The Town of Hamlet continues addressing some unsafe properties. The zoning board recently approved an order giving the owner of 200 West Davis Street until April 10 to finish tearing down a dilapidated garage. In a letter to board members, the owner felt that timeline was possible.
If she doesn’t get it done by then, the board has hired JD Excavating to do the work, on the added condition that it could be complete by April 20. The company submitted the lowest of the three bids the town received at $2,000.
However, confusion remains over 218 Railroad Street. Town officials said junk remains on the property, along with a dilapidated garage, among other issues. Normally, the property owner would be ordered to clean it up, but the owner of record is deceased, according to town officials. However, the property never comes up for tax sale because a current occupant is still apparently paying the taxes, even though he might not technically have any legal right to be there.
“We can’t even keep him off, because he’s trespassing but there’s nobody to make a complaint,” Town Attorney Martin Bedrock added. He noted that a creditor could force an estate to be opened, but the official owner doesn’t owe the town any money.
In the end, town officials decided to send an order to both the current occupant and the dead owner.
