LIVERMORE FALLS — Code Enforcement Officer Brandon Hobbs said officials are going to begin enforcing the town’s Property Management Ordinance, because attempts to get some owners to voluntarily comply are not working.

He advised selectmen recently that his biggest concerns are deteriorating buildings with crumbling bricks and broken windows, overflowing dumpsters, accumulating trash and lack of lawn maintenance.

People want the town to look like the way it used to years ago and be well-maintained,  he said.

Hobbs was hired last spring and gave people the opportunity to clean up their places once the snow was gone.

On Sept. 6, he presented selectmen with a packet that included photos of a property on Baldwin Street that he has been trying to get cleaned up. It included a notice of violations and order requesting voluntary compliance to correct violations of the Property Maintenance Ordinance. The notice is dated July 1.

Owners were asked to remove all trash, garbage, refuse and junk from the yard, steps and walkways and the same from immediate public roadway within 30 days.

Fines of up to $2,500 can be imposed per each violation, according to the notice. As of Sept. 6, the property’s condition had become worse, according to Hobbs.

Residents at the meeting noted that neighbors have tried to offer help, such as bringing trash to the Transfer Station, but it was declined.

The health officer and Town Manager Amanda Allen are also involved.

Besides piles of garbage bags, Allen said rats have been seen on the property.

The packet presented to the board also included a list of other properties Hobbs is dealing with.

The town manager and selectmen are backing his effort to enforce the ordinances, Hobbs said.

“We are actually going to start enforcing the ordinances to get back to a common ground, a manageable place,” he said.

There are a lot of issues outside the village area, including automobile graveyards and junk yards, he said.

The Property Maintenance Ordinance adopted in 2015 pertains to the Village District and sets a minimum standard for the condition and maintenance of the exterior of all buildings and structures and the premises surrounding them.

The Village District is defined by the Jay town line on the north, the Androscoggin River on the west, Central Maine Power’s right of way on the east and, on the south, by an east-west line from the Androscoggin River to the power lines, and encompassing all properties abutting Gilbert Street, the south loop.

“Buildings which are not well maintained and which take on an unkempt, dilapidated  appearance have a negative, blighting effect not only on the immediate surrounding properties but on the community as well,” the ordinance reads. “The ordinance is intended to require property owners to maintain their properties in good repair in order to preserve the community’s safety and welfare.”

Town ordinances can be found online at lfme.org under the code enforcement tab.