STRUTHERS — A Struthers judge is reaching out to city council in hopes of resolving structural issues in the courtroom, but he says he probably will have to sue the city to get what he needs.

Last week, Municipal Court Judge Dom Leone sent a letter to council outlining 10 areas that need improvement.

“Most of the issues I will address probably would not pass an OSHA inspection,” Leone noted in his letter, dated July 11.

During a phone conference Tuesday night, he told council members that outdated electric, inadequate ventilation for air conditioning and duct work, insufficient space and issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic are some of the

problems that Leone pointed out.

Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said before the meeting the letter is “absurd.”

Addressing the need for panic buttons, for example, Miller said that calls have been made, but Leone did not follow up.

“Whatever he feels, we’ve worked with him,” she said.

Council members said they would work with Leone to get the needs he outlined, except on reallocating Law Director John Zomoida’s space for the judge’s office.

Leone said he needs more space for his office. Leone said that there was a verbal agreement “for over a month” that was in place. Citing that the workload of civil cases has increased from 600 to 1,000 under his time on the bench, Leone said that is just one reason why his team needs more space.

“I thought our agreement was to move some storage to the old fire station,” Leone said, adding he hopes to move the court to a paperless system.

Council asked Leone if reorganizing would help, to which he said there are eight people working in a small space, and together they have eliminated as much as possible to make room.

For space, Leone said that Miller promised that space would be given.

Miller said that after multiple discussions, Leone was advised to reach out to Zomoida, which Leone allegedly didn’t do but instead spoke with staff.

Councilman Dallas Bigley said more communication is needed throughout the process. Bigley, chairman of finances, said that the city is on an emergency spending basis during the pandemic, but many things are needed.

A breach of terms to the agreement occurred when the task was nearly completed, Leone said, adding that there was then a “total change in attitude.”

The judge stated in the letter that he has tried bringing the matters up before to no avail for about two years.

“My previous requests for help to administration have fallen on deaf ears,” he wrote.

Leone said before a special meeting Tuesday regarding the letter that he is “hopeful” that city officials will address the issues he outlined “in a timely manner” or that a collaboration can take place.

He has been working to identify the concerns for a few years, but needs city administration to collaborate on some of the issues to rectify problems, such as calling electricians, obtaining blueprints for the building — which Leone said no on in the building has — and cleaning out ducts.

Leone expressed that if the building was his own, the maintenance would have been accomplished by now.

To help stay organized, Leone said one goal between himself and administration is to create a spreadsheet to track progress of each project, as well as collaborate with stakeholders.

afox@tribtoday.com