“The building is in worse shape than we thought,” Rob England, county chief building official, told the county commissioners in a brief report Thursday. He specifically noted the north wall that engineers said was “actively moving.”
Prosecutors late Friday filed in county Common Pleas Court a request for a finding the building is a serious hazard/unsafe building or structure and a public nuisance; and an order “requiring the defendant to immediately raze the building/structures.”
The building owned by 116 West Main Street LLC was termed an “unsafe building and a serious hazard to the public” in an adjudication order issued May 9 by England. The abatement could be either through repairs or removal.
The building with portions dating to the 1840s was damaged in a 2020 tornado that hit the downtown area.
Subsequent court cases have involved the approval by city boards to demolish, which later was overturned by the county Common Pleas Court and the 2nd District Court of Appeals.
A proposal before Troy City Council asks it to authorize Patrick Titterington, city service and safety director, to accept title to the property in the name of the city.
It also asks to authorize Titterington to sign a settlement agreement with the owner “in substantial compliance with the agreement presented to the Miami County Common Pleas Court on May 24 …” That proposed agreement has not been made public in court filings or by any parties in the litigation.
Those parties said after a May 24 injunction hearing was canceled that they were working toward “a mutually beneficial and global solution.”
Council discussed the city accepting donation of the building in a closed session June 5 and held the proposed resolution to accept it to a first reading. Council said it wanted the city to conduct more due diligence.
On Saturday, Titterington said the city evaluation of the proposal is ongoing until one of two things happens: “the council decides on Monday night (June 19) or the judge rules. Our evaluation at this point is centered on how much, if any, taxpayer dollars would be used to shore up the building to address immediate CBO issues.”
A hearing date on the request for injunction was not listed yet in electronic court files. The courthouse is closed Monday
The nonprofit Troy Historic Preservation Alliance, which has been fighting to keep the structure, issued a statement Saturday questioning the need for the filing and the timing.
“We remain committed to ensuring this irreplaceable building can be part of Troy’s beautiful, historic downtown for years to come. … Why is the county taking this step just a couple of days before a potential City Council vote to accept a donation of the building, especially when the county has wavered back and forth multiple times on the condition of the building?” THPA said in its statement.
“The county is giving inappropriate preference to the property owner’s structural engineer. Why seek demolition when we are so close to a solution? We have seen no evidence to suggest that the building is a threat to public safety. After 41 months, it is well beyond time that leaders of Miami County and the City of Troy work with community partners to encourage collaboration rather than incentivize demolition by neglect.”
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
About the Author