TEMPLETON — During the Oct. 27 Select Board meeting, Treasurer/Collector Cheryl Richardson reported that several tax-foreclosed parcels remain stalled in Land Court, including properties on Holman Street and the long-vacant American Tissue site.
Richardson said that while the town has been “offered judgment” on some properties, she was advised to hold off accepting them, leaving the cases pending. “We’re still waiting on Land Court for the ones on Holman,” she said, adding that American Tissue’s property remains in limbo as the court issues required notices.
Richardson said the present owners of the American Tissue site have “been trying to sell” the property “for quite some time.”
“Right now it’s up for lease,” Richardson added. “They couldn’t sell, so they’re trying to lease the property.”
Although Templeton officials have long sought to acquire the American Tissue site through foreclosure, the process has been stalled by Land Court proceedings and environmental cleanup requirements.
Templeton’s American Tissue site (on Patriots Road) is a long-troubled industrial property that’s been under private ownership, not town ownership. American Tissue, Inc., has been through bankruptcy proceedings, fraud accusations, and environmental issues since the early 2000s. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has also monitored it for contamination.
According to an EPA Action Memorandum for the former American Tissue site, friable asbestos accessible to trespassers and soil contaminated with lead and arsenic above state safety standards pose ongoing risks at the property, which lies roughly 600 feet from the nearest home. The memo also notes roughly 100 unburied drums and dozens of tanks—including two 20,000-gallon ASTs [i.e., Aboveground Storage Tanks], a sulfuric-acid tank, and a 275,000-gallon clarifier—that pose release risks to people and the adjacent Otter River.
The treasurer also explained how recent changes in state law have complicated municipal foreclosures. Under the new process, once Land Court transfers ownership, the town must obtain an appraisal within 30 days and decide whether to keep or sell the property. If it sells, proceeds beyond taxes, interest, and legal fees must be held in an interest-bearing account and later returned to the former owner.
Board members agreed to focus instead on properties foreclosed prior to the new law that can be auctioned under existing rules. Richardson said three such parcels are already ready for auction and suggested adding others that the town does not intend to keep.
“If we auction the three that we already have, we can throw those in,” Richardson said. “The auctioneer will be glad to have more property…the more we can get back on the tax roll, the better.”
Deputy Assessor Justice Graves, who was present during the meeting, noted that some of the parcels are residential homes currently tax-exempt because they are listed under the town’s name.
“The ones that are houses are definitely something that we should focus on,” Graves said. “Those are tax-exempt on the books right now since they’re under the town’s name.”
Board members discussed clearing overgrown lots to make them accessible for potential buyers. “I think if the board wants to look at those properties, we’d have to send grounds out there and have Bob and his people clear out a path,” Town Administrator James Ryan said.
Vice Chair Candace Graves added that residents have repeatedly asked when the town plans to sell unused properties. “We just have residents all the time asking us when we’re going to move on some of these properties and sell these,” Graves said. “I’d love to move on some of these properties.”
The board then voted unanimously to direct the town administrator to compile an inventory of town-owned parcels eligible for sale and prepare for a spring auction. The board agreed to revisit the list of town-owned parcels once the inventory is complete and to finalize it over the winter in preparation for a planned spring auction.
