Cape building owner issued summons over bowed wall

A Cape Girardeau property owner with an abandoned building near one that partially collapsed in June is going to court over unmade repairs.

Guy Tomasino, owner of the vacant building at 633 Broadway, received a summons for failure to repair or demolish a building. The summons, Cape Girardeau inspections director Tim Morgan said, was due to Tomasino's failure to respond to a letter demanding that a bowed wall be repaired.

The letter, sent by both regular mail and registered mail, was returned undelivered, Morgan said. The letter was sent June 17, the day after a portion of the wall behind 625 Broadway fell. The letter demanded immediate repairs on the bowed wall, Morgan said.

A letter detailing more extensive repairs had been sent just days before the collapse, Morgan said.

Tomasino is not the owner of 625 Broadway. That property is owned by Ed Dodd of Scott City.

"The first letter gave them 30 days to address the majority of the issues," Morgan said. "Then when the collapse happened we wrote to tell them the bulging wall had to be dealt with immediately."

Tomasino could not be reached for comment. A phone call to Posi Products, a Tomasino business, was not answered.

Other problems with the building, Morgan said, are broken windows, unlocked doors, open entrances to the cellar, porches with no handrails, porch roofs that are collapsing and missing brick or rock in the foundation.

It is now up to the courts to deal with Tomasino, Morgan said. The city could issue an order to demolish the building, but that would be a lengthy process, he said. "I am hoping for a fine at the least and hope the judge would order some further action on the building," Morgan said.

If Tomasino had responded to the city, Morgan said, a plan for repairs would have been enough to avoid a court appearance.

A court date in municipal court has not been set, Morgan said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

633 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO

625 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO