SOUTH PORTLAND – Last week, former South Portland state Rep. Christopher Muse pleaded not guilty in Portland District Court to a civil charge brought by the city stating that Muse has failed to comply with a City Council order to fix the public nuisance at his home located at 34 Mildred St.

Pat Doucette, the city’s director of code enforcement, said that Muse did turn up in court for the initial hearing, which was held on Aug. 26. Doucette said that Muse “pleaded not guilty (and) the judge set a trial date for sometime in November.”

In mid-June the City Council declared Muse’s multi-family residence a public nuisance due to the collapse of the sewer line leading from the building to the street.

Prior to that vote, the city’s code enforcement office had also found the building to be unfit for human habitation. But, in the months since, Muse has done nothing to fix the situation and continues to live at the residence, even though all utilities have now been turned off.

That’s why South Portland has now sued him. The city is seeking injunctive relief and payment of a fine for noncompliance with the city’s order requiring Muse to move out of the building and to fix the sewer line.

In the complaint, which was filed in late July, the city asks the court to enter an order requiring Muse to “immediately cease and desist any occupancy of the property.”

The complaint also asks the court to impose a fine of at least $100 and not more than $2,500 for each day the violation at 34 Mildred St. continues. The city is also requesting that Muse pay attorney fees and other costs associated with the lawsuit.

At the June 16 City Council meeting, Muse said he could not afford to fix the sewer issue and said that he is out of work and his only source of income has been in renting out the units in his building.

He also told the council that he suffers from “memory problems,” which he said could be either early onset of Alzheimer’s or some other neurological disorder.

Muse was a Democrat state representative from South Portland who served for three consecutive terms in the late 1990s and early 2000s. According to city records, Muse purchased the home on Mildred Street in 1992, and its current assessed value is $280,800.

During the June hearing before the City Council, Muse’s neighbor, Kevin Alvarez, said he’s in “blatant noncompliance” with the city’s nuisance property ordinance and added, “I am flabbergasted and speechless. Every time I think I’ve seen the worst, something worse happens.”

– Kate Irish Collins