NEWPORT – Almost a year ago, David Williams of Railroad Street brought photographs to the Newport selectmen’s meeting to show how dangerous the former Hood’s cottage cheese plant across the street from his home had become.

Abandoned more than 10 years ago, the plant – which is actually a series of attached, rambling buildings – was falling down and had become a hangout for local teenagers.

He was told at the time that officials were waiting to receive a certified letter sent to the processing plant’s owner, William Smith, which gave Smith until May 20, 2002, to respond to the town’s concerns.

Williams said Tuesday he is still waiting.

This weekend another neighbor called the police when teens were seen on the building’s unsafe roof. Williams himself shooed four 6-year-olds from the structure Monday. “The building is coming apart,” said Williams. “It has shifted 6 inches off the foundation.”

Town Manager James Ricker gave no argument Tuesday to Williams’ assessment. “There are leaking transformers, a 21/2- story furnace, a smokestack with a 6-foot circumference, a pump station out back. We are as interested as those neighbors in getting rid of that plant,” he said.

But the bottom line is cash. “The removal of this building will not happen without a hefty price tag,” he said, estimating it could cost between $100,000 and $200,000 to safely and properly remove the building and clean up the site.

“In most of these cases, the town bears the upfront costs and then gets reimbursed by the landowner. It works great with a small house that the Fire Department can burn or a building that I can send an excavator in and have done in a day,” he said. “But this is a complete factory with a lot of environmental concerns.”

Ricker said he has been working with the town’s attorneys to determine what the best plan is. “We currently have a lien on the property and could easily have it condemned. But if we just initiate legal proceedings, it could cost the town a lot of money,” he said. At this point, Ricker said, he is not sure Smith can be held financially responsible for the cleanup.

Once ownership and responsibility are determined, Ricker said, he will have a contractor provide an estimate for deconstruction of the brick-and-wood building. “If need be, we’ll go back to a special town meeting. It will be up to the people to determine,” he said.