Hearing on 'dangerous building' scheduled Nov. 8

Photo: Kayla Collins

DANGEROUS — Selectmen voted to instruct an attorney to issue a notice for a dangerous building, shown here, at 69 Morse Hill Road, West Paris. 

WEST PARIS — Selectmen voted unanimously to instruct an attorney to issue a notice for a "dangerous building" at 69 Morse Hill Road.

According to Town Manager John White, at the October 11 meeting, the town will hold a hearing, pursuant to the dangerous building statute, on November 8 at 5:15 p.m. to determine whether a trailer at 69 Morse Hill Road is a danger or nuisance. 

The trailer, built in 1978, is owned by Erica Johnson and her brother Richard Labay, Jr.

White said the trailer is "really uninhabitable." The end of the building is torn right off, he said. 

"It's in really bad shape," agreed Selectman Wade Rainey.

Johnson and her family lived in the trailer until they bought a newer model a couple years ago, which also sits on 69 Morse Hill, White said. 

On October 11, he told selectmen  he has not had any recent communication with Johnson –  he said he last heard from her back in spring.

White said for about a year, he was told by the landowner the trailer would be dismantled and removed from the property, but he reported during the meeting that it was still on the property. 

"They rip off a couple sheets of siding or rip off insulation and that's about as far as it goes," White explained.

"Do they have an issue why it's not coming down?" asked Chairman Randy Jones. "Are they unemployed? Is someone sick in the family?" 

White said he was not aware of any special reason the building has not come down. "They should've just found somebody to haul it away," he said. 

Following the hearing, said White, selectmen will decide whether the building is a nuisance, file a complaint in Superior Court and set forth reasons why the building shall be removed.

He said landowners then have a right to appeal the complaint – according to state law, if no appeal is filed, the town can have the building removed or abated and the expenses shall be paid by the landowner within 30 days of demand. 

White said if the landowners do not take action to remove the building, the town can hire someone to demolish it and haul it away. They can then file a lien against the property, he said. 

Selectmen also discussed selling some of the trailer's scrap metal. 

"Our purpose isn't to make money," said White, "it's just to get rid of it, but if we can save by selling the metal, it'll save on their end too."

"We need to figure out how it's going to get cleaned up," said Jones. "It's an eyesore." 

In other news, the board: 

• Appointed Town Manager John White as the town's Public Access Officer. 

• Approved junkyard permit applications for Kalvin Mason and Ernie Yap. 

• Accepted and adopted amendments to the General Assistance Ordinance. 

• Heard from White that Randy McMullen from the Department of Environmental Protection visited the town's transfer station and was impressed with its neatness and cleanliness.