City declares Fallon Hotel unsafe; orders structure vacated
LOCK HAVEN, PA – The results are back from a July 15 code inspection at the Fallon Hotel and they show the historic building is “unfit for human habitation and constitutes a hazard” and must be vacated.
The Record, through a right-to-know request to City Hall, has been provided a copy of the results of the City’s July visit to inspect the Fallon for its safety. The finding, according to the notice provided to the building owners, is the building is “unsafe and unfit for human habitation or use and constitutes a hazard and danger to human life and/or the public welfare.” Specifically, according to the letter from city code officer Cyndi Walker, the July visit found “falling ceilings, visible mold, wet areas, exposed electrical devices, buckling floors, broken and inoperable windows, potential structural issues, corroded inoperable plumbing, unsafe dryer venting and a deteriorating chimney…causing unsafe conditions.”
The notice from Walker, dated Aug. 13, says “The structure is required to be vacated within 24 hours and must remain vacated until approval is given.” The owners are directed to correct the deficiencies within 45 days.
The notices went to two sets of prospective owners: Dolores and Terry Mantle of Jersey Shore are listed on Clinton County records as owners of the historic building at 131 E. Water Street. But according to the city notice, Dolores Mantle had notified the city the property had been sold to Carey Van Chisolm of Williamsport. Contacted by The Record on Monday, Chisolm replied, “No comment.” While the building has sat unoccupied the last few years, its heating plant broken down, a work crew had been seen at the structure in recent weeks, looking to be performing some cosmetic work. Additionally a dumpster had been parked on the alley on the Fallon’s west side and debris from the building’s upper floors had been deposited there.
The July inspection and the notice of violation are the latest developments in city efforts, through its redevelopment authority, to purchase the Fallon and determine if it can be restored. The Record has learned there is an out-of-the-area developer with an interest in restoring the pre-Civil War structure if feasible.
