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Public comment spotlights management complaints, property cleanup and permitting delays; city staff responds on inspections and elevator repairs
Summary
Speakers at the Columbus council public-comment period criticized past city management, raised concerns about neighborhood property conditions and delayed commercial permits. City staff said permits will be issued for one business and that elevator maintenance work at Ralston Towers was being addressed.
Several speakers used the June 17 public-comment period to press the council on city management, property maintenance, permitting and building safety; city staff provided immediate responses and follow-up commitments.
Tony Gaskins criticized the former city manager’s tenure and cited multiple instances of what he called mismanagement, including outsourcing of the Animal Control Center and financial shortcomings. Gaskins urged councilors to focus on corrective steps and better oversight of city departments.
Timothy Bills (listed on the record as 1039 Brook Road) described repeated problems getting property cleanup and code enforcement in his neighborhood, saying piles of debris and inconsistent pickups harm residential areas while downtown appears well maintained.
Business owner Skip Seda described a stalled commercial permitting process for his property at 2706 Second Avenue. Seda said an inspector issued a stop-work order after exterior repairs began and that confusion over when a state-licensed commercial general contractor is required has left his building covered in tarps. Director of Inspections and Codes Ryan Pruitt told the council a contractor submitted a permit application on June 6 and that staff expected to issue the permit “today or tomorrow.” Pruitt said the city had issued a stop-work order when inspectors observed work without a permit and that the subsequent environmental-court citation will proceed; he also said staff would review zoning/life-safety concerns raised about potential living-quarters modifications.
Councilor Walker Garrett and Deputy City Manager Goodwin asked staff to meet directly with Seda to resolve communication gaps and speed the permit process. Pruitt agreed to provide his card and meet to identify necessary steps.
Councilor Byron Hickey and other councilors raised safety concerns about elevator outages at Ralston Towers, an affordable-housing property with previous compliance problems. Deputy City Manager Goodwin and staff confirmed they had reported the outages to the state elevator inspection office and that maintenance technicians had restored at least one elevator; the city said it would continue to follow up with the state and ownership to ensure ongoing compliance.
Ending: City staff committed to follow up with callers on permitting and code-enforcement steps and to report back to the council on Ralston elevator inspections and owner commitments.
