NORWAY – Two feet of fresh snow this week has town officials worried once again about the stability of the seriously weakened three-story brick Opera House on Main Street.

“We have lots of concerns,” Town Manager David Holt said Thursday of the 19th-century historic building. The stability of the 1894 structure, with its imposing clock tower, was compromised in September 2007 when the weight of water pooled on the sagging roof caused a partial collapse of the roof and structures inside.

Holt said he believes owner Barry Mazzaglia of BITIM Enterprises in New Hampshire, shoveled some snow earlier in the season.

But, he said, there is no indication he has taken any of the snow off the flat roof from the latest storm that dumped 23 inches of snow in the Norway area.

Earlier this month, the town of Norway filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Mazzaglia, in an attempt to force him to immediately stabilize the building. The move was made to prevent the building from further collapse, according to the court documents filed in Oxford County Superior Court.

Alfred Hodson of Resurgence Engineering and Preservation, Inc. of Portland said in his affidavit to the court, “It is not possible to predict whether the entire roof will fall in or, if it does fall in, whether it will further damage the south wall or cause the north wall to fall onto the sidewalk and into Main Street in Norway.”

In the complaint, the town asked the court to order the owner to keep the roof free of more than one foot of snow, immediately provide adequate bracing to the upper portion of the south wall and take adequate steps to stabilize the structure and the roof so that loads are transferred to the building foundation. The complaint also asks that the owner immediately stabilize the roof with temporary shoring, hire an engineer and construction company to implement the engineer’s shoring system and secure the property.

Holt said Thursday that Mazzaglia has been served the court papers, but no hearing date has been set.

Mazzaglia has refused to comment about the matter.