43
Struthers issues warning to owners of buildings targeted for demolition
STRUTHERS
The owners of a pair of buildings targeted for seizure and demolition by the city met with Law Director John Zomoida on Friday to discuss the fate of their properties.
The owners of Eagle Antiques, 118 S. Bridge St. and 108 S. Bridge St., met with Zomoida last week after receiving a summons to the prosecutor’s office.
Mayor Terry Stocker said the buildings are being considered for seizure and demolition due to safety concerns.
Michael Gabriel, whose son owns 108 S. Bridge and was present during the meeting, said he told the city he and his son would begin working on the repairs necessary for the building come spring and that the city seemed amenable to that course of action.
Zomoida painted a different picture, however, and said the city intended to move on the building as soon as it is legally permitted.
“I didn’t say we’d give them until spring,” Zomoida said. “Like we’ve been saying all along, the city is still moving on the assumption that this building presents an emergency situation, and we think having any occupant in that building presents a safety risk. We think we can proceed on an emergency basis, but we’re going to do everything we can to provide as much notice and opportunity as we can for the occupant. But we have to balance the safety of the community with Mr. Gabriel’s property interest.”
The building has cracks in its exterior corners and the city has roped-off the sidewalks in the vicinity of the building for fear of falling bricks.
There has not been an interior inspection of the building as Gabriel has not consented to the city entering his property.
Regarding Eagle Antiques, Zomoida said the city was issuing another inspection notice and would proceed with an inspection of the building in the near future.
A previous inspection of Eagle Antiques in early September by the city’s fire department resulted in the inspectors issuing fire code violations that were “too numerous to list.”
Photos taken during the inspection show narrow aisles between shelves filled with second-hand items, exit doors blocked by clutter and what appears to be a clerk’s sitting area surrounded by refuse.
The owner was asked to clean out the building, but no inspection to determine whether that has happened has been completed.