By Matt Fredmonsky
Record-Courier staff writer
A civil court battle between the city of Kent and the owner of the old Kent Hotel remains deadlocked as both sides argue who has the right to $428,000 in liens filed against the property.
The vacant, five-story building at the corner of DePeyster and East Main streets has been the subject of court proceedings since 1999. Ten years ago, a Portage County Common Pleas Court imposed fines of $1,000 per day against the previous owner, Joseph Bujack, for failing to comply with a separate court order telling him to bring the building into compliance with city building, health and safety codes.
Nearly half million dollars in liens have accumulated since the 1999 court order. The crux of the case remains who is responsible for collecting on the liens — Kent or Portage County?
The building’s current owner, Kent Hotel LLC principle partner Gregg Vilk, a former tenant of Bujack’s, obtained the building in 2004 and in 2007 gutted the interior and replaced the roof. Vilk filed suit against Kent in October 2008 asking the court to waive the fines and clear the property title because his work brought the building into compliance with the order against Bujack. He argues the city has no legal claim to the liens because they were the result of a county court order.
“If the fines were imposed as a building violation, then the city would have a claim,” Vilk said. “The problem is the fines were imposed as a contempt of court order, not as a building violation.”
However, the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the case to determine what part, if any, the county has in collecting the liens.
Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said his office determined the county is not a party to the litigation and has no interest in the property except for the approximately $8,000 in back taxes owed.
“The matter of contempt assessments levied by the court are a matter for the court to rule on as to whether they are valid liens or whether the owner has purged the contempt by actions since they were imposed,” Vigluicci said in an e-mail.
But the finding by the prosecutor’s office also stated the city is “the appropriate party to attempt to revive and enforce the judgments against Joseph Bujack, Kent Hotel LLC and any other subsequent party’s at interest,” according to court documents.
That finding prompted Kent Law Director Jim Silver to file a motion in September with the court asking the judge to transfer the interest in the $428,000 in fines levied against the building to the city and to name the city as “the proper party to enforce the contempt judgments that were issued for the benefit of the city of Kent.”
A hearing is set for Nov. 20 to give Vilk the opportunity to argue against Silver’s motion.