NORWAY — The owner of the Odd Fellows Hall at 380 Main St. has paid off a lien placed on the historic building by the town just over a week ago.

The lien was for $47.40 in unpaid sewer fees on Nov. 22. Owner Sam Patel of Jasmin LLC in Westbrook paid the bill plus $58.65 in miscellaneous fees Monday, Bonnie Seames of the Sewer Department said. Seames said Patel owes a small amount for 2013 sewer bills.

Administrative Assistant Carol Millett said Patel is assessed a sewer fee, even though the building is vacant, because it is hooked to the town sewer. Users are billed for the connection and the usage of the sewer system, she said.

In August, the Odd Fellows Hall was named one of Maine’s 10 most endangered historic places by Maine Preservation of Portland.

Patel, a retailer in southern Maine, purchased the empty, partially renovated three-story brick building in December from TD Bank. It was transferred to Jasmin LLC on Dec. 14, 2012.

Dawn and Harvey Solomon of New Horizons Capital Investment in Norway purchased the building in July 2008. Renovations stopped in 2010 just before Dawn Solomon was charged and subsequently convicted of bilking the state’s MaineCare system out of more than $4 million. The building, along with a dozen other Solomon properties, was put up for auction by TD Bank. Nothing has been done to the building since then.

In late June, the Board of Selectmen gave the go-ahead to Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman to bring Patel to court for creating a nuisance and danger with the  building.

At the time, Corey-Whitman said she sent four letters and four emails to Patel since late April, advising him that the broken windows must be repaired. Glass had been falling on Main Street and in the alley between the hall and the Opera House, creating an “unsafe and hazardous condition” for the public, she said. Patel eventually replaced the windows.

The basement and first floor of the Odd Fellows Hall were built in1894 after the Great Fire destroyed much of the downtown business district. The other floors were added in 1910. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the historic downtown district.

The third floor contained a high-ceiling ceremonial space for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Norway Lodge No. 16, which owned the building during the 19th century. The second floor had a kitchen and large dining area, along with law offices and a courthouse. The first floor has traditionally been storefronts.

A study of Odd Fellows Hall by Resurgence Engineering and Preservation of Portland several years ago indicated it would cost more than $800,000 to fully renovate it.

Patel could not be reached for comment.

ldixon@sunjournal.com

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