Published: 7/11/2017 12:20:24 AM
Modified: 7/12/2017 12:51:55 PM
Lebanon — A pet care and grooming business geared to workers in the Route 120 corridor is facing an uncertain future after Mascoma Savings Bank foreclosed on its Etna Road building last month.
The nearly 13,000-square-foot building at 77 Etna Road is scheduled to be auctioned off on Thursday, July 20, according to a notice of mortgagee’s sale signed in June by attorneys at the Concord-based law firm Upton and Hatfield.
The building houses The Ranch, which offers a dog day care, pet boarding services and grooming about a quarter of a mile from the intersection of Route 120. It has remained open for business.
Terry Martin, vice president of Mascoma Savings Bank, confirmed the foreclosure last week. He declined to comment on the bank’s relationship with The Ranch’s owner, Amy Gamache, or who might be interested in purchasing the building, citing “customer confidentiality.”
In an email last week, Gamache said she wants to avoid the auction, saying she was “working now to stop it.” She later said she had a meeting scheduled for today with Mascoma Savings Bank to resolve the issue.
This isn’t the first time businesses owned by Gamache have faced financial difficulties. Grafin Properties, LLC, which owned The Ranch building, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014.
After a two-year court process, the United States Bankruptcy Court in New Hampshire approved in 2016 plans for Gamache to pay back more than $774,000 in debts. Roughly $580,928 of that was owed to Mascoma Savings Bank and another $157,140 was owed to the city of Lebanon, according to court documents.
According to the Lebanon Tax Collectors Office on Monday, The Ranch owes about $105,000 in back and delinquent taxes for 2011, 2012, 2013, and part of 2014 and 2017.
Gamache also co-founded the Lebanon gym Element 6 Fitness in 2015 with Upper Valley native Nate Aldrich.
The Lebanon Planning Board approved construction of The Ranch building on its current 4.2 acre lot in 2004. Several months later, the Lebanon City Council agreed to sponsor a $200,000 federal community development block grant to assist Gamache in building the estimated $1.8 million facility.
Today, the building is assessed for $871,000, according to city records. James R. St. Jean Auctioneers, of Epping, N.H., is organizing next week’s auction.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.