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Agreement?Smith building being vacatedJune 19, 2010 - By MICHAEL D. McELWAIN (mmcelwain@reviewonline.com)
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EAST LIVERPOOL - The owner of Smith Auto Parts, at 329 Broadway St., said an agreement to sell the building to Kent State University is still underway, and he is now relocating the business. "I've sold a lot of the merchandise that was left over to a guy in Morgantown, Pennsylvania," Willis Smith Jr. said Friday afternoon. "Kent has the contracts, and it's really close to closing," Smith said. "I hope to be out by the middle of July." Smith said the contract is under review by university officials in Columbus, but he felt certain the deal is official. "It (the final sales price) was less than what they offered me in the first place," Smith admitted. It's been a long process. Back on Nov. 2, 2007, the East Liverpool Housing Department sent a letter to owners Willis Smith Jr. and Nan Marie Smith asking the building deficiencies be repaired or the building demolished. The letter stated the department "has determined that the building you own located at 329 Broadway St., East Liverpool, Ohio, is a public nuisance, is structurally unsound and has fallen into a state of disrepair." On and off talks between Smith and Kent State officials occurred throughout 2008 and 2009. A phase one environmental study and an asbestos survey also took place during that time. The university needed the information before signing a purchase agreement. On Feb. 20, 2009, the city of East Liverpool put some more pressure on Smith by taking him to court. Law Director Charles Payne filed a motion on behalf of the city seeking to demolish the Smith Auto Parts building. In the court papers filed by Payne, he called the building a ''dangerous dwelling'' and made note of the city's past efforts in having the condition repaired. An agreement was reached, in principle, with Kent officials back in June of 2009, and the final sales price was set at $85,000. Something occurred to force a renegotiation, and Smith did not say what was the more recent sales price agreement. Smith said he will get out of the auto parts business and concentrate on operating a machine shop. In recent weeks, he's been moving equipment to his new location. "I just don't want to quit," Smith said. Instead, he is moving his business to 401 Virginia Ave. in the East End. Smith said he decided to keep the machine shop because of demand and because of his devoted employees. "I have a guy that's worked for me for more than 30 years now," Smith said. |
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 Fact BoxTimeline - The East Liverpool Housing Department sent a letter to Smith dated Nov. 2, 2007, stating the department "has determined that the building you own located at 329 Broadway St., East Liverpool, Ohio, is a public nuisance, is structurally unsound and has fallen into a state of disrepair." The letter said deficiencies on the building include broken or missing unsecured windows, deterioration of exterior walls and wall components, rotting eaves at the roof line with missing pieces of wood, roof flashing separated from brick fascia, paint that has peeled away leaving bare wood and downspouts from built-in box gutters missing. - Smith was ordered to demolish or repair the building within 30 days of the notice to make repairs to the building or to mount an appeal of the directive within 10 days. - Smith appealed to the Board of Housing Appeals. The board first met on Dec. 4, 2007, to consider Smith's appeal and opted to give him six weeks to explore his options. - On Feb. 26, 2008, the board met again and gave Smith a 90-day extension to provide grant information leading to the June 24 meeting of the Board of Housing Appeals. At the June 24, 2008, meeting, the board voted 5-0 for demolition. - Smith's last day to appeal the Board of Housing Appeals decision was July 30, 2008. - Smith and representatives from Kent State University East Liverpool Campus opened negotiations in early August. The university has expressed interest in obtaining the property. - In early 2009, negotiations between university officials and Smith broke down. - On Feb. 20, 2009, the city of East Liverpool filed paperwork in the Court of Common Pleas in Columbiana County to demolish the building. - A possible deal for Kent State to purchase the building was announced on July 24, 2009, but the deal was delayed. - On June 16, 2009, Henry Trenkelbach, business administrator for the East Liverpool and Salem Kent State campuses, said negotiations continued, but the matter was "still hanging in the air." |