PERU — Selectmen decided Monday night to foreclose on a property with unpaid taxes.
Town Clerk Vera Parent provided the board with a list of tax delinquent properties and all but two of the 20 owners have made payment arrangements with the town.
Two potential buyers have shown interest in one of the properties that has no payment plan. They asked to purchase the property for back taxes.
A credit collection company also has a lien on the property.
Selectmen agreed to foreclose on it and negotiate with the credit collection company to get a clear deed so it can be sold.
No action was taken on the other property that has no repayment plan. The owner has been unreachable by Parent for over a year.
In other matters, selectmen agreed to postpone action on the town revaluation contract. Selectmen Jim Pulsifer and Danny Wing advocated for accepting the bid from Parker Appraisals, which did the appraisal 15 years ago. The company has done maintenance work on property valuations in town since then.
Selectman Wendy Henderson agreed with several residents that the reason the town voted to permit expenditures of up to $150,000 for the revaluation was they wanted a “new set of eyes.”
Resident Martha Witherell said Parker has never inspected the inside of her house and some other houses in town.
Pulsifer and Planning Board member Wayne Moore pointed out that whoever does revaluation must comply with the same standards.
Parker was the only bidder to respond to the first request for proposals. His bid of $50,000 was rejected.
The town advertised for bids again and got three that were all near $100,000, all of which selectmen rejected last week.
Parker agreed to honor his quote if he were awarded a 10 percent bonus for finishing by next August.
After rejecting Pulsifer’s motion to award the contract to Parker, selectmen discussed potential legal problems with negotiating a contract with the company.
Pulsifer said residents authorized the revaluation, expecting selectmen to take the lowest bid.
Henderson said she believes residents wanted a new company when they approved the article.
Also Monday, selectmen approved the request to hold a 5K race Saturday, Sept. 6, to benefit future Summerfest festivities.
Chairman Lee Merrill limited the audience participation to 20 minutes at the end of the meeting.
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