The Livermore Falls Board of Selectmen has tentatively set a public hearing for July 16 to determine if this Main Street building, destroyed by fire June 12, 2018, is a nuisance or dangerous.
LIVERMORE FALLS — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday scheduled a public hearing to discuss a Main Street building destroyed last year in a fatal fire.
The property at 100 Main St. is “alleged to be a nuisance and dangerous building,” according to the public hearing notice.
While subject to change, the hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. on July 16 at the Town Office.
A person who was on the first floor of the house died in the fire and two boys jumped to safety from the third floor. Both of the boys received injuries in June 12, 2018, blaze.
Town Manager Stephen Gould said he has exhausted all avenues to try and reach the house’s owner, Percy J. Tassie, who lived in Rhode Island at the time of the fire.
Gould said he does not think Tassie still lives in Rhode Island. Initially, Tassie was cooperative with town officials, but stopped answering phone calls and receiving certified mail from the town, according to Gould.
There was no insurance on the building, according to sources.
Gould said Tassie bought the property and received a warranty deed from Richard A. Mason on Oct. 27, 2013.
Selectmen said they will decide after the public hearing if the building should be declared a nuisance or dangerous.
If selectmen declare the building a nuisance or dangerous, they will determine what should be done with the structure. Options include demolishing the building.
If an order is given but the owner does not comply in a timely way, selectmen can order the building be razed at municipal expense. The town can then seek to recover all expenses, including lawyer’s fees, by taxing the building’s owner or by filing a lawsuit against him.
Gould said demolishing the building could be complicated given it has asbestos siding. The building is also about 10 feet from another house.
If the town has the building razed, the demolition debris would be placed into hazardous material containers, according to Gould.
In other matters, the board accepted a $5,000 bid from Ellen Greene of Greene’s Auto for a vacant house at 145 Park St. Greene’s Auto in on nearby on Park Street.
Gould said the new owner wants to turn the site into a parking lot.
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