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GIRARD -- The co-owners of a downtown building scheduled for demolition received a Trumbull County judge's order to have the demolition work halted.
Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay signed the order halting demolition of the building at 25 W. Liberty St. The judge ordered the plaintiffs, building owners Dan Penza of Girard and Robert Penza of North Jackson, to post a $3,000 bond and set a hearing for Friday in his courtroom.
In its application for a temporary restraining order, the plaintiffs stated that neither Dan nor Robert Penza was given notice that the property had been declared unfit for habitation or declared a public health nuisance.
The document states that the Trumbull County Board of Health had sent a letter to John Penza, another co-owner of the property, on March 1, 2021, making that declaration.
"Plaintiffs have obtained bids to make the necessary repairs to the subject property and are prepared to hire a construction company to make the repairs," the document states.
Mayor James Melfi said he received the notice of the judge's action on Wednesday, and he and other city officials plan to be in court Friday.
"We plan to fight this order," the mayor said.
City council earlier this month had awarded a contract to get the downtown building, which some officials viewed as an eyesore, demolished.
Moderalli Excavating of Poland, which is named as one of the defendants in the temporary restraining order action, was hired at $129,900 for demolishing the buildings at 15 and 25 W. Liberty St.
The vacant structure sits on the southwestern corner of the intersection of East Liberty Street and U.S. Route 422 with the two storefronts vacant.
Law Director Brian Kren has said the demolition process is to abate the nuisance that the building has become.