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Wagon Wheel issues persist
boardman
The Wagon Wheel Motel on Market Street has been vacant for nearly three months, but the issues that shuttered the building are far from resolved.
“It’s like we’re playing cat and mouse,” said township fire Chief Mark Pitzer. “We feel like we’re getting the runaround.”
Since March, the fire department has been conducting regular inspections of the property after discovering issues that pose risks to occupants and first responders.
When the issues were not corrected, Boardman trustees voted to declare the property a nuisance May 13.
As risks worsened, Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court issued a restraining order against the property May 25 and ordered the motel to be vacated the next day.
Hearings since then have extended the temporary restraining order, providing the property owners with more time to make repairs.
In addition to the property’s structural risks, it has been the site of criminal activity. In 2018, police made 121 calls to the Wagon Wheel. Complaints of bed bug infestations and reports of overdose deaths at the motel have roused the community’s anger.
In January, the family that runs the motel said Chirag Patel purchased the Wagon Wheel in 2014. Ken Patel, Chirag’s father, said then he and his son do their best to dispel criminal activity.
The owners could not be reached for comment for this story.
In the most recent inspection, Pitzer noted that water was still infiltrating one of the rooms. Drywall was hung at the spot, and when water came through, it was painted over.
“We can visibly see that they’re just putting a Band-Aid on it,” said Pitzer
Throughout the process, the property owners have told the fire department they are working with their insurance company to fund the repairs, claiming a major weather event caused the damage to the Wagon Wheel’s roof.
Pitzer said he learned Friday the motel’s insurance company would likely not cover the repair costs.
“The damage is not from a single weather event,” Pitzer said. “It’s from years of neglect.”
The most recent hearing regarding the Wagon Wheel’s fate was scheduled for Aug. 12, but owners requested the night before that it be postponed.
“This is about the third time they postponed a hearing,” said Pitzer. It has not yet been rescheduled.
The next scheduled date in court is Nov. 3. The hearing could determine the fate of the trustees’ nuisance declaration, which owners appealed.
If the trustees’ decision is upheld, the building could be razed.
In the meantime, Pitzer doesn’t expect to see many changes.
“I don’t believe they have any intention on doing permanent repairs,” Pitzer said. “They said the repairs would be done in July, and here we are in the middle of August.”