The Economy Inn located at 3521 Lake City Highway, Warsaw.

WARSAW — The majority of the City of Warsaw Department of Code Enforcement hearing held on Monday, July 17, was spent discussing problems with the Economy Inn, 3521 Lake City Highway, Warsaw.

The 69-unit property is owned by Jay Patel and Hari Om Inc. Patel and his attorney Daniel Vanderpool were both present at the meeting along with Warsaw Building Commission Ray Behling.

Behling previously inspected the building and stated that the structure was extremely unsound. The major code violations included a deteriorating canopy in front of the building and unsecure balcony guardrails on the second floor. Around 60 photographs were presented as evidence of code violations.

Patel argued that a lot of improvements have been made since he took control of the building in 2014. These improvements include 20 room remodels and around $30,000 of upgrades. He is currently working with contractors to demolish the canopy and install new guardrails.

Hearing Officer Lawrence Clifford was hesitant to give Patel more time to complete the suggested work. The building had been issued for demolition. Clifford ordered the second floor of the building vacated and sealed until the balcony improvements are completed. He also was going to visit the property himself to see if the building should still remain a demolition. The issue will then be revisited during the Aug. 21 hearing.

After no progress has been reported on the 519 North Park Avenue residence, Clifford ordered the residence demolished. The owner was given plenty of time to comply with the code violations, but nothing was done.

A neighbor, Lauran Sattlar came to the hearing to express her concern with the building.

“It was an unfortunate situation that these people bought the house,” Sattlar said. “However, it’s been 21 months now. It’s a terrible eyesore. It’s bad for my property value, it’s bad for the whole neighborhood.”

The original order to demolish the property was reinstated.

In other news:

• The residence at 330 Ringneck Trail is now in compliance. The structure’s demolition order was dismissed.
• No parties were present regarding the 900 Country Club Road residence. The city has been unable to make contact with the property owner and no progress has been made on the structure. A civil penalty fee of $2,500 was issued and the the property will be revisited at the Aug. 21 hearing.