NORWAY — Calling it a tough decision, the Board of Selectmen agreed Thursday night to tear down a Main Street home it acquired for unpaid taxes.

Despite pleas from the former owner’s son, selectmen voted 4-1 to tear down the 1830 house at 118 Main St. that was owned by the late Ramona Moore. Selectman Bruce Cook opposed the motion.

The house was taken by the town for $3,224 in unpaid taxes, according to tax records.

Moore’s son, Tom Moore, of Lewiston had asked the board for more time to pay the taxes and clean the property.

In August, 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 due to the building’s “unsafe” and “unsanitary” condition.

“I believed we’d be doing him (Tom Moore) a favor,” Selectman Russ Newcomb said. He seconded the motion made by Warren Sessions to tear it down.

Selectmen toured the building Thursday evening before the meeting to see what steps Moore had taken. Although they agreed he had secured the property and had taken out a lot of the trash, the majority said they felt the amount of money owed and the repairs necessary were more than the family could deal with.

“I don’t think you’re being realistic,” Sessions told Moore, who was at the meeting with his brother and a friend.

“It’s such a hard question. None of us feels comfortable with the answer,” Town Manager David Holt said.

Distressed over the decision, Moore broke down after the meeting saying he and his brother had grown up in the house and it had been in the family for 50 or 60 years. He said he believed he could have restored the house and had hoped to rent it out or even live in it again himself.

ldixon@sunjournal.com

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