NORWAY — The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Thursday night to try to negotiate the purchase of the Opera House by Nov. 19 rather than take it by eminent domain.
The motion made by Selectman Warren Sessions and seconded by Bill Damon provides that a "one-time" effort be made and that an answer must be received by the board's second meeting in November, which is set for Nov. 19. An offer will be made that is within the limits of the $200,000 donation offered by Damon last year, on behalf of a local group, to purchase the building, according to the motion.
Barry Mazzaglia of Bitim Enterprises in Londonderry, N.H., purchased the three-story brick building on Main Street with its distinctive clock tower in 2003 for $225,000. He has turned down repeated offers by the town.
"No answer at all (from Mazzaglia) will be considered a no answer," Sessions said.
Town Manager David Holt said before the meeting that he would recommend to the board that this course of action be taken first rather than taking the building by eminent domain.
It is not known what action the board will take if Mazzaglia decides not to sell the building.
The board did not entertain questions about how the negotiation would take place, but Holt said a plan was laid out during the executive session.
The board was also provided the interior building appraisal that was done last month by Patricia Amidon of Amidon Appraisal Co. in Portland after a Oxford County Superior Court judge ordered the building owner to let the town access the building to do the appraisal.
Because that appraisal will become part of the negotiations, Holt said the board would not be releasing the document to the public at this time.
A portion of the Opera House roof collapsed on Sept. 21, 2007, severing a sprinkler pipe that flooded first-floor occupied spaces in the building and compromised the stability of the building. Since that time, officials have grown increasingly concerned about its sturdiness and the lack of response from the owner.
Two engineering studies have deemed the structure to be "unsafe to the public and neighboring property" and officials have become convinced that the structure continues to deteriorate, causing not only an unsafe situation for downtown but an unfavorable economic one.
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