Feb 29, 2008 5 min read

By Christine Haines Herald-Standard

Fayette County Judge Ralph Warman upheld one of three building code citations that had been filed against Brownsville property owner Ernest Liggett of Churchill in an appeal hearing Thursday.

Warman dismissed the charge associated with unsafe conditions at 56 Market St. because the situation has since been remedied, though borough solicitor Melinda Dellarose noted that the unsafe conditions did exist at the time of the citation and for several additional months before they were corrected.

“Technically, that would be correct, that they have to be repaired timely. We don’t look at this as a way to persecute a person who owns a building and attempts to fix it up,” Warman said in ruling in Liggett’s favor.

Liggett’s attorney, Lee Grimm, also asked for dismissal of the citations filed against 39 Market St. and 17-19 Market St. on the basis that the borough’s code official, Donald Baugh, does not hold state certification for building inspections under the Uniform Construction Code, which has been adopted by the borough. In the course of his testimony Baugh stated that he is not employed to enforce the Uniform Construction Code, which is for new construction. He works entirely with the International Property Maintenance Code, which deals with existing structures and does not require state certification.

Warman denied the motion to dismiss on those grounds.

“We are not, however, satisfied that these citations submitted relative to what is alleged to be 39 Market St. Mr. Baugh apparently intended to include 41 Market St. as well,” Warman said.

Although Baugh had testified that he met with Liggett to review the deficiencies and the actions that needed to be taken, but Warman ruled in Liggett’s favor, saying a person couldn’t tell what he was being cited for.

Warman upheld Liggett’s conviction for the violations at 17-19 Market St.

“This building is totally unsafe and is falling down and something would have to be done with it,” Warman said.

Warman imposed a fine of $1,000 plus court costs for the violation. He declined to make the fine per day, saying it is his belief that Liggett would need to be cited each day in order for the fine to be multiplied. Borough council last year amended the ordinance to read that for the purposes of penalties, each day could be considered a new violation.

Dellarose said Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty, who has been assigned to hear the cases against Liggett, has declined to accept daily citations, asking instead that the borough wait at least a month before issuing new citations on the same property.

The charges against Liggett heard Thursday stemmed from a March 2007 inspection, with the citations going out April 23, 2007. Haggerty had found Liggett guilty on all three citations and had fined him $12,000.

Fayette County Judge Steve Leskinen heard an appeal two weeks ago on citations for the same properties that were issued in May 2007, finding Liggett guilty on all three properties. Leskinen upheld Haggerty’s fines of $10,500 in those cases.

Brownsville’s consulting engineer Terry McMillen of McMillen Engineering testified at Thursday’s hearing that 17-19 Market St., which was cited as an unsafe structure, continues to deteriorate despite being wrapped in a blue tarp, which Grimm called “encapsulating.”

“The bricks, the walls have continued to fall and have broken through the tarp, leaving it open to rats who live along the river, kids, or anyone who wants to get in there,” McMillen said. “There are portions of the building that can be salvaged, such as the fa?ade; others could not be repaired, they would have to be replaced,” McMillen said.

McMillen testified that there are windows missing from the rear of 39-41 Market St., which could allow someone to enter the building. McMillen said the building was unsound.

“Through the windows you can see the portions of the building that have already collapsed. A building is not partially structurally sound,” McMillen said. “The flooring and the walls make up the structure. You can’t say a building is stable because the walls are standing, but you can’t walk on the floor because it isn’t there.”

McMillen testified that 39 Market St. is in similar condition, with each floor collapsing onto the one below, and windows are missing at the rear, allowing access to the structure.

“This building is obviously failing,” McMillen said.

McMillen testified that a building that is collapsing on its own is different in stability from a building that is intentionally gutted because structural elements are designed to work together and the entire building is affected when one element fails.

Following the hearing, Grimm said again that Baugh is not legally qualified to issue citations and he is giving consideration to an appeal to the Commonwealth Court on that basis.

“The witch hunt continues. The borough of Brownsville is trying to demonize Mr. Liggett. It’s getting what it deserves,” Grimm said.