Wendy Plummer explains her housing situation to the Buxton Select Board at her hearing last week. Robert Lowell / American Journal
Time and a grace period has run out for a Buxton woman who lives in a home the town has deemed unsafe.
The Buxton Select Board last week gave Wendy Plummer until Jan. 1 to remove her mobile home from her property on Old Thompson Road.
“This is a hard decision to have to make,” Chairperson Frank Pulsoni said.
The board’s vote was unanimous, 5-0, following a 75-minute hearing at Town Hall.
Plummer, 60, is a disabled widow who has spent several years without an income but expects to start receiving disability checks in January. She has three dogs and no vehicle.
“I don’t know where I’m going,” Plummer said at the podium before the Nov. 2 vote.
She did not return two telephone calls to her home Monday.
The five-member board found the property met the criteria of a dangerous building. The property is unstable, structurally unsafe, unsanitary, a fire hazard and unsuitable for occupancy, according to board member Chad Poitras, the town’s health officer.
The town had earlier given Plummer a deadline of June 1 to have the property cleaned up, according to Code Enforcement Officer Patti McKenna.
Buxton Police Sgt. Kevin Collins, who responded to the home on Sept. 1 for a medical emergency, said the floor was spongy, the ceiling sagged and mold was present. He called McKenna to the home, where she said she found leaks in the roof and internal wall damage. The inside is “extremely” cluttered, the porch is dilapidated and there is an illegal propane hookup, she told the board.
“It’s an unsafe house,” Select Board member Mark Blier said.
Board member David Field said the building endangers the town’s first responders.
Plummer said the roof and interior have been patched. She also has made arrangements to have the porch repaired and for the propane hookup to be properly installed at a cost of $240. She has been getting help to clean up the yard.
Plummer attributed trash to others who stayed on the property and said her son, who died in April, had a lot to do with the mess. She wept while speaking at the podium but for the most part maintained her composure.
She said her daughter contributed toward a cleanup.
“We’ve had three dumpsters go out of there,” Plummer said.
Her sister, Faith Gammon, also has helped clean up.
“We’ve cleaned up a lot in the house. I’m willing to help her the best I can,” Gammon told the board.
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