ASHLAND — A seemingly abandoned industrial property on Ashland’s northeast side has been deemed a public health emergency.
Mayor Matt Miller on Tuesday said many city residents have likely heard of or seen the property located along Miller Street, referring to it as the “old Carter (Lumber) building.”
“It is an abandoned industrial property,” the mayor said. “It consists of multiple structurally deficient buildings, two of which have recently collapsed, and a multitude of trailers and junk stored on the property.
“The building is a disaster. It’s half fallen in at this point.”
According to the Ashland County Auditor’s website, 610 Miller St. is owned by Karedon Inc. out of St. Petersburg, Florida.
The City of Ashland has made repeated efforts over the years, as well as the past several weeks and months, to contact the property owner by phone, email and letter, Miller said. It’s alleged there are two individuals who own the property together, but the primary contact has remained unresponsive.
Ashland’s fire inspector visited the lot following recent storm damage and has officially posted it as an “unsafe property.”
“An unsafe property that poses a fire hazard and a public-safety issue,” Miller said. “He has made the official verdict that no one should be allowed on the property and is recommending that we remediate the situation — in other words, clean it up.”
The city is working with its law director regarding the matter. Miller asked Ashland City Council for its support to move forward with cleaning up the property.
City lawmakers unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing Miller to enter into a contract with Simonson Construction Services for the remediation of the public health emergency at 610 Miller St.
Clean up estimate is $235K
Due to the situation being a public-health emergency, the proposed work was not required to be formally advertised or put out for bid, according to the legislation.
The contract with Simonson is for $235,000. The mayor is authorized to eliminate any or all of the improvements from the project if he determines it would be in the best interest of the city, according to the legislation.
Miller told council that approving the ordinance does not mean the city has to move forward with the project.
“If we are able to work something out (with the property owner), we’re more than willing to let someone else clean it up,” the mayor said.
The weight of heavy snow in January likely led to the collapse of the building’s roof, Miller said. Recent strong winds have elevated the situation to a “major issue,” carrying debris from the property throughout the neighborhood.
The mayor said Sloan Concrete, located nearby at 500 Virginia Ave., had vehicles damaged by debris blown from the 610 Miller St. property.
“The neighbors all reached out and their lawns were covered in everything from insulation to any kind of debris that was on the property,” the mayor said.
‘We can’t just ignore it,’ says councilman
If the city funds the clean up, Miller said there is no current “legal remedy” to require the property owner to pay the city back.
“Our hope is that, working with the owner, perhaps it will spur them to action or spur them to come out of hiding and respond to our message,” he said. “We believe they’re out of state.
“We’re confident we know who it is and they are just not responding and they are down south.”
Ward 3 Councilman Dennis Miller said the 610 Miller St. property impacts the surrounding neighborhood.
“We can’t just ignore it. We have to do something,” he said.
Jason Chio, Ward 2 councilman, added that the property owner is delinquent on last year’s taxes by over $3,000.
Andrew Bush, the city’s assistant law director, said the city can request a lien on the property for the costs incurred by the city to clean it up.
“This is the last resort. This is not a new issue,” Miller said. “This has been going on for decades.
“I think that this action shows the serious nature of the situation, meaning it sends a very strong message, probably the strongest we can send, that we’re going to act to clean up the mess if you don’t communicate with us or respond to us in some way,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. Maybe we’ll be surprised.”
In other action Tuesday, City Council:
— authorized the issuance of “then and now” certificates for the city’s fire and engineering division totaling $95,443.44.
— authorized the city’s director of finance to make transfers within the 2026 appropriations.
— authorized the city’s director of finance to amend appropriations for calendar year 2026. The piece of legislation was presented in anticipation of the Ashland Public Transit facility project, which will begin construction later in 2026, said Larry Paxton, the city’s finance director.
It acknowledges the federal share of additional monies that the city will be receiving toward the project, as well as the local match required to meet the obligation of the contract, Paxton said.
— authorized the mayor to enter into a consent agreement with ODOT for repairs to the US-250 bridge over Interstate 71.
Below is a recording of the April 7 meeting of Ashland City Council.
