Selectmen step in to remove dangerous building

WEST PARIS —  A dangerous building that should have been removed from a property last year has finally been torn down, but debris remains on the property, selectmen reported January 10. 

"It needs to be disposed of properly," Selectman Wade Rainey said, of the dismantled trailer at 69 Morse Hill Road. 

"Before it snows again would be nice," said Selectman Dennis Henderson. 

Though the trailer has been demolished, because it remains on the property it is considered a safety, health and fire hazard, Rainey said. Therefore, selectmen have no choice but to step in and remove it themselves. 

The trailer was built in 1978. No one has been living in it for over a year, selectmen said. 

According to Town Manager John White, landowners Erica Johnson and Richard Labay, Jr. were instructed to remove the uninhabited trailer by December 29, 2012 – 30 days after town attorney Geoff Hole of Portland law firm Berstein Shur served them a notice. 

During a November 15 selectmen meeting, White reported that the landowners had been telling him for about a year the trailer would be removed, but had not taken any action.

White said he sent a letter to the landowners in April, 2012, then again in June, July and October, requesting them to remove the building, but they have not been responsive. 

The letters stated that if they neglected to remove the trailer from the property the town would have no other option than to commence legal action. 

Selectmen held a public hearing November 8, 2012, pursuant to the dangerous building statute, to determine whether the building was a danger or nuisance. The landowners were invited to the hearing to state their case, but did not attend. 

White told selectmen at the January 10 meeting he had visited the property earlier that day. "It wouldn't take much to get rid of the stuff they've pulled apart," he said.

Some of the debris was thrown in a dumpster that has been sitting on the property but it has not been hauled away, White said. "We either need to get that one dumped or get another one [dumpster] and load it up," he told selectmen. 

Selectmen discussed possibly donating the trailer's frame to the snowmobile club to use to construct a small bridge, versus having to pay for its disposal. 

White said whatever costs the town incurs for removal of the building will be billed to the landowners. 

"If they don't pay it, it will be put as a lien against their property," White said. 

"Fortunately, I don't think it is going to be as high of a cost it would've been if we had to dismantle it, too."

According to Rainey, selectmen will contact the landowners about removing the remaining scraps from the property. Otherwise, Rainey said, "that stuff is just gonna stay there forever."