LEWISTON – Rick Hollis moved his protest buses from Main Street on Thursday morning, but they could be back.

“I’ve placed my demands with the city and given them a time limit,” Hollis said. “And I told them that if my demands were not met, the buses will return. Plus, there will be one more.”

The buses are Hollis’ way of protesting his treatment at the hands of the city after the January explosion that leveled his shop and the neighboring Hotel Holly.

The disabled Bluebird school buses, adorned with Jolly Roger pirate flags and spray-painted with “Screwiston” on one side and “Welcome to Lewiston” on the other, appeared along Main Street just before the afternoon traffic rush Tuesday.

Hollis had them towed away Thursday morning. In their place, he erected a wooden sign with black T-shirts affixed to either side. The shirts advertise his old Lewiston Radiator Works, complete with the address and a working phone number.

“It’s all part of the negotiation process,” Hollis said.

His complaints go back to January, when fire investigators determined that the blast was caused by a natural gas leak.

First, the city demanded that Hollis remove the debris from his shop and the neighboring Hotel Holly. Then city leaders began talking about taking the property by eminent domain. The land is just up Main Street from the city’s new Raymond Park – the western gateway – and sits between Bates Mill No. 5 and Main Street. City leaders have talked about turning the mill building into a convention center.

After negotiations, Hollis and the city settled on a $250,000 price in June.

He said Tuesday the city also wanted him to sign a release, absolving Lewiston of any blame in the explosion. Until he did, the city wouldn’t let him put up a sign directing customers to his temporary location, 325 Center St. in Auburn.

“I’m still in business, and I’ve tried to keep in contact with some of my old customers,” Hollis said Thursday. “I just wanted a sign up there so they might at least know where I am and that I’m still working.”

When the city refused, Hollis bought two disabled school buses, filled them with old furniture and spray-painted the sides. He attached signs warning of future natural gas leaks, padlocked the doors and had them towed to his old lot.

He wouldn’t say Thursday what his demands were. He wanted to try negotiating with the city first. But if his demands aren’t met, “I might disclose them,” Hollis said.