Miami County Common Pleas Court Judge Stacy Wall will rule on the request, but the timing of when that ruling will come is not clear.
The certification follows an inspection of the downtown Troy building Friday by Rob England, chief building official; Fire Chief Matthew Simmons; contracted engineer Mike Bruns; and assistant fire chiefs Wade Dexter and Don Pemberton.
“It was determined that many of the structural elements are unsafe and beyond repair. It was also noted that those conditions have progressed and worsened significantly since previous inspections,” Simmons wrote in the report.
The building conditions also render it unsafe for any firefighting operations in case of a fire and “as such increase the risk to the adjacent buildings in the event of a fire or collapse,” Simmons wrote.
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TROY — For a second time Monday night, Troy City Council chose not to vote on a proposal for the city to accept a donation of the controversial Tavern Building on West Main Street downtown.
Council earlier Monday received an offer from the nonprofit Troy Historic Preservation Alliance to pay for more than $50,000 in repairs reportedly needed to the building’s north wall, if the city agreed not to demolish the property for at least two years.
The offer followed a Friday filing in Miami County Common Pleas Court of a request for a court order for immediate removal of the building at 112-118 W. Main St. The request by county prosecutors was filed on behalf of Rob England, chief building official for both Troy and the county.
The request claims another inspection of the building earlier Friday found the property was in “worse shape than before … the north wall … is pulling apart from the rest of the building/structure and is in immediate danger of toppling down onto Main Street.”
The sidewalk and parking in front of the building have been blocked since it was damaged in a January 2020 tornado. The building has portions dating to the 1840s, and historic preservation advocates have been trying to save it.
Judge Stacy Wall was expected to discuss the request Tuesday with attorneys for parties involved in litigation about the building owned by 116 West Main/Randy Kimmel of Covington.
City Council met in a closed executive session for around 45 minutes Monday. It heard a motion during its public session to table the building donation proposal indefinitely. That proposal died for lack of a second from any other council member. The resolution will appear on the next council agenda July 3, said Patrick Titterington, city service and safety director.
In comments before the council consideration, Ben Sutherly, president of the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance, outlined the organization’s offer sent to all council members to review before their executive session.
“The THPA board authorized this step this past Wednesday, as we would like to be part of a collaborative solution that will bring this building back into active reuse in the community,” the THPA statement said.
“We are aware of developments in recent days involving Miami County and have seen zero evidence that the building’s condition has changed in recent weeks. On the contrary, the attached report prepared for the city (shows) the building is structurally sound and quite repairable.”
“We believe that this building with its rich 180-year history and significant streetscape presence can soon resume its place as a contributing part of our beautiful and historic downtown. We hope that the city of Troy will collaborate with others in the community in making it so, and ask that you accept both the donation of the building and our offer,” THPA said.
Also Monday evening, the nonprofit Troy Community Works organization said it was interested in possibly taking a role in the rehabilitation of the building.
Kimmel and 116 West Main have not commented on the Friday court filing or other offers about helping to save the structure.
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