OXFORD – Selectmen have called a special selectmen’s meeting for Sept. 23 to decide whether to raze the fire-damaged Cozy Cat Country Store on Route 26.

The board had initially set a Sept. 16 public hearing on the issue, but canceled the hearing when town attorney Geoff Hole advised it that a public hearing was unnecessary, said interim Town Manager Sharon Jackson.

The special meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the town office.

Jackson said Hole will be present to represent the town’s interests, while Norway attorney Bruce Rood, appointed by the Probate Court, will represent the estate of John Knightly, which owns a half-interest in the property. The three Knightly children, Darrell, Dana and Diane, also have ownership claims on the property that have yet to be resolved by the court.

The section of the building housing the store was destroyed by fire May 5. The attached hay barn escaped damage. A determination on the cause of the fire has not yet been made, according to investigator Joel Davis of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Selectman Michael Thompson has asked about the building’s status at several meetings.

Jackson said selectmen are concerned that the building is a hazard.

“I don’t think its being an eyesore has anything to do with it,” she said. “I think it’s more of a question of whether it is a health and safety hazard.”

Jackson said selectmen have the power to order a building demolished under the state’s dangerous-building statute if the building is deemed to be structurally unsafe, unstable, unsanitary, or considered a fire hazard or a threat to the public health and safety.

Fire Chief Fred Knightly will be called on to give his opinion, as will the town’s code enforcement officer, Rodney Smith.