An elected city councilor who has been critical of Ellsworth’s decision to keep the proceeds from the sale of a tax-acquired property has removed a banner that was posted at a busy downtown intersection.
After being told last week by city officials that the large banner was a sign that had not been properly permitted, Steve O’Halloran removed it. But he immediately replaced the banner at the same location with a semi-trailer that has the exact same message stenciled on the side.
“Shame on Ellsworth!” the message reads in all capital letters on the side of the trailer, which is parked on a lot next to a traffic signal on the corner of Main and Oak streets. “Return the Karst family equity!! $117,907.99.”
O’Halloran’s complaint refers to how the city handled the 2023 sale of a property it foreclosed on nearly five years ago for unpaid property taxes.
The logo of O’Halloran’s company also is stenciled on the trailer on each side of the message.
The trailered shipping container that was on the site — and which still displays the critical banner — was relocated to a lot on Route 1A, where O’Halloran has other large shipping containers and sheds in storage.
Kerry Karst, who lives in Brewer, inherited the two-bedroom house on Fifth Street from his father in 2014 but did not pay more than two years’ worth of tax bills on it, racking up a $7,000 debt to the city. Karst did not contest the sale of the property when the council decided in 2023 to auction it off.
O’Halloran and his supporters continue to argue that the city should give the income it made from selling the house at auction back to Karst. Other councilors and top city officials have countered that doing so could open a legal can of worms and subject the city to lawsuits from others who lost properties to the city for unpaid taxes.
The seven-member council is expected to discuss the sale and proceeds of the property — which has had a new owner for more than two years — again when it meets Monday. An agenda item sponsored by councilors Patrick Lyons and Jon Stein calls for a “discussion and potential action” on the net proceeds from the sale of the property.
