Trending
LIBERTY -- After what officials said has been years of work, township trustees this week approved proceeding with getting Hotel 30 on Motor Inn Drive abated as a nuisance, then torn down.
Township Administrator Martha Weirick said the building has been inspected by staff with the State Fire Marshal's office and found to be unsafe, structurally defective and unfit for human habitation. Plans are to get it boarded up for nuisance abatement.
Jim Rodway, township zoning / code officer, said Trumbull County foreclosed on Hotel 30. He said the utilities at the hotel have been turned off and the owner relinquished his hotel license. It will be boarded this week.
"This is a big deal for us. Finally we will be getting this eyesore out of our township. This has been a long time coming and we thank all who were involved," he said.
He also said the Trumbull County Treasurer's Office is working to get the property in the hands of the Trumbull County Land Bank.
The fire marshal's office ordered the building be secured within 24 hours.
Officials said the fire marshal's office inspected the property Monday and found it to be vacant, without utilities and with the structure showing signs of failure.
It was declared unsafe and abandoned, and the property owner was ordered to immediately secure the structure to prevent entry by unauthorized people.
The property owner, however, has failed to secure the structure. The Trumbull County Auditor's Office website states the owner is Empire Hospitality Group.
Weirick said the owner has relinquished the property so officials are hopeful the land bank will acquire it. Back taxes are being looked into, she added. She said the hotel likely will be torn down and someone will be able to develop the property.
Rodway said the police department has responded to many calls at the property over the years, and it now is unsafe for the officers to respond.
Also, the condition of the structure makes it unsafe for the fire department to enter in the event of a fire.
Officials said in past years the property has been the site of criminal activity.
Trustee Chairman Devon Stanley said trustees have heard many complaints from residents over the years about the hotel.
"It took a lot of people and a lot of effort and now it will be removed," he said.
SOLAR PANELS
In other business, residents asked if the township could put something in place to regulate solar panels, similar to what Vienna trustees did to limit distraction for pilots coming in and out of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and the Youngstown Air Reserve Station.
Trustee Arnie Clebone said the matter will be reviewed, because the law allowing townships to make regulations regarding solar panels just recently was enacted at the state level.
Vienna trustees enacted the regulations because of concerns about flight patterns at the airport and air station. They dont want solar panels to reflect sunlight and blind pilots trying to land.
Also, residents asked trustees what can be done with timbering on private property. The matter has become a concern for people in residential areas with many trees cut and removed.
Stanley said there is little townships can do to regulate timbering in agricultural areas. He assured residents he plans to visit state representatives in Columbus urging changes in agricultural law with regard to timbering in residential areas.
"I am sure this issue is pervasive in other parts of Ohio," Stanley said.