MINOT — Town Administrator Arlan Saunders advised selectmen Monday night that they should expect a legal challenge to the town code enforcement officer’s decision to deny local developer Chuck Starbird a building permit.

Saunders reported that on Friday Code Enforcement Officer Ken Pratt told him that Starbird had paid for a building permit to construct a house on property he owns off the end of York Road.

Pratt, Saunders noted, had been expecting Starbird to apply for a building permit for some time and, in fact, had earlier advised Starbird that he would reject his application, but that it was up to Starbird to initiate the process by putting money down for a permit.

“We’re up and running, things were moving fast last Friday,” Saunders said.

Saunders said that before the close of business Friday a courier from Starbird’s attorney, Scott Lynch, hand delivered a letter to the town office, objecting to the decision.

Saunders said he alerted the town’s attorney and had given him the latest copy of the town’s land use code.

Saunders said it didn’t appear that Starbird had formally filed with the town’s Board of Appeals.

Pratt’s position is that Starbird doesn’t have the required road frontage. His property is near the end of the right-of-way for York Road, now officially an abandoned road, but with property owned by two other people between Starbird’s property and the old road right-of-way.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t cut too deeply into the legal account,” Saunders said.

In other business, selectmen awarded Washburn & Son of Minot the bid for stumping the remaining trail work in the Minot Memorial Park walking trail network at the bid price of $1,100. Washburn’s bid was the lowest of 11 the board received.

Washburn also was lowest bidder for stumping the rest of the ball field parking lot, bidding $2,500 to clear 1.8 acres. Selectmen, noting that all 11 bidders had been present at a pre-bid site walk, expressed surprise at the range of the bids, $18,000 being the amount of the highest bid.

Candace Gilpatric, representing the Recreation Committee, said her group recommended going with Washburn, noting that he has done other work in the park’s development and knows what needs to be done.

Selectman Eda Tripp noted that property tax collections have been a little off the past couple of years. She said that as matters stand now, the town will be issuing liens in July for $30,000 in unpaid property taxes for 2008, and that $83,700 is still owed the town for 2009 property taxes.