NORWAY – Selectmen continue to look at options regarding the town’s flood-damaged 1894 Opera House on Main Street.

Amid optimistic reports regarding the building, the board considered purchase options Thursday. The three-story brick building is currently owned by Barry Mazzaglia of Londonderry, N.H.

Following comments by Andrea Burns of Norway Downtown, Selectman Bill Damon asked if the Opera House could be donated to the organization if someone purchased it. Burns said it could be, and that she had talked with Mazzaglia about the possibility.

Selectman Bruce Cook said he, as well as Dennis Gray and Roy Gedat, are on the boards for both Norway Downtown and the nonprofit organization Norway Maine Opera House Corp.

“That organization could take ownership of the Opera House,” Cook said.

Mazzaglia, a developer, bought the former community center in 2003 for $225,000 and had no insurance coverage on it.

The historic building was damaged Sept. 21 when several rotted trusses gave way under the weight of water on the roof, rupturing a sprinkler pipe and flooding two businesses on the ground floor. The upper floors have been vacant for decades.

Engineers examining the building have said it is unstable and at risk of collapse.

A laser monitoring system has been placed in the Opera House to detect any movement in the building’s three floors and clock tower.

During a discussion of an update to the town’s emergency plan, Town Manager David Holt said he has been meeting with department heads over problems with the Opera House.

“We became really aware that we hadn’t planned for that,” Holt said, referring to the Opera House’s partial roof collapse.

Dennis Yates of the Norway Fire Department said that while the plan includes certain scenarios and high risk areas, it did not include the possibility of trouble with the Opera House.

“You can’t guess every situation that’s going to happen,” Yates said.

He said he has since met with emergency officials to discuss response plans in the event of further trouble at the building.

At their last meeting, selectmen voted to use up to $25,000 to pay Portland engineer Roy Hodsdon III for his services in the building. Hodsdon plans to provide the town and Mazzaglia with a stabilization plan by Dec. 1.

Damon praised Mazzaglia for continuing stabilization efforts on the building, and Holt said the roof has been straightened, although it may still be leaking.

Overall, Holt said the situation is improving, and Hodsdon will look into finding out what needs to be done before tenants can return.

“We think we’re going to be able to remove the sidewalk barriers in a week or two,” Holt said.