The Presque Isle City Council Wednesday voted to condemn three buildings and work with property owners to rehabilitate two others in a series of hearings that showcased an expanded push by the city to address dangerous properties.
The council voted in favour of the immediate demolition of 31 Caron St. and designated both 63 Dupont Drive and 5 Archer St. as dangerous. The vote effectively condemns the properties and orders the owners to abate the problems within 30 days. If conditions don’t improve, the city will fine the owners $100 per day and City Manager Sonja Eyler can authorize a property’s demolition.
Speaking before the council, code enforcement officer George Howe outlined substantial damage or other issues in the three structures deemed dangerous and an unwillingness for the owners of the buildings to solve those problems.
In the case of 31 Caron St., Howe said the mobile home was full of “food, rats, raccoons, holes in the roof.”
In hearings for two other buildings, at 107 Dyer St. and 499 Caribou Road, the council gave the property owners 30 days to come up with a plan of action to fix issues with their buildings and varying timelines to follow that plan and correct the issues.
All five properties are uninhabited.
The council last designated a property as dangerous in July, and before that condemned four others in October of 2025.
Presque Isle has positioned itself on a more aggressive footing this year against dangerous properties. An ordinance aiming to prevent buildings from sitting vacant was called “government overreach” by landlords before the council approved a pared-down version in March.
The council last month advanced a sixth property, 49 Lombard St., to a dangerous building hearing. That hearing will be held on Nov. 4 at the request of councilor Debra Plummer, who said previously that she would miss the October meeting but wanted to be in attendance when that building is considered.