The case went to housing trial Wednesday in Dayton Municipal Court. Ali did not appear, and the judge issued a bench warrant for failing to appear. Ali’s attorney was present in court on Wednesday.
In a statement posted online, the city said it has received and approved a wrecking permit application for the property, and debris removal and site cleanup is permitted to begin as soon as next week.
City Manager Shelley Dickstein said the city had been working with Ali for several months after the fire, but then he stopped communicating with the city. The city filed misdemeanor charges in March.
Dickstein said Ali is responsible for the conditions on his property, and the city does not want to pay for the cleanup, which could cost around $300,000.
“We try to hold identified owners responsible and accountable for their properties, like the rest of us are,” she said. “If we have a fire, we have to do something — we can’t just abandon the property."
Steve Gondol, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development, said the owner could face jail time and fines if he does not remedy the violations.
“We tried good customer service first … but having to pursue the criminal approach was necessary because otherwise I don’t believe they would have addressed the problem,” he said.
Montgomery County Auditor records indicate that Ali purchased the property in late September, a month before the fire.
Ali’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
Dayton City Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss last month said the state of the site was “deplorable” and “embarrassing.”
“We need to clean up Cornell Meat King,” she said. “It is urgent and it has been sitting there for far too long.”
The June 4 Dayton City Commission meeting was the same day that Ali’s case went to trial, and commission members received an update from director Gondol about the case. Turner-Sloss said the information he shared was “great news.”
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