TURNERS FALLS — Town officials now face the task of figuring out what to do with the Railroad Salvage building, whose owner has owed about $50,000 in property taxes since before the mill caught fire early Dec. 31.
The agenda for a Selectboard meeting planned for Thursday includes a request from Building Inspector David Jensen, asking for funds to demolish any parts of the building that are “immediate public safety hazards.”
The Railroad Salvage building at 11 Power St. was already dilapidated and partially collapsed before it caught fire. When firefighters left the scene the day after, most of the building had been destroyed, including a collapsed roof and a crumbling floor.
The Selectboard held an emergency meeting the morning of the fire where it voted to give the Fire Department clearance to do any emergency demolition to the building for the safety of the public.
Fire Chief John Zellmann and Jensen were on site with two of the Selectboard members, Michael Nelson and Richard Kuklewicz. Minutes from the emergency meeting said Jensen and Zellmann were both worried about the structure, which was already fragile, and Jensen said that the walls were bowing because of the fire and the building was in danger of collapse.
The building is owned by a limited liability corporation, Solutions Consulting Group LLC, which according to online filings, is owned by Millers Falls resident Jeanne Golrick. She declined to comment when approached by a reporter on Wednesday.
The town does not own the building, but during the last year, the town has been in the process of claiming it because of delinquent tax payments. Thursday’s meeting also includes an executive session to discuss litigation strategy in regards to the building.
Currently, the owner owes $47,538.22 in back taxes, which is calculated through the end of 2016. But that amount does not include the current fiscal year taxes which are $4,795.20.
According to Treasurer and Tax
Collector Eileen Seymour, the process for the town reclaiming buildings is typically lengthy and the town tries to work with owners to create payment plans for back taxes. The process to claim a building only begins after three years of delinquent tax payments. The town filed a tax title on the building in September of 2013 and then filed the action to foreclose in October of 2015. The next step in the process is the state land court, where the town’s attorney would file to seize the building. With this particular building, the town has not filed anything in land court yet.
Town officials are calling for the public to stay away from the building because it is still in danger of collapse. Zellmann said on Wednesday that they have met with a wrecking company to take down several unstable walls and floors, which the Selectboard will vote to authorize on Thursday. He said several sections will have to be taken down before the town can reopen Power Street.
Zellmann said after dealing with all initial public safety concerns, it will be a matter of working with the owner to secure it in the long term. He said he has called the property owner, but has not been in touch yet.
Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the State Fire Marshal’s Office, said the fire is being considered suspicious because the building wasn’t regularly in use and no one should have been inside.
“It doesn’t mean that the fire was intentionally set, we just don’t know,” she said.
Both Zellmann and Mieth said they are still looking for any information from the public, and encourage anyone who may know something about the fire to call the anonymous arson hotline, at 1-800-682-9229.
Reach Miranda Davis at: 413-772-0261 ext. 280 or mdavis@recorder.com.