Montville — Demolition of the defunct coal-fired power plant on Depot Road, once the most taxed property in town, has stalled.

The company that now owns the plant has not indicated when work on the demolition is expected to resume.

The plant, which has already fallen off the list of the top 10 taxpayers in town, will continue to be worth less money as demolition proceeds, before the waterfront property can developed in a new way.

The demolition work stalled about two months ago, according to town Fire Marshal Raymond Occhialini.

Mayor Ronald McDaniel said the town has pledged support for marketing the property and putting it to the best use, once the demolition is finished.

The plant was formerly owned and operated by AES Thames Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in February 2011. Arizona-based Interstate Construction Services purchased the plant from the bankruptcy court for $2.5 million in December 2012 and began the demolition process in late 2013.

Then, in September of this year, Georgia-based packaging manufacturer RockTenn took ownership of the plant, according to town land records. RockTenn already owned the land underlying the structure.

Town officials have deferred to RockTenn for answers to questions.

"The original asset owner is no longer in sight and we're negotiating to have the remaining assets removed from our property," RockTenn spokeswoman Robin Keegan said in a phone message Oct. 31. Keegan did not return subsequent calls or emails for comment.

Town records show that contractors working on demolition of the plant began filing liens against RockTenn and ICS in the spring. Some liens have also been filed this year against Demco Inc. Demco had a demolition permit with the town, which expired June 30.

Demco has also been in bankruptcy since 2012, before demolition began.

In March, D.W. Transport & Leasing Inc. filed an approximately $191,000 lien on the property for demolition services. D.W. filed for foreclosure against RockTenn and ICS in September over the lien.

ICS president and CEO Stephen Durkee, in a brief email in late October in response to an inqury about the plant, suggested progress to be made in demolition, but did not return subsequent emails for comment.

Also in March, Gerard Chimney Co. filed a lien of about $620,000. A lien of roughly $54,000 was filed against Demco in June, according to the lien document signed by a representative of United Rentals Inc. Demco was the subject of another lien of about $30,000 filed by City Oil Co. Inc in July.

The town has also been drawn into the legal milieu. In May, RockTenn filed a complaint in New London Superior Court claiming that the town's charge of $730,000 in property taxes on the AES Thames parcel for the 2013 grand list was excessive.

Connecticut Light & Power has begun removal of the interconnection between the plant and the CL&P substation on Lathrop Road. The project is slated for completion this month, according to an Oct. 31 letter CL&P sent out to Montville residents.

CL&P spokesman Frank Poirot said Thursday that the disconnection is not tied to demolition of the power plant. He said CL&P would no longer be able to receive power from the plant.

AES Thames dropped from being the top taxpayer on the 2011 grand list, with a value of $39.7 million, to the 10th highest taxpayer on the 2012 grand list, with a value of $4.9 million.

AES Thames fell off the top 10 grand list in 2013, with RockTenn making the designation of sixth-highest taxpayer, paying $8.6 million.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess