Town needs to get rid of five-acre lot
By Caitlyn Kelleher

Ashby selectmen voted to auction off a five-acre piece of property on West State Road after the owner failed to pay property taxes.

Selectmen set a $27,500 starting price on the property and will include the requirements that the property not be used as a junkyard, which appears to be its current use.

"We want to be rid of it," Selectman Gerald Houle said. "I don't want to give it away but I want to price it to move."

S e l e c t m a n Geoffrey Woollacott voted against the price saying that they were setting it too low and that he wanted to let property go for too little money.

The owner of the property, Anthony Kaminski, owes $10,068.87 in back property taxes and related costs dating back to 1993, according to Kate E. Stacy, the town treasurer.

There is no house on the property, which is valued at $69,800.

The property is loaded with cars, building materials and other "junk" items.

Stacy said the police department is checking the vehicle identification numbers on all of the cars on the lot.

Selectmen decided they would sell the property with the cars on it because they could not determine a good way of getting rid of them.

"We could donate (the cars)," McMurray said.

Stacy said unless there was more of a delay, then the town could not donate any of the cars because the town had not taken ownership of the cars when it assumed possession of the property.

Houle and McMurray said this clean up and other property clean up issues was the reasons they want have the auction's minimum bid at less than 50 percent of the property's value.

"There are many issues with this property," McMurray said. "This could become a bigger issue for the town."

If the town owns the property for three or more years then officials become responsible for any hazardous material clean up the property may require.

The town foreclosed on the property in July 2005, said Stacy.

The conservation commission members also told selectmen there is an outstanding enforcement order on the property because of a small amount of wetlands that have been filled. A new owner would be responsible for removing that fill.

A date for the auction has not bee set yet, said Stacy.

In other business:  Selectmen set the fall special town meeting for Oct. 21.