NORWAY – Selectmen agreed Thursday night to get a second engineer’s opinion on the structural integrity of the Opera House on Main Street before deciding their next step.

“Whatever way we go we need to have the right experts behind us. We have the burden of proof of what happened to that building,” town attorney Geoff Hole said. He outlined the legal options the board has concerning the privately-owned building, the downtown’s centerpiece.

Hole said the board has two options: hold a public hearing and look at the structural engineer’s report before making a decision; or go directly to court, if the circumstances warrant, to take whatever action they think is necessary.

On Sept. 21, up to half a dozen roof trusses on the back wall of the three-story brick building dropped about 18 inches under the weight of rainwater pooled on the roof, according to an engineer’s report issued Monday. When that section of the roof collapsed, that water plus more from the broken sprinkler system pipes poured down through the building, flooding out two businesses on the first floor. There is also a 6-inch bow in the back wall and a crack in the front wall next to Main Street.

Town Manager David Holt assured selectmen and about a dozen residents and town officials at the meeting that regardless of the future plan, if structural failure is found in the building a plan will be ready to quickly do whatever is necessary, including diverting traffic, to ensure the public’s safety.

The Opera House has no fire sprinkler protection, officials said, and is not insured.

Holt said he is trying to work a deal with representatives of the Maine Investment Trust Fund to use money it provided to rehabilitate the adjacent Odd Fellows building to pay for the engineering study.

Andrea Burns of Downtown Norway also noted that the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has offered some engineering services “in kind.”

Last Friday, consulting structural engineer Joseph Neville of Poland was asked by the town to make an emergency assessment of the damage. He reported that the structural integrity of the 1984 landmark “has been seriously compromised” and predicted its eventual partial or complete collapse if nothing is done.

Owner Barry Mazzaglia of Londonderry, N.H., has been shoring up the interior over the past two weeks.

Selectman Les Flanders said he saw the damage from the roof of the Odd Fellows building.

“It looked pretty serious to me and it was,” he said.

Flanders said it appears Mazzaglia has made a commitment to shoring up the building. “He doesn’t know what he’s going to do with it, but he doesn’t want to see it fall down,” he said.

Flanders said the town’s attitude must be “us against the building,” and not “us” against the owner.

Holt conceded the town had no plan to handle the partial collapse and resulting flood and officials were forced to “make it up” as they went along.

“If it happened again maybe I’ll know better what to do,” he said.

Holt told the board he is also concerned about adjacent businesses, in particular Woodman’s Sporting Goods, which is within a few feet of the Opera House’s west wall. He said in a conversation with the owner Thursday that it appears likely if he is made to move the business it will be shut down for good.

Mazzaglia owns that building too.

Holt said he will focus on the fact that there are a few other buildings on Main Street, such as the Odd Fellows building, that may be heading toward the same situation as the Opera House.

“What we need is a consensus and a plan for the future, and to work with the owners of these old buildings,” he said. “The problems are not going to go away by letting it be what it’s been.”

The Opera House, with its imposing clock tower, was owned by the town from 1920 to the mid-1970s and its upper floors used for cultural and civic events. Since then, it’s had a succession of private owners and the second and third floors have remained vacant.

Mazzaglia, a developer, bought it for $225,000 in 2003, shortly after it was designated one of seven of Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Properties by Maine Preservation of Portland.