City Investigates Ceiling, Window Issues At Little Crow Lofts
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Of the eight cases before Warsaw Code Enforcement hearing officer Tom Earhart Tuesday, five were rescheduled or continued until the Dec. 10 meeting and three were dismissed.
One of the cases was for Little Crow Lofts, 201 S. Detroit St. No one representing the property was present for the hearing.
Building Commissioner Ray Behling said the city received a complaint in July of debris falling from the ceiling on the upper floors and water leaking through the windows. He said they addressed the management and talked to them about it and they said they’d get the repairs done.
“We haven’t seen anything completed or started,” he said. “We’ve only been told, ‘yes, we’re going to put that up for bid,’ ‘yes, we’re going to have someone look into it.’ And that’s been since July.”
He said that’s why the code hearing was scheduled for the property. When the owners – Commonwealth – received the notice of the hearing, he said the vice president of Commonwealth wanted to meet with them. Behling said they met with her last Thursday with her new on-site manager and they discussed the problems. The vice president showed where contractors were contacted and they were waiting for bids.
“She said they would have them probably within 10 days,” Behling said. She told Behling they would confirm with him who that contractor would be and that they had a plan in place.
Earhart asked for more elaboration on the problems at Little Crow.
“Because it’s a historical building, the old roof boards from the ceiling boards on the inside are the original ones. So when they redid the roof, there was debris caught up in the layers of the old roof, and now – say when a train goes by or the debris falls between the cracks onto the floor or unto their furniture or kitchen cabinets – they were looking for a way to stop it. They’ve come up with something now to seal those cracks. They’ve also contacted a mason to come out to re-mortar in the windows,” Behling explained.
He said those were the major problems, but there’s also been problems with the grass and weeds in the parking area. Code Enforcement Officer Dana Hewitt said there’s been no resolve on the weeds and grass yet.
Earhart rescheduled the hearing on the building for 10 a.m. Dec. 10, but told Behling to stress to Commonwealth and the property manager that the windows and ceiling need taken care of as soon as possible.
In the other cases before him Tuesday, Earhart:
• Rescheduled the building code violation hearing for the home at 1015 E. Main St., owned by Jason and Bobby Wade, until 10 a.m. Dec. 10. The Wades were not present Tuesday and the home was previously discussed at the September hearing. It’s been vacant, but people have gone in and out of the residence.
Behling said the utilities still have not been connected and repairs have not been made. It’s still been condemned by the county health department.
There was a tax sale Monday and the taxes on the property were paid by a third party. Behling said he’s heard the person who paid the taxes might be interested in purchasing the property but that has not been confirmed.
Earhart said he’d like more information on who the new owner might be and their intentions before he took any action, so he continued the case.
• Continued the building code violation hearing for 3521 Lake City Highway. No one representing the property owner – Hari Om – was present.
Behling said he’s been in contact with the public adjuster who is working on the property owner’s insurance claim for when the building lost its roof in July due to wind. The building has a temporary roof system in place, but the insurance claim is in negotiations. He said the insurance company has released funds for the roof, but Behling said he won’t know who the contractor is to do the repair until Friday.
The insurance company has stayed in contact with Behling, but Om has not, Behling said.
He recommended the case be carried over until the 10 a.m. Dec. 10 hearing.
• Gave George Ruckman until Dec. 10 to finish making all the repairs to his property at 530 N. Park Ave.
Hewitt said the property is a rental that’s received complaints from tenants in 2017 and then again this year on June 12.
Ruckman said the list of violations are being addressed and just needed some more time to finish things up. Earhart asked him if he’d be done by Dec. 10, and Ruckman said he would be.
• Gave Dan Davis and his wife Terri Lou Davis, of 601 S. McClellan St., until Dec. 10 to clean up their property. Terri owns the property, but Dan represented her at the meeting.
The property was before code enforcement previously in 2017 for a number of code violations.
Dan said he’s done some work on the property and will continue with it.
• Dismissed the case against the property at 416 W. Winona Ave., owned by Brendt Smith. The property is in compliance now with city ordinances.
• Dismissed the case against the property at 721 N. Cook St., owned by Patricia Smith. The property is in compliance now with city ordinances, and Smith said she is looking to sell it.
• Dismissed the case against the property at 500 Chinworth Court, owned by Ralph Fitch. Behling said the property meets the minimum city requirements, and Hewitt agreed.
Earhart told Fitch he’s been before code enforcement before and if he doesn’t want to be back before him again, he needs to keep his property in compliance.
