SANFORD — City Manager Steve Buck told the city council Tuesday that he has asked two people who announced their intention to take the River Street mill, known as the Stenton Trust, by adverse possession to take no further action without producing a specific plan.

As well, Sanford Police have said if the individuals enter the property without permission, they could be cited for criminal trespass.

The alleged attempt to take the property was made public earlier this month, when a sign appeared on the lawn of the 300,000-square-foot structure located at 13 River St. The sign was removed ”“ no one knows by whom ”“ a couple of days later ”“ and its positioning and removal prompted a flurry of interest in the city.

The sign appeared about the same time that a man who identified himself as Michael Hamlin visited City Hall earlier this month.

“He was in and talked about his plans to demolish the mill,” said city treasurer Paula Simpson.

According to information online at the Cornell University Law School, adverse possession is a doctrine whereby a person in possession of land owned by another may acquire valid title.

Buck said Hamlin was supposed to meet with him Oct. 17, but called to cancel the meeting and has not rescheduled.

Buck said Hamlin in an initial visit spoke about his plan to acquire the mill, close on the property within 45 days, demolish it and salvage the materials; he apparently said he had documents from the state and federal environmental agencies, but didn’t have them with him. He spoke of previous, similar work in the Lewiston-Auburn area, Buck said.

According to online news stories from the Sun Journal in the 1990s, a demolition contractor named Michael Hamlin bought the Libbey Mill in Lewiston for $25,000. His plan was to demolish the mill and salvage the materials, but he ran into difficulties surrounding the mill and in his private life. Hamlin was arrested at an Auburn motel for jumping bail while awaiting sentencing on a drug trafficking charge, according to the Sept. 24, 1996 newspaper story, which also referenced a sexual assault conviction involving a young girl and charges involving bad checks in Kennebec County.

The so-called Stenton Trust mill is owned by Jonathan Morse of Gateway Properties. It was sold at bank auction back in 2010, but the buyers never closed on the property. According to city records, Morse remains the owner. The outstanding property tax bill, with interest, stands at about $125,000, according to the city treasurer’s office.

The sign placed on the property earlier this month stated the name of a corporation ”“ AABCO Enterprise, LLC ”“ and contained the words “adverse possession” and “open and notorious,” and a phone number. The sign also contained the words “private property, no trespassing.”

AABCO Enterprises LLC was registered as a limited liability company Sept. 25 by Michelle Fournier of Waterboro.

A call by the Journal Tribune earlier this month to the phone number on the sign was answered by a man named Michael, who initially refused to further identify himself but in a later conversation confirmed his last name was Hamlin.

He vowed to say more about his proposed project “the minute we close on the deal,” he said. “It will be 45 days before we close.”

He was evasive when asked whether he was buying the mill.

In the second, brief telephone conversation earlier this month, Hamlin said the sign’s placement by AABCO Enterprise LLC, was intended to “flush out the owner,” of the mill.

At that time, he said AABCO Enterprise LLC was attempting to locate the owner and buy the mill.

“We don’t want a lot of publicity,” he said.

Buck said the city is keeping an eye on the situation ”“ the 45-day time period winds down about mid-November.

The Maine sex offender registry shows a Michael R. Hamlin, 54, convicted of unlawful sexual contact and sexual abuse of a minor at Maine Superior Court in Augusta in 1996, as a lifetime registrant living in Biddeford. Michael R. Hamlin was sentenced to 190 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and eventually released on probation, which was revoked in November 2013, and he was then returned to prison. He was released Sept. 4, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

When asked about his criminal background, Hamlin had this to say: “You must have the wrong Mike Hamlin,” he said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.