think it can be worked out," he said. "I think the applicants are intelligent people. The letters we've sent speak for themselves. These are totally different issues that are on our books that haven't been addressed by the ZBA."