Adams Selectmen Still Frustrated With Truck Depot
ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen's patience is running thin with a trucking company who has failed to pay property taxes in the last two years.MJD Real Estate, owners of the former Curtis Fine Papers mill, was nearly shut down last year because of missing payments. Later, the town began taking steps toward rescinding previous agreements but legal obstacles and the number of parties involved - including the state Department of Revenue - push the issue to the back burner.
Since then MJD has caught up on its monthly payments - $2,600 a month - and environmental cleanup work required by the state Department of Environmental Protection is underway, according to Town Administrator Jonathan Butler.
"They are paying their monthly payments and it behooves us to continue to work with them," he said on Wednesday.
However, the company is still behind on their taxes since 2009 and the Board of Selectmen are not so forgiving.
Selectmen Jason Hnatonko, Paula Melville and Scott Nichols all voiced frustration with the company but did not take action because Selectmen Arthur "Skip" Harrington and Michael Ouellette were absent from the meeting.
"I'm disgusted with it," Hnatonko said. "[But] something of this magnitude, I think should have the full board here."
This is not the first time the company has fallen behind on the payments. In 2010, the company was $16,098 behind and when the issue was brought to the forefront, MJD paid nearly half of that in one payment. The company then said it would move its trucking operations to the rear of the building but they still have not done so.
Melville was the most vocal in advocating for the town to take action against the company. The town is owed more than $100,000 in taxes and sewer bills and has not moved the trucks, she said. She called on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Treasurer to take action against the company.
"They've had a year to do this," Melville said. "I'm not interested in sitting here and looking like a joke. I'm not interested in driving by Howland Avenue and seeing those trucks still parked where they're not supposed to be thumbing their nose at us."
Nichols said his "patience is running thing with them" but wanted to look at the issue more closely. Nichols said they were putting "band-aids" on the issues the town brought up last year.
The item was scheduled for a workshop meeting next week.
In other business, Butler said the upcoming budget is projected to easy on the taxpayers wallets. The state has certified $1.6 million in free cash that will roll over into the next budget, which he hopes to present on Feb. 24. While much of that will continue to be kept in stabilization accounts, the amount is the most Butler said he's seen in recent years and it signifies great start to budget process.
"That's a really high number," Butler said. "I believe we will be very gentle on the tax rate."
