ROWLEY — Described by selectmen as a hazard and an "eyesore," a condemned house at 34 Pleasant St. may be razed by the town if owners Harris and David Savage refuse to fix up the dilapidated building.
The Board of Selectmen has been attempting to reach the brothers to discuss several hazards the house poses, such as a large hole in the ceiling and several open bulkheads they say give teenagers easy access to the dangerous property. They've yet to receive a response, and are weighing the costs involved with demolishing the building, or perhaps undertaking limited repairs of the most immediate safety hazards on behalf of concerned neighbors.
"All the (letters) in the past have basically been ignored," said selectmen Chairman David Petersen.
The board has been considering the issue for several months, and decided last December that Building Inspector Ken Ward should make one last attempt to contact the owners before issuing such an order. That letter remains unanswered, and Ward came before selectmen last week recommending the house be torn down.
"The place was condemned in 1995, and boarded up in 1995," reported Ward. "Not a thing has changed since 1995. It's only deteriorated. Back in 1995 when I went in there it looked like a bomb went off. I can only imagine what it looks like now."
Now the problem for the selectmen is paying for the demolition, should the inspector issue that demolition order.
"The problem is, if we order it destroyed we have to pay for it," said Petersen. "It's a fairly sizable amount of money."
Ward suggested the expense of tearing the house down wouldn't be too far off the cost of making the property "weather tight," and ridding the house of various animals that have taken up residence there over the past 10-plus years. He mentioned a petition signed by approximately 60 neighbors he received in 2005 asking the town to do something about the crumbling house in their midst.
"I'm thinking it would cost $10,000 to tear that building down," said Ward. "If you're going to spend one-third of that, my recommendation is to tear it down."
Selectman Jack Cook expressed sympathy for the property's abutters.
"The neighbors down there — it's not a pretty picture," said Cook. "If the guy would sell it I know two or three who would want to buy it."
Ward agreed, and estimated the land value alone at more than a quarter-million dollars.
"That piece of land is worth a lot of money if you could get it," said Ward. "It's probably worth $300,000."
Selectman Stuart Dalzell suggested the board make one more plea to the owners before taking action.
"I suggest sending another letter, giving them another 30 days," said Dalzell, who abstained from voting on the matter.
Vice Chairman Thomas Moses stressed such a letter should put the brothers on notice that the town is serious this time, and lay out a specific time frame in which it plans to act.
"I think we ought to give them an indication about what the time frame might be, so he knows this is not indefinite, and that we're being serious about this," said Moses. "Also to let him know that if we're going to demolish this and put a lien on the property, it's likely going to be more expensive for us to do. He can probably do it himself for less money."
In the meantime, Ward asked the board to seriously consider some immediate measures such as silt fencing around the property to discourage people from venturing near. Petersen agreed to look into fencing, and stated the time has come to deal with this 13-year-old problem.
"Finally after all these years we've got to deal with this situation," he said. "We'll get three prices, and we'll send the Savages a letter that we're serious this time. And we'll look at a time frame at the fall Town Meeting unless an emergency comes up beforehand and we need to take money out of the reserve funds."
