Warren hires engineer hired to check Packard building

Staff report

WARREN

At the direction of Magistrate Dan Gerin of Warren Municipal Court, Warren officials have hired a structural engineer to determine the safety of the former Packard Electric buildings on Dana and Griswold streets.

That report likely is to be ready when the building’s owner, Sergio DiPaolo of Girard, appears for his next hearing on building-code violations at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

At that same hearing, the magistrate is expected to rule on the Warren Law Department’s request that DiPaolo’s bond be revoked because of his continued failure to abide by the city’s rules, said Atty. David Lake, an assistant law director.

The most recent example was when two men working for DiPaolo were found in a building on Griswold Street removing steel with a torch without a current demolition permit or occupancy permit. Those men face criminal charges of their own.

Earlier this week, Lake, DiPaolo, Warren building official Chris Taneyhill and the structural engineer toured the buildings to provide the structural engineer with information to write his report.

One large section of buildings facing Dana Street has been demolished to the degree that there is essentially just a shell on the Dana Street side. One question is whether that is safe for the public.

The ultimate goal is to have the former buildings either demolished or renovated so that they do not pose a safety hazard and so that the property will be in the proper condition to be reused, Lake said.

Revoking bond and putting DiPaolo in the Trumbull County jail would be a possibility if DiPaolo doesn’t comply, he added.