LOCAL

Dover halts demolition plans for house owned by son of former mayor

Jon Baker
The Times-Reporter
The city has halted plans to knock down this house on West Fifth Street, one of five properties in Dover approved for demolition through the Ohio Department of Development's Demolition and Site Revitalization Program.
  • The city of Dover has put a stop to the process to demolish a house owned by the son of the former mayor.
  • Officials say the situation raises conflict of interest concerns.
  • Nicholas Homrighausen, who is running for mayor, purchased the property in 2019.

DOVER ‒ The city has halted plans to demolish a house that belongs to the son of former Mayor Richard Homrighausen because of conflict concerns.

The house, located at 114 W. Fifth St., was one of five properties in Dover approved for demolition through the Ohio Department of Development's Demolition and Site Revitalization Program.

Demolition contracts:Dover seeks grant to add sidewalks to alley near middle school

Nicholas Homrighausen, who is running for mayor, purchased the property in 2019.

He filed an application for demolition with the city on Feb. 10, 2022, while his father was still mayor. Richard Homrighausen was suspended from office in May of that year after he was indicted on several charges, including theft in office. He was convicted on those charges by a Tuscarawas County jury in November.

Mayor sentenced:Former Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen ordered to pay $17,210, avoids prison

The state grant to pay for demolition was funneled through Tuscarawas County. The city signed an agreement with the county that states in part that Dover must follow state and federal conflict of interest regulations.

"No member of the Local Government's governing body and no other public official of such locality ... will have a personal financial interest, direct or indirect, in this agreement; and the Subrecipient will take appropriate steps to assure compliance," the agreement between the city and county reads.

Those regulations cover elected officials and their immediate family members.

"Even if people don't believe this is an absolute impropriety, the appearance of impropriety is clearly there," said Law Director Doug O'Meara.

City officials learned about ownership on March 3

In December, city officials received a list of structures to be demolished from John McFadden, the city's building and zoning administrator.

According to the document, the West Fifth Street property "is vacant and the utilities were shut off in 2019. The structure sits approximately 2 feet off of West Fifth Street and poses a hazard to motorists and inhabitants due to the close proximity to the street. The owner wishes to demolish the structure and build a new habitable structure farther into the parcel of land."

The document did not list the owners of any of the five properties.

"We have serious, serious questions not only about the application itself but also why that wasn't flagged earlier by the person who received the applications," O'Meara said.

When asked about the lack of names on the list, McFadden said he had no comment while the law director reviewed the issue.

City officials learned that the West Fifth Street property belong to Homrighausen on March 3.

"To have the city, during the leadership of former Mayor Homrighausen, applying for grant funding related to work on his son's property raises significant ethical and conflict of interest concerns," Mayor Shane Gunnoe said at the March 6 city council meeting. "Therefore, I have requested our building administrator to cease further advancement on this particular demolition project until a proper legal review of the application process can be conducted."

A call to Nicholas Homrighausen seeking comment was not returned.

Both Gunnoe and Nicholas Homrighausen are candidates for the Republican nomination for mayor in the May 2 primary. The winner would face Democrat Colby Byrom in the fall.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.