OXFORD — After three years of warnings, court orders – and no action, Oxford selectmen authorized Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey Whitman to issue a final notice notifying the owner of 322 Robinson Hill Road that she has 30 days to clean up the property or the town will hire it to be done by a third party.
Irene Kimball and her granddaughter, Shannon Mason, co-own the property. The land is littered with old tires, trash and mobile home parts, as well as a uninhabitable trailer.
Neighbors began complaining about the property as a junkyard back in spring of 2017. Selectmen then authorized Corey-Whitman to direct Kimball to remove unregistered and uninspected vehicles and trailers, garbage, trash, debris, appliances, scrap lumber, wood pallets, metal, tires, propane tanks, discarded goods, and all other materials, but deadlines came and went with no action.
In 2018 the town received a court order authorizing them to remove the junk, however officials were hesitant to bring in a clean-out contractor because the cost to do would be more than $20,000 and would likely fall to taxpayers to cover, as Kimball already had a lien on it that would exceed the value if it was sold.
One trailer was eventually dismantled, but the frame and trash remained on the premises.
And complaints from nearby residents continue. Selectman Caldwell Jackson remarked that he recently received multiple calls on the situation.
Selectmen authorized Corey-Whitman to send a final notice that after 30 days the town would have the property cleaned.
Vice Chair Samantha Hewey suggested that as part of the notice Corey-Whitman direct the owners to separate out whatever items of value they wished to keep before the 30 days, and that everything else would be removed.
In other business, selectmen unanimously approved Oxford Casino & Hotel’s casino operator license renewal application.
Selectmen also approved installing a new dewatering process at the Wastewater Treatment Facility, at a cost of up to $937,000, and to accept grants to be awarded by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
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