Wiscasset selectmen voted 4-1 to start the foreclosure process to take possession of the Mason Station LLC property. The decision followed a 20-minute question and answer session with Attorney Ben Smith of the Auburn law firm of Skelton, Tainter & Abbott Tuesday night.

“The only way for the town to get the property cleaned up is for the town to take it,” Selectman Jeff Slack commented in making the motion.

Town Manager Marian Anderson said back taxes were owned on the former power station since 2007, although Mason Station LLC of Greenwich, Connecticut, the property owner, had made periodic payments. The most recent, $46,998, was received by the town office in August, leaving a balance due of $260,409.

Before proceeding with the foreclosure, Smith said the town office would need to do some research to determine if the lien process, including notifications to the property owner, had been followed in accordance with the law.

Chairman Judy Colby asked if town ownership meant the town was solely responsible for the cost of cleanup.

Smith felt the property owner wasn’t entirely off the hook and might need to address the cleanup issue. “The liability just doesn’t go away but there’s the question of how you go about recovering the funds needed to address the issue,” he said. Smith added, if the town takes possession of Mason Station, it might consider marketing it with the understanding the buyer would be responsible for the cleanup.

Anderson said if the town eventually takes ownership of the site it would qualify for state or federal funding to facilitate an environmental cleanup.

Colby said she hopes starting the foreclosure process might spur the owner to pay more, if not all of the property taxes owed the town.

Slack disagreed. “There’s nothing we’re going to do that’s going to get them to pay,” he said.

Selectman Judy Flanagan cast the dissenting vote, explaining she was reluctant to move ahead not knowing what the implications might be by taking possession of the property.