# Councilwoman calls for audit of inspections after building collapses, kills 1



## mark handler (Aug 13, 2016)

Councilwoman calls for audit of inspections after building collapses, kills 1
http://www.wlky.com/news/news-confe...ng-death-of-man-in-building-collapse/40927472

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —A Metro Councilwoman said city agencies failed - and now a man is dead.
John Dozier, 71, was killed Friday in a building collapse at 28th Street and Grand Avenue.

Councilwoman Jessica Green is calling for an audit of the inspections and agency processes leading up to the collapse.

To be sure, Green believes the building's owner and the business owner are also at fault.

But she said she has uncovered a history of problems over the years at what used to be Les's Meat Market, and she said city agencies weren't working together to hold the owners accountable.

“This situation, I am incensed. I believe that it could have been preventable,” Green said.

Green said her office has found 100 violations and citations at Les Meat Market since 2014.

Friday, the building collapsed, killing Dozier.

Green is now calling for an internal audit into the inspections leading up to the incident.

“For whatever reason, the owner did not maintain that building. That's where we should have looked first. But when complaints come in, and we send city agencies out there to follow up on those complaints, then there is some responsibility on the part of the city,” Green said.

At least four agencies are involved.

Codes and Regulations, Develop Louisville -- which includes the building inspector, the fire department, and the Health Department.

“This individual should not have been allowed to keep conducting business out of that place. Allegations of not having refrigerated meat in a meat store. Allegations of a building literally falling down around your head,” Green said.

Green said the problem persisted even after the collapse. A van full of rotting meat was left for days at the site and was not loaded onto a garbage truck until Wednesday.

“This van has been sitting here, tomorrow will make one week that this happened. There is rotten meat in the van, there are flies in the van, there are maggots in the van, and if the wind blows the right way, you can really, really smell it,” community resident and activist Jerald Muhammad said.

Muhammad praised Green's call for an audit.

Green said she hopes it will prevent another tragedy.

“I'm not just worried about these particular owners, I'm worried about the status of other buildings all across the city,” she said.


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