Man gets extra time to empty historic house

Staff file photo by Joe Phelan
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This June 2000 file photo shows the Governor Bodwell House at 15 Middle St. in Hallowell from when it was listed on that year's Maine Preservation most endangered historic properties list.

HALLOWELL -- City officials once again have extended the time Gary Elwell has to remove his personal belongings from the historic home the city seized from him for unpaid back taxes.

The old Victorian-style home on Middle Street once belonged to Gov. Joseph Bodwell, elected as Maine's 40th governor in 1887.

Since then, city officials have been trying to get him to remove the contents, which includes old books, antiques and research materials. But the city learned that it had been acting under a state law that didn't apply to the case.

The law the city had been citing said that once Elwell has been given a proper amount of time to remove his personal property, the city could ask the state treasurer's office for permission to dispose of anything he left behind.

"We were originally operating under a law that dealt with property held by landlords," Interim City Manager David Giroux said Tuesday. "But when we wrote to the state treasurer's office asking permission to remove the personal items, they wrote back and said the Attorney General's Office says the law doesn't apply."

Giroux said city officials did their homework and came up with another law that both the city solicitor and Maine Municipal Association's attorney agreed could be used to effect Elwell's departure.

Citing that law -- "An Act to Correct the Inadvertent Repeal of the Abandoned Property Disposition Process for Municipalities" -- councilors signed a letter Aug. 8 notifying Elwell he has 21 days to remove "covered property," defined in the law as "all tangible property ... located in or on real estate acquired by a political subdivision through tax delinquency proceedings."

There's only one problem: The certified letter is still in the hands of the city manager.

Giroux said it has been returned twice, so Tuesday he asked Hallowell Police Chief Eric Nason to personally deliver it.

"We're trying to get him to pick up the letter or for me to drop it off so we can make arrangements for him to get back into the property and take more stuff out that belongs to him," Nason said. "He knows I've had it over a week. Hopefully he'll come in or give me a call so we can get together."

Elwell, who lives in Augusta with his mother, said he hasn't picked up his mail in a while.

And it wouldn't matter if he did, he said, because Monday he will be in the hospital.

"I'm in a very difficult situation," Elwell said. "I have cancer and have to have surgery. I've had to put off surgery twice to move my things out when I didn't really have to.

Elwell said he attempted to pay back the taxes he owed, but councilors were more interested in acquiring the property.

The city will include stipulations in the bidding process when it goes on the market that says the new owner must renovate and restore the property within a certain time period.

Giroux said a dozen people have called about the property, from as far away as Texas and California.

Elwell said there is nothing he can do about the loss of his property, but he may take legal action against the city for pressuring him to remove his belongings.

"Someone jumped the gun with the historic district thing to embarrass me," he said. "Then they experimented until they maybe got the right law. That just doesn't sound quite right for most people.

"It's sad for the community and the homeowner," Elwell said. "Kicking the crap out of a taxpayer after 36 years is a bit self-destructive."

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