Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw Code Enforcement approved the demolition of a residence and fining the owner of a downtown building during a meeting on Tuesday.
Building Inspector Robert Hurford said a residence at 757 W. Center St. had a fire several years ago and was deemed a total loss. The home’s owner, Chanda K. Allen, is in dispute with an insurance company regarding the property but gave the city a contract with a demolition company to start demolition on April 18.
Hurford requested the case be continued to the code enforcement’s next meeting and asked for fines to be implemented if demolition was not completed by the end of April.
Hearing Officer Tom Earhart approved proceeding with the demolition and implementing fines if demolition is not finished by the end of April.
Earhart also addressed a violation regarding a building at 119 S. Buffalo St. The building houses Lakeland Art Gallery and is owned by Walter Strazzara, Arizona.
Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Fire Marshal Jeremy Williams said he's been to the building six different times. He told Earhart there are issues with the rear exit door for the building and non-functioning emergency exit lights.
"I do not believe this is a Lakeland Art Gallery issue, as a tenant," said Williams. "This should be back on the building owner being a structural concern. The tenant did state during my last inspection there that they can't even remove the exit bar. The door is not secured; it just blows open. So, it's 100% unusable."
Building Inspector Angela Lundy said Strazzara is aware of the violations.
"He stated in our first phone call that he didn't feel he was responsible for the repairs, that that was something his tenant needed to do," said Lundy. "I reaffirmed what Jeremy said, that with it being structural, it needed to be something he needed to address."
Lundy said Strazzara told her it would get taken care of; however, that phone call occurred in December 2025.
In a follow-up phone call in April 2026, Strazzara said he would have a tenant representative attend the meeting to provide information on what still needs fixed. However, no one representing Strazzara or Lakeland Art Gallery was in attendance.
Earhart said he would prepare an order for fines to be assessed against Strazzara for the building and fire code violations retroactive to June 13, 2025, the date of Williams' initial inspection.
