NORWAY — The Board of Selectmen has decided to demolish a home on Main Street that it acquired through a tax taking.

Calling it an unsafe and unsanitary situation, Town Manager David Holt recommended that the house located at 118 Main St., at the intersection of Dean Avenue, be demolished.

The board voted to let Roberts Excavation Co. of Norway tear down the house, remove the building and debris, and fill in the foundation for his bid of $24,500.

“I don’t know of a better alternative,” Holt said.

Holt told selectmen at their Thursday night meeting that the home was owned by the late Ramona Moore. Although her son had attempted to clean the building and pay the back taxes, the work became overwhelming for him and he agreed to the recommendation to take the house down, Holt said.

Moore owed the town $3,225 in back taxes, according to tax records.

Roberts Excavation has worked with the town on other similar projects, including the removal of a house on Pikes Hill Road that the town acquired through tax title.

The house is one of five other properties, all of which have also been taken through tax title, that the selectmen will study in the next few weeks to determine what action they will take.

Holt said the town will sell the property but probably lose money after it recovers taxes and pays Roberts Excavation for its work.

Selectman Russ Newcomb suggested voters have a say in whether the building will be demolished, but other selectmen said the situation needed to be rectified immediately.

“This place is a disaster,” Selectmen Bruce Cook said of the need to tear down the building and not wait for a special town meeting on Sept. 5. “The sooner, the better.” 

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