Brew Works to clean up lot
Butler Brew Works owner Travis Tuttle said he will clean up the vacant lot behind the brewery on Main Street in downtown Butler.
Tuttle, brewery chief executive officer and co-founder, said he has met with city code enforcement officials who told him about complaints they received regarding the lot and agreed to clean it up.
Tuttle said he has ideas for how to use the lot in the future, but will clean it up and cover it with gravel for now.
“We'll put some gravel down so it's not such an eyesore,” Tuttle said Wednesday.
A storage trailer, a small backhoe, pallets and a few other items in the lot belong to his business, Tuttle said.
Weeds are growing around the trailer and other places in the lot.
Contractors working on the SpringHill Suites by Marriott used the lot as a storage and staging area before the hotel opened in the spring, said John Evans, Butler building code official.
The code enforcement office contacted Tuttle about the lot on July 25.
“We contacted the property owner and told him we were getting some complaints and asked him to clean it up,” Evans said. “They seem like they are willing to address the issue. We're in the process of working with them. They need to clean it up.”
He said the code enforcement office gave Tuttle a courtesy call July 25 and gave him 20 to 30 days to start clearing the lot. Enforcement action will begin if he doesn't start clearing the lot, Evans added.
Giving people time to address possible code violations before initiating enforcement procedures is office policy, Evans said.
“We always try to talk to people,” Evans said.
Tuttle called the discussion with code officials a “friendly” effort to correct the problem.
He said he has many ideas for using the lot after it is cleared.
Outdoor seating and a place to put containers that hold used kitchen grease and rubbish are among the ideas, he said. Currently, the containers are located along Cedar Street.
