Seek property owners’ info

Posted: 4:00 p.m. Friday, March 25, 2016

Hamilton, Middletown seek property owners’ info, for different reasons 

By Mike Rutledge

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

Civic leaders in Middletown and city leaders in Hamilton are determined to find contact information for the owners of buildings in their cities, but largely for different reasons:

In Middletown, Downtown Middletown Inc. and others are working to track down owners of vacant properties with the hope that those with ownership of the empty structures can help return the buildings to usefulness — or sell them to somebody who will.

In Hamilton, city officials, determined to tightly clamp down on the longtime issue of blight, want to know who they can hold accountable for nuisance issues, such as peeling paint, high weeds and junk piled high in yards.

Searching in Middletown

Downtown Middletown Inc. Executive Director Mallory Greenham last month announced at the organization’s annual meeting that more businesses are interested in locating downtown than there are ready-to-fill spaces available.

“I’m often asked, ‘What stores do we need downtown? What shops do we need?’” Greenham said. “We need a little bit of everything, obviously, but at this point, it’s not so much about what we need, it’s more about, ‘Where are they going to go?’

“If you were to ask me what I think the biggest challenge is in downtown Middletown, I would have to say our real estate, which is why in 2016 it’s one of our top initiatives,” she said. “We don’t know the exact right way to get people moving. I spend my time talking to landlords — but the ones I can get in touch with aren’t really the issue: It’s the people you don’t know, it’s the people who don’t answer their phone, are the reason that we’re not exactly moving forward.”

Greenham quickly listed the variety of businesses that had contacted her, asking about downtown spaces they could fill.

“In the last 60 days, I’ve been contacted by a yoga studio, a candy store, an antique shop, two additional (pet) groomers, an urban-gardening supply store, a retail wine bar, an arcade bar, and countless restaurants,” she said.

“We don’t have any white-box spaces that are ready to roll” for immediate and easy occupancy, she said. “We have virtually no kitchens. We virtually have no buildings that have any restrooms. So if you needed a restroom as part of your business, there’s an extra $30,000 to $40,000.”

Businesses “might come to me or to the city with a solid business plan, but they didn’t account for the $30,000 to $60,000 it takes to build out the space that they’re then going to rent,” she said.

Middletown City Manager Doug Adkins and Development Director Jennifer Ekey did not return requests for comment.

Among the people who have been searching for property owners is Greenham’s sister, Lydia Montgomery, owner of the Society store that opened in July at 1626 Central Ave. Society sells women’s fashions, barware, stationery and gifts. Montgomery is interested in buying the building at 1630 Central Ave. that is attached to hers, if she can find the person to speak with about it.

“There’s also quite a few people who are interested in buying buildings,” Montgomery said. “There’s definitely a market for investors that not only want to do a storefront of their own, but want to own the building, so there’s those investors that I’ve met, and then there’s also investors who just want to invest in downtown.”

She’s spent hours getting addresses off of buildings, and is putting together a complete list of buildings for which volunteers can help build contacts to reach the owners.

“I can honestly say I meet at least two to three people every week that are really serious about being downtown, and I think the issues are connecting available spaces to the right people,” Montgomery said. “The more I can try to provide people and put hands together, that’s when stuff really starts to come together.”

Determined in Hamilton

At a recent Hamilton City Council committee meeting, elected officials lamented how successful some building owners have been at avoiding being served papers from the city notifying them of code violations.

But city leaders now are more determined than ever to hold owners accountable for properties that bring down the rest of their neighborhoods, Vice Mayor Carla Fiehrer said.

“It’s a shell game on how they know how to avoid being served and getting information, and cry ignorance,” Fiehrer said.

“Part of it in the past, which is why we’ve talked about this since 2002, is that we as a council and as an administration and as a city have not really stood up and drawn that line in the sand like we have now,” she said. “We’ve gone so far, and then we just backed away from it for whatever reason and just let it go, or it was just too big of a mountain to climb.”

“We’re not there anymore,” she said. “We are ready to take on whatever we have to … It’s just figuring out how to get it done.”

“We need to get off the enabling pattern,” agreed council member Rob Wile.

Mayor Pat Moeller told colleagues he wants the city to have more specific contact information about property ownership, including, “the individual, not the LLC (that owns it); the street address (of the owner), not the PO Box.” And also, he added, a cell phone number, in case there’s an emergency.

“I feel so bad for these people that live next door to these homes,” Fiehrer said. “I just can’t imagine dreading pulling in and out of your driveway every day (and seeing the ugly neighboring building) … If you go to some of these neighborhoods, there are very nice, well-kept homes, next to a sty. And there’s grass this tall, and they say they’ve got raccoons and mice, and snakes and everything. That’s why we need to be doing it, too. Nobody should have to live that way.”

Wile agreed: “For most of our residents, the equity in their home is the single largest asset, and if the streets turn to dust, their house value goes down, if the people who live next door to them, it’s a wretched hovel with raccoons and (other creatures), their house value goes down. So I think we have an obligation. That’s fundamental.”

The city recently approved legislation that speeds the process of notifying owners — when they can be located — and created a Nuisance Appeals Board that can significantly reduce the time in which the owners must rehab a building or it can be demolished.

City Council expects to consider further legislation in coming months that would declare some properties “chronic nuisances,” and would allow Hamilton to take action against them.

Hamilton’s online “311” help system

For Hamilton residents seeking city services, here’s a way to report a variety of problems, from potholes to nuisance properties (for safety reasons, people should not use this system to report natural-gas odors or power outages):

*Go to the city’s website, www.hamilton-city.org, and click on the word “Services” at the top right of the screen.

*Then, click on the box marked 311, for the Online 311 Citizen Request Center.

*Look over the list of possible things to request, listed under various departments. The Health Department is the place to go to report a nuisance property. Public Works is the place to request a pothole be filled, report a missing traffic sign, or tell the city garbage isn’t being collected.

Because utility issues can be urgent, customers should instead call (513) 785-7550 to report power outages, downed wires or natural gas odors. Natural-gas smells also can be reported 24 hours a day by dialing 911.