By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — The Town of Casco is taking legal action to remove a couple dangerous structures that are visible from main roads.

Meanwhile, it was suggested that the town once again budget for the situation in which a building becomes uninhabitable and the owners are unable or unwilling to pay the costs to remove, repair or replace the structure. 

Both buildings are located along well-traveled roadway. One is located off Route 302; the address is 338 Roosevelt Trail. The other is situated along Route 11 near Tenney Hill Road; the address is 1358 Poland Springs Rd.

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the Casco Board of Selectmen briefly discussed the status of these dangerous buildings. Previously, as required by law, the Casco code enforcement officer had served the owners with notices of violation. 

According to Casco Town Manager Anthony “Tony” Ward, “The vast majority [of the time] is doing title search. Then, there would be a dangerous building hearing. They [the owners] would have 30 days to comply or further legal actionwould occur.”

Ideally, the town would prefer the owners to take care of the financial end of it. If not, the town would dispose of the structure for the sake of public safety.  

“When I first got on the board, we had a lot of blight in the town. Buildings that had burned down and were left standing,” Chairman Mary-Vienessa Fernandes said. 

She said after having to use money from the Undesignated Fund Balance, the town started setting aside about $20,000 a year to deal with costs of removing dilapidated buildings.  

“The dangerous building account — We didn’t do it in this budget. That would be something to consider to put that on the warrant for next year,” she said.