A court ruling has tied their hands, but a fire at one of the houses last week could speed the process.

A Superior Court judge ordered that the town enter mediation with the property owner, the Dixon Living Trust of Coats. Those negotiations have gone nowhere, but the court won't allow further action by the town before May 2010.

Commissioners discussed the problem in their meeting last Thursday.

"There's no patching or fixing this," said Commissioner Will Chandler, who is also a firefighter. "There is a hazard to anybody. We can't wait until May of 2010 for the courts to decide to do anything. There is a big liability for this town."

Chandler was among the firefighters who responded to a blaze last week at one of the houses.

He said the fire department had to go into the house unsure of whether anyone was inside.

Had the most-deteriorated house been on fire, firefighters could have been injured, Chandler said. He looked in that house and found that the floor was out and that drug paraphernalia and beer bottles were everywhere.

Town Attorney Jim Johnson said that despite the court order, the town should be able to at least tear down the burned house if the fire chief deems it necessary.

For now, the town is taking steps to keep people out of the houses for their safety and to prevent any more fires. Town employees boarded up the houses last week in preparation for Mule Days.

"With all the people here this weekend, somebody might have tried to camp out in there," Town Manager Keith Langdon said.

Town officials hope to get the property owner to pay for the work.