Hearing officer: Shodeen liable for $27K fine for blacksmith shop’s condition

Developer Shodeen Group LLC is officially on the hook for a $27,000 fine imposed by the city of Geneva for failure to make a circa 1843 former blacksmith shop at 4 E. State St. “weather tight,” according to a hearing officer’s ruling Dec. 2.

The fine is retroactive to Oct. 17, a compliance check date set by hearing officer Victor Puscas, who agreed with the city’s citation and ruled that Shodeen had until then to make the building weather tight.

Sandack had said all Shodeen had to do was put a tarp over the roof to be in compliance.

As of Monday, accruing at $750 a day for 11 days since the last hearing on Nov. 21, the fine has grown by another $8,250 to $35,250.

Geneva’s citation alleged that the owners of the former Mill Race Inn site failed to maintain the historic blacksmith shop’s exterior surfaces, as required by the property maintenance code.

At its third adjudication hearing last month, city attorney Ronald Sandack reported that there was no progress between Geneva and Shodeen and that the city intended to impose a fine of $27,000.

“There’s no progress,” Sandack had said. “Despite our pleas for compliance, they have no indication of any interest in complying with the rulings that you have made and the requirements of weather-proofing the structure.”

Shodeen attorney Daniel Konicek had argued that Puscas no longer had authority in the case, now that the developer filed a complaint in circuit court seeking to reverse the hearing officer’s rulings. The case has a first court date of Feb. 4, 2025

Puscas said he would research the issue and give an opinion.

Apparently, Puscas determined that as hearing officer, he still has jurisdiction, because he agreed that the property maintenance code was violated and that the fine was in order.

“We find the way that this matter is being handled by the City of Geneva thru its code violation process is truly unfortunate,” Dave Patzelt, president of the Shodeen Group, said in an email. “We believe everyone’s time, efforts and money would be best spent by all involved to collectively work together on the overall redevelopment of the property.”

The former blacksmith shop, which has historic landmark status, has been at the center of a series of public hearings and controversy.

The owners asserted it would be too expensive to repurpose it and sought to tear it down, but preservationists countered that the owners were not willing to try other options.

City officials denied Shodeen’s request to demolish it in 2023. Demolition is a last resort if there are no other alternatives. A judge denied Shodeen’s request to have the decision reversed.

The property is no longer owned by the Shodeen Family Foundation, but by another legal entity, Mill Race Land Company LLC, as of Sept. 27. However, the Shodeen Group LLC is listed as its registered agent, according to Secretary of State records.