The junk in Wareham is really starting to make a mess.

Selectmen voted Tuesday to suspend the license of a Cranberry Highway junk dealer due to the cleanliness conditions of his property. This spurred a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion on how the town defines junk and how it enforces its own laws.

Selectmen suspended the license of Charles Lewis, owner of Cash for Stuff, at 3245 Cranberry Highway, until June 16, at which time Selectmen will hold a hearing to discuss possible reinstatement or revocation of the license. Reinstatement would be contingent upon favorable reviews of the building from Inspectional Services, the Board of Health and the Onset Fire Department, or if Lewis could find another suitable location for his business.

Representatives of those three bodies were at Tuesday's meeting. All three went out to the business location on March 17 and found numerous health and safety violations at the building. At a followup visit a month later, most of the violations had been taken care of, save for roof repairs that were the property owner's responsibility to fix, not tenant Lewis'. Interim Building Inspector David Moore said, however, he would not give the building an occupancy permit in its current condition.

"This has been a touchy license from the beginning," said Selectman Patrick Tropeano. "This board has given you a lot of leeway."

Lewis was given his license in October and has been a subject of controversy from the beginning. This was no different Tuesday night as Selectmen Steve Holmes and Judith Whiteside repeatedly voted to revoke Lewis's license, but failed to convince any of their fellow members to join them and create a majority vote. Eventually, Whiteside joined the three others as part of a 4-1 vote to suspend the license, with Holmes still dissenting.

"This business owner has thumbed his nose at us and ignored these stipulations," Selectman Steve Holmes said.

The debate among Selectmen considered if revoking the license would be the effective enforcement for the various violations of the license bylaw. Also called into question was the weight of the bylaw, since it is currently being reviewed by the town.

As discussed at Town Meeting Monday night, anyone selling secondhand goods in the town of Wareham must have a junk dealers license. The fact that there are only five licenses available in town but upwards of 60 businesses who sell secondhand items in town has put the situation in a legal gray area.

At a previous meeting, Town Attorney Richard Bowen explained the muddy legal situation as follows, “The fact that it is being reviewed over the next couple weeks or several months does not mean it gives an immunity defense to anybody who is operating a business in violation of a bylaw.”

Selectmen said that if Lewis was seen operating the business while his license was suspended, the police would be called and his operation would be shut down. His only chance for reinstatement will come on June 16.

"You don't know how close you just came to losing that license for the rest of your life," Tropeano said.