BREAKING NEWS: City's New Lawyer Requests Judge to Stop Work on IOOF Building

Letter provides insights on city's desires for IOOF Building

Last week, this publication took notice of a legal filing with the Miami County Common Pleas Court, revealing that Thomas Schiff is now representing the City of Troy in legal matters concerning the IOOF Building. We reached out to the city for any agreements or correspondence between the City and Mr. Schiff’s law firm. However, those requests were denied, as the City was exercising attorney-client privilege.

On March 11th, a letter from Mr. Schiff addressed to Judge Stacy Wall was provided to this publication. Dated March 8th, it was also sent to all other lawyers involved in the IOOF litigation. The letter is as follows:

The letter asserts that the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance (THPA) is in violation of the December 22nd Settlement Agreement in two respects. First, the City claims, through their interpretation of the agreement, that the THPA failed to provide cost estimates for window work, third-party testing, exterior masonry tuck-pointing, removal and disposal of existing trusses, demolition of plaster ceilings, builder’s risk, and design and permit fees. Second, the city alleges that when the THPA updated the City Council on March 4th, they had only raised 94.5% of their $750,000 goal, not the 100% stipulated by the Settlement Agreement that was needed by March 1st. The City is making both claims based on a violation of one specific paragraph of the settlement agreement, presented below:

Requested Remedies

In the letter, the city asserts that the THPA is in default of the agreement and has asked Judge Wall to take the following actions:

• An injunction ordering work on the rear part, or “1841” portion of the building, to stop.

• An order directing the Chief Building Official or Fire Chief to issue a “stop work” order on any further stabilization of the “1841” portion of the building.

• An order directing the Chief Building Official to rescind all building permits related to stabilization work on the “1841” portion of the building.

• An order directing the THPA to demolish the “1841” portion of the building by March 31st, and/or

• Other remedies as may be deemed appropriate.

It should be noted that many of these remedies do not appear to lift Adjudication Order #36, which the City has stated is necessary before West Main Street could ever be reopened; stopping repairs and rescinding building permits could easily risk having West Main Street to be closed longer than necessary.

Perhaps more troubling is that this communication does not demonstrate the spirit of cooperation that this community has always taken great pride in. Instead, this letter is another acrimonious step in this saga that keeps West Main Street closed and takes another toll on our collective patience.

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