GREENVILLE — Owners and tenants of commercial properties in Greenville should be aware of new regulations in the Treaty City, as Greenville City Council adopted two measures to mitigate false fire alarms and improve building inspections.
The new regulation on false alarms allows for the city to bill building owners and tenants of properties a charge of $25 for three to seven false alarms occurring within a calendar year. The fine goes up to $100 for each false alarm thereafter, and eventually may include the owner being compelled to disconnect the system.
City Law Director Mike Rieman told council the legislation is primarily intended to deal with businesses and occupants which have “an acute problem” with false alarms.
New regulations on fire inspection fees calls for a $75 charge for each re-inspection of a property after an initial and second visit if there are remaining code violations.
Greenville Fire Department Chief Russ Thompson said the new fees for building inspections should provide motivation for business owners and tenants to get their structures up to code.
“If we have to start coming back for a second, third or fourth re-inspection, which we’ve become accustomed to on certain places in the city over the last couple of years, that’s when an inspection fee of $75 is going to kick in, until we get voluntary compliance,” Thompson said.
“We will not charge for inspection or re-inspection as long as the violations have been cleared on second inspection,” he added. “Basically, it’s a small monetary incentive to get business owners or tenants to comply with the fire code and clear the violations within an agreed-upon time, which is normally up to 30 days.”
In other business, council accepted a report from its Ad Hoc Committee regarding talks between the city and Greenville Township on a joint Fire/EMS district.
The city accepted a feasibility study proposal from John D. Preuer & Associates in the amount of $11,750, with the cost split equally between the city and township.
Greenville City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to view these meetings live or the following day on the City of Greenville Ohio YouTube channel.
