TURNER — Selectmen on Tuesday directed Town Manager Kurt Schaub to seek legal guidance from the Maine Municipal Association on the sale of a tax-acquired property that an abutter claims to have a right of way over.
The town foreclosed on the roughly 2-acre lot at 27 Jordan Lane late last year for about $2,500 in unpaid taxes, according to Schaub. The town put the property up for sale by bid in March and received several offers.
The highest bidder offered $24,460 but backed out of the deal, as did the second highest bidder who offered $20,050, Schaub said. The town contacted the third highest bidder who offered $20,000 and is considering buying it.
An adjacent land owner, whose parcel Schaub believes is landlocked, is claiming a right of way over the property, complicating the sale, Schaub said. The property owner wants the town to recognize the right of way, but Schaub is unsure if they want an easement or another type of recognition. He is also unsure if the town can even formally recognize the right of way because of a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court ruled that municipalities in several states, including Maine, cannot keep profits from tax-acquired properties. Now, towns can only keep the amount owed in back taxes and the rest goes back to the former landowner. Maine Municipal Association has issued some recommendations based on the ruling, Schaub said.
State tax-acquired property laws tightly regulate what the town can do with those properties. Usually towns place them up for bid, with the expectation that it receives enough money to at least cover taxes owed.
Schaub is concerned the town might get into a situation in which there is a claim from the prior property owner that the town devalued the property if it issues an easement or right of way across that property, resulting in less revenue when it sells, he said.
In other business, selectmen approved placing new precast steps at the Boofy Quimby Memorial Center at 96 Howes Corner Road. Paving the parking lot will likely start the week of Sept. 17.
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