BANGOR, Maine — The City Council will consider for a second time whether to declare dangerous and order the demolition of a burned-out house at 44 Patten St., according to Assistant City Solicitor Paul Nicklas.
The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 22. The upcoming vote comes after the council delayed a vote on the issue Monday when confronted by Charlton Butler, who identified himself as the owner of the property.
Butler told the council he was still arguing with the bank and the Maine State Housing Authority and that his attorney would be contacting them by the end of the week.
“Since we haven’t really resolved this, why would you feel that it is necessary to destroy my home?” he said.
Acting on advice from City Solicitor Norm Heitmann, the council delayed consideration of the issue until its next meeting.
“If the gentleman has an attorney, I would suggest that attorney reach out to my office and provide whatever information he or she feels we should know,” Heitmann said at the time.
As of Thursday morning, Nicklas said no attorney has contacted the city regarding the property and that the issue was still scheduled for council consideration June 22.
The city is seeking to raze the structure under the state’s dangerous building law. Fire gutted the structure in July 2013.
In a memorandum to the council, municipal staffers said lenders had failed to rehabilitate the structure as requested by the city and that efforts to contact the owners were unsuccessful.
Municipal tax records show the property belongs to Twila Butler. In an email to the Bangor Daily News, she identified herself as Twila Wolf and identified Charlton Butler as her husband. She said they were not notified of the city’s plans to demolish the house.
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