The Miami County Building Department has reversed a previous decision by the county building official regarding the Tavern Building on West Main Street.
Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Today
By Matt Clevenger
TROY — The Miami County Building Department has reversed a previous decision by the county building official regarding the Tavern Building on West Main Street, rescinding an adjudication order issued in March that declared the building unsafe and a serious hazard to the public.
“Previously, on Monday, March 27, the Miami County Building Department issued an adjudication order citing that the building at 112-118 W. Main St. in Troy, owned by 116 West Main Street, LLC, was an unsafe building and a serious hazard to the public,” a press release issued by the Miami County Building Department on Monday, April 17 said. “This was according to a report from Mark Stemmer, P.S., S.E. The county building department was compelled by the law to issue such orders and acknowledged a number of options to the building owners to remedy the situation.”
“On Friday, April 14, after becoming aware of two additional engineering reports for the building at 112-118 West Main Street in Troy, The Miami County Department of Development requested that the City of Troy officially submit the engineering reports for Ohio Building Code review, the release said. “Both reports, one prepared by Andrew Brock P.E and one authored by Norton Engineering, were forwarded to the Miami County Department of Development by the City of Troy with their request to evaluate the new information.”
“After further review of the engineering reports, the county building official has determined that there is sufficient evidence to lower the risk at 112-118 Main Street from serious hazard to necessary repairs and to rescind Adjudication Order #0034.” the release said. “Additional items requiring remediation fall under the jurisdiction of the city of Troy’s maintenance codes and ordinances. Occupancy of the building for use by the general public will require Certificates of Occupancy by the Miami County Building Department, as well as other permits from the city of Troy.”
The Tavern Building was damaged by tornadoes in 2020, and later approved for demolition by members of the Troy Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. An appeal of that decision filed by the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance and neighboring property owners blocked the planned demolition, and was affirmed by the Ohio Second District Court of appeals in a decision issued on Friday, March 24.
The city of Troy delivered orders to repair the Tavern Building in July of 2021, and again on Nov. 3, 2022. The building’s owner, Randy Kimmel, was granted an extension for the repair orders until March 9. Some of the ordered repairs to the building were completed in December of 2022.
The deadline for completing the repairs ordered by the city was March 10, and on March 15 the city of Troy filed misdemeanor charges against Kimmel for “maintaining structures in a state of disrepair.”
Miami County Chief Building Official Rob England issued an adjudication order on March 27, declaring the Tavern Building an unsafe building/serious hazard and requiring abatement of the hazardous conditions within 14 days.
Workers from Bruns Contracting began demolition of part of the Tavern Building on Wednesday, March 29. Demolition work was halted later that morning by an injunction order issued by Miami County Common Pleas Court Judge Stacy M. Wall.
