A Readfield man has a month to come up with a plan to correct a number of safety violations in a rental home that has been deemed uninhabitable.

The town’s Select Board on Tuesday spoke with Craig Pollis, owner of the rental house at 323 Main St., and the discussion resulted in Pollis being given 30 days to work with the town’s code enforcement officer on a plan, said Town Manager Eric Dyer.

In the meantime, Pollis might be able to get some assistance with repairs from several people who sent emails to the Town Office on Wednesday offering aid.

Dyer said he arrived at the office Wednesday and saw those messages.

“That’s the kind of support we had after this was broadcast,” Dyer said. A news story published Tuesday indicated the board would be considering the fate of the house, including an option to demolish it at the owner’s expense.

In an interview Monday, Pollis said he tried to fix some of the problems in the home, which is next to where he lives, but that he is unable to do much of it.

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“The roof leaks when there’s a good downpour,” he said at the time. “I started redoing the roof as much as I could.”

In November, the town posted the building as dangerous and unsafe and warned others by placing a red sign in front of the building after the occupancy permit was revoked by the Select Board on Nov. 2, 2015.

A 28-year resident of the town, Pollis said, “Without the income from the little house, I’d have to sell my property.”

Pollis, 59, is retired and disabled.

He said an older couple has placed a camper on his land and live in it, hoping to move into the rental home when it is deemed safe.

On Tuesday the board made a formal determination that people were living in the two-story rental house and that it was not in a safe condition.

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Pollis told them if they were, it was without his permission.

The board told him to put a lock on the door to keep people from being in there without his permission.

Dyer said Tuesday’s meeting was the first direct communication the town had with Pollis.

“The board in the past has given people second chances,” Dyer said. “They are looking out for the safety of the tenants.”

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams


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