CHARLEMONT — The day before the deadline to pay taxes owed on the historic building, Charlemont Inn owner Charlotte Dewey filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy for a second time, thus stalling the foreclosure process.

Dewey indicated she has potential buyers for the 107 Main St. property with whom she hopes to negotiate a sale. She noted these buyers are different than the people she was hoping would purchase the land in September, when the Selectboard, Board of Health and Historical Commission all wrote letters urging the court to speed up the foreclosure process.

“We have a couple of buyers we are trying to negotiate with at the moment,” Dewey said. “I am hoping the timing all works out. Currently we are keeping our fingers crossed.”

The inn’s owners, Dewey and Linda Shimandle, owe more than $85,000 to Charlemont in taxes, interest, court costs and legal fees. The building has sat vacant for about 12 years and is currently condemned. The 22-room inn operated from the late 1770s to 2011, when it was closed to the public over an inability to pay sewer bills after Hurricane Irene caused significant pipe damage, according to a letter Dewey wrote to the court in 2021.

For more than a decade, the inn’s owners have been involved in various land court cases with the Charlemont Sewer District, as well as the town, for not paying property taxes. During that time the Board of Health found various issues with the property that need to be addressed before it can reopen. The kitchen was used for some time after the rest of the building was condemned, but now, the entire site is condemned.

In September, the Selectboard, Board of Health and Historical Commission all wrote letters urging the court to speed up the foreclosure process. The Selectboard stressed the financial benefit of having this property back in business, saying if the Charlemont Inn was operational, the town could receive $20,000 in annual property taxes and $72,000 in room and meal tax, or 2% of the annual operating revenue. Meanwhile, the Historical Commission asked for the court to help the town save the building from falling into disrepair to the point of needing to be demolished, calling it “a precious resource that once was, and we hope, could once again be a focal point of our town.”

However, filing bankruptcy takes precedence over land court decisions, according to Town Administrator Sarah Reynolds.

The most recent bankruptcy declaration was filed on Nov. 16 in Springfield under Judge Elizabeth Katz. Dewey first declared bankruptcy in 2019.

A discharge for bankruptcy could take four to six months. According to Reynolds, only after a bankruptcy is ruled on can a judge make a decision about foreclosure.

“There is nothing we can do but wait for that part,” Reynolds said.

Selectboard member Will Harker said during Monday’s Selectboard meeting that the inn’s roof is caving in, and the building could potentially be dangerous if someone were to trespass into it.

“I hate to say it, but the roof is going to fall in,” he said.

The Selectboard plans to speak with Dewey about putting up signs indicating the building is condemned and securing the building with plywood to prevent entry.

“We are all just keeping positive,” Dewey said, “thinking that there will be a good solution.”

Reach Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.