RACHEL RAVINA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Toy Town in downtown Snow Hill this week remained cordoned off by the town.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(April 11, 2019) Nothing was resolved Friday in the matter of State of Maryland vs. Richard Seaton Jr., as the case was put on the stet (inactive) docket as the Town of Snow Hill and the Toy Town business continue to talk.

At odds is Seaton’s lack of an occupancy permit to run his business on 207 North Washington Street.

The town signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016 to deed over the building to Seaton and his wife, Debbie, if certain renovations and repairs were done over a five-year period. Town officials, however, apparently wanted an accelerated timeline and shut down the business in February when that was not done, citing safety concerns.

Today, the building is closed and the sidewalk outside the shop obscured by scaffolding. A sign in the window, put up by the Seatons, reads, “CLOSED BY TOWN HALL until further notice.”

Worcester County District Court Judge Richard R. Bloxom on Friday said the two parties had discussions in his chambers earlier that day and would continue to talk, outside of court.

Bloxom said it struck him as appropriate to stet the violation, or put it on hold, with the understanding “the Town of Snow Hill reserves the right to reactivate the citation, under certain circumstances.”

Snow Hill Mayor Stephen Mathews was present during the trial, but declined to comment. The Seatons also did not comment.

Attorney Randy Coates, who represented Seaton, said the stet order amounted to “kicking the can down the road.”

Just how far it’s being kicked is not yet known.

“We’re going to go over and meet with [Snow Hill’s] attorney at the building and we’ll have a discussion there,” Coates said. “Based on that discussion, we may or may not be able to open.”

The Seatons had argued they don’t need a certificate of occupancy, because they do not yet own the building. Former Mayor Charlie Dorman is said to have signed an occupancy permit, but that apparently never left his desk.

Snow Hill Code Enforcement Officer Jon Hill came to the store with a sheriff’s deputy on Feb. 28 to deliver a civil citation and close the store.

Toy Town has since opened a second location, in downtown Berlin.