Board abates taxes on decrepit building

OTISFIELD — Selectmen agreed unanimously, January 16, to abate taxes on a building that Administrative Assistant Marianne Izzo-Morin, also the town's assessor, described as "in shambles." 

The abatement request was made my Rocco Pompeo, who bought the property, Map R12, Lot 22D, with a friend of his years ago, Izzo-Morin said. 

Selectmen signed the property tax abatement worth $449.72 for this year.

"The friend was always supposed to pay the taxes, and it ended up that every year, he'd [Pompeo] would come in and ended up paying the taxes," said Izzo-Morin. 

Izzo-Morin said the property was eventually sold to Pompeo. The building was last assessed in 1995, Izzo-Morin said. 

"He came in to say that he wanted an abatement on the building, because the building was not worth whatever price they had on it, so he wanted it reevaluated," Izzo-Morin explained. 

Izzo-Morin said the picture of the property on the tax assessor's card is not a good representation of what the building currently looks like. She said after Denis Berube, of John E. O'Donnell Associates, went out to personally assess the property, he agreed.

"It was sort of a cute little cabin," she said, about what was shown on the card. "But he [Pompeo] came in and said, 'you can't believe what this looks like.'" 

"Dennis couldn't believe it either," she said, "so he abated the building because it is ... in shambles." 

"Buildings are just like vehicles, there's nothing worse you can do than just let them sit," said Selectman Rick Micklon. He explained banks would rather buildings not become vacated for this same reason. 

"They would rather have people stay there until they physically make them leave, rather than have them [landowners] leave first," Micklon said. 

On Friday, Izzo-Morin said the building is uninhabited and has zero value, but she was unsure what might become of it. 

"I think they're going to burn it down," she said.

In other news, the board: 

• Accepted the resignation of Pixie Williams from the Conservation Committee. 

• Signed a supplemental tax certificate for Wayne Spears for three years' back taxes and a certificate for supplemental commitment for Ann Siekman for two years' worth of taxes. 

• Signed a corrective municipal lease deed for Corina Masterman, Map R07, Lot38. 

• Approved a pole permit for the Rayville Road and Peaco Hill Road intersection. 

• Approved annual snowplowing contracts for Frank Blauvelt and Gary Dyer. 

• Heard from Administrative Assistant Mariane Izzo-Morin that the MMWAC tipping fee will stay at $82.29 a ton. She said the Consumer Price Index adjustment will begin in 2014.