STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine — A Waldo County Superior Court justice has ruled against a Stockton Springs woman who believes her town’s Board of Selectmen acted unlawfully when it voted to declare her home a dangerous structure and condemn it.
The written order, handed down last week by Justice Robert Murray, affirms the board’s May 21, 2015, decision to find Hollie Ann Beal’s Sandy Point property dangerous. Beal and her attorney, Aaron Fethke of Searsport, had contended that the decision was unsupported by the evidence, was unconstitutional and was unlawful because the hearing had not been conducted by impartial people.
However, Murray found otherwise. He concluded that Beal had had ample opportunity to give her side of the story and that Beal and Fethke didn’t prove that town officials were biased in her case. The justice also wrote that the “record is replete with evidence” to substantiate the board’s ultimate conclusion.
“The mere fact that there was contrary evidence presented to the board does not render the decision reached by the board as one unsupported by substantial evidence,” Murray wrote in the order.
Fethke said this week that his client is likely to appeal the justice’s decision. He and Beal have maintained that the fate of Beal’s home — a simple, 675-square-foot structure that overlooks Muskrat Stream — is at stake. He considers that Beal’s property remains in a state of limbo.
“Unless the town decides to just let this go and agree to not demolish her house and give her time to finish her repairs, we have no choice but to appeal. It’s up to them,” Fethke said. “She just wants to fix her house and be left alone. Don’t we all?”
Two weeks ago, the lawyer for the town of Stockton Springs said, in fact, the selectmen have not ordered Beal’s property to be demolished. Attorney Erik Stumpfel of Bangor said instead that the selectmen’s final written order of May 21, 2015, instructed Beal to make corrections to her property by July 30, 2015.
“Obviously, we’re pleased with the decision,” Stumpfel said Thursday. “We’re still in a little bit of a waiting mode to see if they’ll appeal it to the Maine Law Court.”
Beal had hired a Knox County builder to inspect her house to determine what it would need to become safe and habitable, and she added structural supports after he advised her to do so. Also, over the months since the dispute with the town began in late 2014, she has made improvements such as hiring a contractor to make the structure level and to add a new metal roof. The renovation has cost her about $20,000 so far, she estimated. But town officials do not believe the essential problem has been solved.
“The selectmen found that the improvements made by Ms. Beal before and during the time that this matter has been pending do not address the issue of the basic structural integrity of the building, plus other dangerous conditions that were identified in the selectmen’s order,” Stumpfel said in late February.
Stumpfel said Thursday that if Beal does not appeal Murray’s decision, he would discuss with the selectmen how to proceed.