At a regularly scheduled Feb. 18 meeting, the Camden Select Board voted unanimously to give Janice Kay, who is again the owner of 39 Main Street in downtown Camden, 45 days to engage engineers and produce a remediation plan for her building, now labeled dangerous by the town.

Kay became owner again of the building officially on Feb. 7, after accepting a deed in lieu of foreclosure of the property from Larry Weatherholtz, of Cape Neddick. Kay had sold the property to him while holding the mortgage, but he relinquished the property back to her this winter.

Susan Thiem, Kay's attorney, along with Paralegal Kevin Hall, said Kay's intention was to ask the town to extend the time before making a ruling on the dangerous building. The Select Board was holding a hearing on the dangerous building Feb. 18, with Kay's legal representatives in attendance to advocate for her while she was out of the country.

"Janice has every intention of enlisting a project manager, and obtaining a stamped plan to make the remediations, understanding that the first and foremost matter is the structural issue, which will be to restore the pilings," said Hall.

There are, it was noted, 13 pilings that are holding up the 39 Main Street building. The building sits on a stretch of granite bedrock where the Megunticook River empties in Camden Harbor. 

The building is currently uninsured and is a structure to which power lines for neighboring buildings are attached. 

Select Board member Alison McKellar said: "I have sympathy for Janice, but for the community, there is a significant threat to resources. You hear on top of this that there is no insurance. What we are hearing is that the building could fall down. It is continuing to shift. A number of things could cause problems. If the building falls, it falls into the [Montgomery Dam] pool and into the harbor."

The assessed value of the building is $126,000 and it sits in the flood zone, said Camden Planner Jeremy Martin. He had issued a violation notice in early October to the former owner of the building. Martin urged for a schedule if the Select Board was to grant Kay time to gather resources.

"We have to have defined dates," he said. "Otherwise, we will be in a pickle down the road. We would hate to see the building collapse."

Hall said Kay had, "found this in her lap in just two weeks."

Board member Tom Hedstrom suggested Kay be offered a 45-day window to establish a working plan to stabilize the building.

Within that 45 days, Kay must also produce proof of financial capacity to improve the building; communicate with the Maine Dept. of Transportation, which owns the bridge in downtown Camden over the Megunticook River and to which a portion of 39 Main Street building is attached; and obtain property insurance for the building.

The interim order, as articulated by Camden Town Attorney Bill Kelly, finds that the building is dangerous and that the next hearing on 39 Main Street will be March 4.

Additionally, the Select Board called for a 90-stipulation that any future plans for 39 Main Street must include engineer-stamped plans and an engagement letter with a contractor.

"I think that would be fair," said Select Board member Chris Nolan. 

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657