Code enforcement in Hillsboro appears arbitrary and selective
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
“Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn't misuse it.”
– Pope John Paul II
After more than two weeks since an initial public records request submitted to the city of Hillsboro, the city has responded.
Thank you.
The fact that it took the city 15 days to find one and only one record remotely related to the records requests speaks volumes.
For background, on May 8, 2019, I wrote to the city:
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 149.43, at your earliest convenience, please provide a record of all building and/or property inspections conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by any member of Hillsboro City Council – or their respective spouse(s) – since Jan. 1, 2011.
Please include the date of the inspection, the inspector’s name, the reason for the inspection and the outcome thereof. Please provide a copy of any warrants issued thereto.
That request was made because an uptown Hillsboro property owner told The Highland County Press he received a notice Wednesday, May 8 unofficially ordering vacation of his premises until it can be investigated by the city’s code enforcement officer, Anton Weissmann.
Gary Schraw, who owns the former Pasquale’s Pizza building at 122 South High Street and serves as an officer with the Greenfield Police Department, received notes on two of Weissmann’s business cards, on which the following messages were written: “Please contact me regarding building permit and inspection issues” and “No occupancy until required permits and inspections are made.”
The notes were not signed. Schraw previously told The Highland County Press that one of Weissmann's business cards was left in his mailbox.
As previously reported, several buildings in uptown Hillsboro have been deemed “uninhabitable” by the city's building inspector.
Hillsboro safety and service director Mel McKenzie said he was aware of the notices.
Schraw’s building was damaged during a city-ordered sidewalk replacement project in 2017, as a large section of concrete collapsed beneath the former restaurant.
As reported in 2017, the city of Hillsboro's sidewalk replacement project in the southeast section of one half of the 100 block of South High Street came to a halt after a large section of concrete collapsed beneath the former Pasquale's Restaurant during the removal of the existing sidewalk.
In March, 2017 property owners on South High Street – from Walnut Street to the alley next to Pasquale's – received letters from the city informing them that "Property owners are responsible for all costs incurred during the sidewalk replacement process per city ordinance 96.15."
The city later reimbursed any property owners who paid for the new sidewalks – many of which are now disfigured and pockmarked.
After making the records request on May 8, the following records request was submitted to multiple city – and county – officials on May 16, 2019:
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 149.43, at your earliest convenience, please provide a record of all building and/or property inspections conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by any member of the Hillsboro City Administration, their respective spouse(s) or their LLCs – since Jan. 1, 2011. Please include the date of the inspection, the inspector’s name, the reason for the inspection and the outcome thereof. Please provide a copy of any warrants issued thereto.
The first response to the second request came from Hillsboro law director Fred Beery, who wrote:
Dear Mr. Ryan:
Thank you for your records request. I have interpreted your request as follows:
(1) a record of all building and/or property inspections since Jan. 1, 2011
(a) conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by
(i) any member of the Hillsboro City Administration,
(ii) their respective spouse(s) or
(iii) their LLCs
(2) the date of the inspection,
(3) the inspector’s name,
(4) the reason for the inspection and
(5) the outcome [of the inspection]
(6) a copy of any warrants issued for [the inspection]
The Law Director's Office has no records responsive to your request. To the extent this office has records related to legal advise concerning these subjects, such records would be unavailable pursuant to https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2013/2013-ohio-199.pdf as confidential attorney communications.
Best wishes,
Fred J Beery, Law Director
Thank you, Fred. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was out there. (Given the timing, perhaps the law director advised the city to comply with the law. If so, it is appreciated.)
Then, on May 23, Paulette Goerler, Administrative Assistant II, City of Hillsboro, emailed me one – and only one – city of Hillsboro inspection notice related to city administrators and/or members of council since Jan. 1, 2011. The notice was dated Dec. 27, 2018 for electric work at 108 Gov. Trimble Place – a property owned by the mayor or his LLC – that was approved by Steve Rivera on city of Hillsboro stationery.
That’s all, folks, at least according to the city.
Let’s recap:
• A number of private properties in Hillsboro have been subjected to arbitrary and selective inspections, often resulting in placards placed on store fronts that read: “This Building Is Unfit For Human Habitation; The Use Or Occupancy Of This Building For Human Habitation Is Prohibited And Unlawful.” (sic)
• The city, meanwhile, did not produce more than one record of all building and/or property inspections conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by any member of Hillsboro City Council or members of the city administration.
The last time I checked, there are a number of buildings and properties referenced therein, including at least one that taxpayers were forced to pay to turn into a parking lot not long ago.
All this, at taxpayers’ expense.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press, Highland County’s only locally owned and operated newspaper.
• Related story: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/In-The-News/Article/Investors-negotiating-for-uptown-Hillsboro-properties/2/20/50229.
• Related column: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/Opinions/Rory-Ryan/Article/Does-the-Fourth-Amendment-apply-in-Hillsboro-/4/83/50282.
– Pope John Paul II
After more than two weeks since an initial public records request submitted to the city of Hillsboro, the city has responded.
Thank you.
The fact that it took the city 15 days to find one and only one record remotely related to the records requests speaks volumes.
For background, on May 8, 2019, I wrote to the city:
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 149.43, at your earliest convenience, please provide a record of all building and/or property inspections conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by any member of Hillsboro City Council – or their respective spouse(s) – since Jan. 1, 2011.
Please include the date of the inspection, the inspector’s name, the reason for the inspection and the outcome thereof. Please provide a copy of any warrants issued thereto.
That request was made because an uptown Hillsboro property owner told The Highland County Press he received a notice Wednesday, May 8 unofficially ordering vacation of his premises until it can be investigated by the city’s code enforcement officer, Anton Weissmann.
Gary Schraw, who owns the former Pasquale’s Pizza building at 122 South High Street and serves as an officer with the Greenfield Police Department, received notes on two of Weissmann’s business cards, on which the following messages were written: “Please contact me regarding building permit and inspection issues” and “No occupancy until required permits and inspections are made.”
The notes were not signed. Schraw previously told The Highland County Press that one of Weissmann's business cards was left in his mailbox.
As previously reported, several buildings in uptown Hillsboro have been deemed “uninhabitable” by the city's building inspector.
Hillsboro safety and service director Mel McKenzie said he was aware of the notices.
Schraw’s building was damaged during a city-ordered sidewalk replacement project in 2017, as a large section of concrete collapsed beneath the former restaurant.
As reported in 2017, the city of Hillsboro's sidewalk replacement project in the southeast section of one half of the 100 block of South High Street came to a halt after a large section of concrete collapsed beneath the former Pasquale's Restaurant during the removal of the existing sidewalk.
In March, 2017 property owners on South High Street – from Walnut Street to the alley next to Pasquale's – received letters from the city informing them that "Property owners are responsible for all costs incurred during the sidewalk replacement process per city ordinance 96.15."
The city later reimbursed any property owners who paid for the new sidewalks – many of which are now disfigured and pockmarked.
After making the records request on May 8, the following records request was submitted to multiple city – and county – officials on May 16, 2019:
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 149.43, at your earliest convenience, please provide a record of all building and/or property inspections conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by any member of the Hillsboro City Administration, their respective spouse(s) or their LLCs – since Jan. 1, 2011. Please include the date of the inspection, the inspector’s name, the reason for the inspection and the outcome thereof. Please provide a copy of any warrants issued thereto.
The first response to the second request came from Hillsboro law director Fred Beery, who wrote:
Dear Mr. Ryan:
Thank you for your records request. I have interpreted your request as follows:
(1) a record of all building and/or property inspections since Jan. 1, 2011
(a) conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by
(i) any member of the Hillsboro City Administration,
(ii) their respective spouse(s) or
(iii) their LLCs
(2) the date of the inspection,
(3) the inspector’s name,
(4) the reason for the inspection and
(5) the outcome [of the inspection]
(6) a copy of any warrants issued for [the inspection]
The Law Director's Office has no records responsive to your request. To the extent this office has records related to legal advise concerning these subjects, such records would be unavailable pursuant to https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2013/2013-ohio-199.pdf as confidential attorney communications.
Best wishes,
Fred J Beery, Law Director
Thank you, Fred. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was out there. (Given the timing, perhaps the law director advised the city to comply with the law. If so, it is appreciated.)
Then, on May 23, Paulette Goerler, Administrative Assistant II, City of Hillsboro, emailed me one – and only one – city of Hillsboro inspection notice related to city administrators and/or members of council since Jan. 1, 2011. The notice was dated Dec. 27, 2018 for electric work at 108 Gov. Trimble Place – a property owned by the mayor or his LLC – that was approved by Steve Rivera on city of Hillsboro stationery.
That’s all, folks, at least according to the city.
Let’s recap:
• A number of private properties in Hillsboro have been subjected to arbitrary and selective inspections, often resulting in placards placed on store fronts that read: “This Building Is Unfit For Human Habitation; The Use Or Occupancy Of This Building For Human Habitation Is Prohibited And Unlawful.” (sic)
• The city, meanwhile, did not produce more than one record of all building and/or property inspections conducted on any and all such buildings and/or properties owned, rented, leased or shared by any member of Hillsboro City Council or members of the city administration.
The last time I checked, there are a number of buildings and properties referenced therein, including at least one that taxpayers were forced to pay to turn into a parking lot not long ago.
All this, at taxpayers’ expense.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press, Highland County’s only locally owned and operated newspaper.
• Related story: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/In-The-News/In-The-News/Article/Investors-negotiating-for-uptown-Hillsboro-properties/2/20/50229.
• Related column: https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/Opinions/Rory-Ryan/Article/Does-the-Fourth-Amendment-apply-in-Hillsboro-/4/83/50282.