Probation Dropped for Man Convicted of Stop Order Violation

A man convicted of violating a stop work order earlier this year is no longer in the middle of a legal spat between the Warren County Commission and the city of Warrenton.

Donald Kopmann confirmed to The Record earlier this week that he recently received a letter from the city informing him that he no longer is on probation imposed following the incident that triggered a legal battle between the city and county.

He had been convicted Feb. 1 of violating the stop work order and received a suspended imposition of sentence and two years’ probation. He performed six hours of community service on April 21 and paid a $50 community service fee and court costs as part of the ruling handed down by Municipal Judge Chris McDonough.

A suspended imposition of sentence, also referred to as a S.I.S., means the conviction will not be recorded and the court record is no longer a public file.

City and county officials declined to comment on the recent decision to terminate Kopmann’s probation.

Kopmann was issued a summons on Oct. 15, 2010, by Warrenton Building Commissioner Jim Daly for failing to abide by the stop work order that was posted that same day. He was working for T.S. Banze Construction, the contractor hired by the county to begin site work on the administration building project located along Highway 47 and Mockingbird Lane.

The citation was issued during a second visit to the county property by Daly. The stop work order was posted because the county failed to obtain and pay for building permits related to the construction of the administration building.

County commissioners said they told Kopmann to continue working following the first site visit by Daly that morning.

The municipal summons led to a separate lawsuit filed by the county against the city challenging its permitting requirements. On Dec 30, 2011, Franklin County Associate Judge David Tobben ruled that the county is not exempt from paying for city building permits.

The county commission then filed an appeal opposing the circuit court ruling. Both the county and city are now awaiting an appellate court ruling.

Under protest, the county commission paid a total of $27,406 to the city for separate building and stormwater permits. Of that amount, $26,781 was for the building permit.