The property located at 501 W. Jefferson St., Warsaw has multiple code violations.

WARSAW — The majority of the City of Warsaw Department of Code Enforcement hearing held on Monday, Aug. 21, was spent discussing problems with an apartment building located at 501 W. Jefferson St., Warsaw.The building is separated into four different apartments which currently all have tenants occupying them.

It took time to figure out who actually had ownership of the property. James Best was present and initially told Hearing Officer Lawrence Clifford that he owned the property with his wife. After looking through Beacon and tax statements on the property, it was sold to ABC Properties LLC in 2007 via a warranty deed. ABC Properties still shows Kim Conrad as the main contact person for the business. Conrad died in December 2016 as a result of a car accident.

Best was confused that the property was not technically his and states that he still has a mortgage on the residence. Regardless, Best is one of the families involved with ABC Properties LLC and agreed to represent the LLC at the hearing.

The residence has 25 different code violations ranging from general dilapidation to faulty plumbing. It was noted that one of the bathroom ceilings has collapsed, the residence is infested with cockroaches and many of the smoke detectors don’t work. During the last inspection, city employees only made it through one apartment before deeming the whole building uninhabitable.

Best’s main reason for not making repairs was that he was not getting rent from the tenants.

“I don’t understand why the mortgage is more important to you than providing a safe, habitable environment for your tenants,” said Clifford.

A civil penalty of $5,000 was placed on the residence. Clifford ordered for working smoke detectors to be installed the same day and for major rehabilitation to begin on the property. The property was reset for the hearing on Sept. 18. At that time, if the conditions have not approved another civil penalty may be placed on the property.

Improvements have been made to the Economy Inn, located at 3521 Lake City Highway, Warsaw, since that last hearing in July. The deteriorated canopy has been removed from the property and a contractor is in the process of replacing the second story balcony guardrails. Clifford seemed pleased with the progress being made.

Jay Patel, owner of the building, hopes to have all the violations to be fixed within six weeks. Another inspection was to be scheduled between the city and the contractors and the property will be revisited during the Sept. 18 meeting.

In other news:

• An appeal was placed on the demolition order for 519 N. Park Ave., Warsaw. If the appeal is pulled, work on the residence is started and money is posted, the demolition order may be revisited.
• The property at 900 Country Club Road, Warsaw, only has a few more violations to address before being acceptable. Second story windows need to be installed and the driveway needs paved, all of which will be happening in the next few weeks. The hearing was reset for Sept. 18 with hopes that if the work is completed the residence can be taken off the agenda.
• A partial demolition was heard for the property located at 1422 E. Main St., Warsaw. The owner does not live in the house and agrees that the garage and exterior staircase are deteriorating. The city will provide a specific list of code violations and present them to the owner Stephen Moore at the next hearing.
• A compliance hearing was held for the vacant residence at 212 Wedrick Drive, Warsaw. The property has a foul odor, broken windows and a shed with a collapsed roof. The owner is unable to make the repairs himself. It was requested that the property be kept maintained and the shed be torn down by the owner. The city will address all other matters at the next hearing.