AMHERST - Amherst is mulling its options after the deadline passed without repairs being made to the former police station downtown.
"The date for the order has passed and we're exploring what we're going to do," Amherst chief administrative officer Greg Herrett said Monday. "We're going to take some sort of action fairly soon, but we have to determine what direction we're going in."
The building, located on the corner of LaPlanche and Victoria streets, was the source of an unsightly premises complaint that was followed up with an engineering consultant's report suggesting there was a danger to the public from falling stone. As a result, the town's Transportation and Public Works Department placed barricades around the building and closed the sidewalk to protect pedestrians.
While he said the building's owner, Tang Dynasty Investments, received the order from the town requiring appropriate repairs be made, Herrett could not say if the town received a reply to its request.
Now that the deadline has passed, there are a number of options available including fining the building's owner for non-compliance with an order or making the repairs and billing it against the property.
The town also has the option of continuing to try to communicate with the owner in hopes he will make the necessary repairs.
"Ultimately the hammer rests with the town in that we can do the repairs and charge it back. We don't want to get to that point because there's always one party that isn't very happy when we go that way," Herrett said.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
