Selectmen considering taking possession of blighted downtown Pawcatuck building
Stonington — The Board of Selectmen is considering foreclosing on a $24,000 lien it has filed on a long-blighted downtown Pawcatuck property and taking possession of it.
The building at 2-4 Mechanic St., which has been vacant for most of the past 35 years, is in a very visible location at the intersection of Mechanic and West Broad streets. There are broken windows and structural problems, the roof leaks and the outside is overgrown. Sections of the inside are roped off because of safety concerns.
At Wednesday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Director of Planning Jason Vincent, who serves as the town’s blight officer, said building owner Stephen Vacca of Branford has not been responsive to orders to repair the building even after the lien was filed. The lien represents the amount of fines he has incurred for not fixing the property.
Vincent said the town has three options: do nothing, foreclose and take over the building, or repair it and bill Vacca. Vincent said the town does not have the money to proceed with the latter options and it is unknown if Vacca would repay the town. Selectmen indicated they also do not want to own more property and Vincent said the town does not have the resources to manage it. The town, however, could sell it.
Selectmen delayed a decision until their next meeting so they could have the town attorney analyze their options.
Vincent said there have been numerous complaints about the condition of the building over the years and the fines were imposed after Vacca refused to make repairs. Vacca could not be reached for comment Thursday.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Vacca’s sister Cynthia Lathrop and her son Jim Lathrop both urged selectmen to take action to end the blight.
Cynthia Lathrop offered selectmen a history of the property from when her late father operated a tire store there.
“It’s a very sad situation” she told selectmen about the condition of the building. “I’d like to see my father’s legacy come back. Everything my father worked hard for is gone.”
Her son Jim, who has run Best Energy in a small portion of the building since October 2012, said a portion of the building is roped off and he has undertaken work in the past that “the landlord” would not do.
In March, a fire destroyed the building next door at 6 Mechanic St. and damaged Best Energy, which remains open. Jim Lathrop said the fire, which remains under investigation, caused between $10,000 to $15,000 of damage to 2-4 Mechanic St. but he said Vacca was uninsured.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.