Part 19

Re: Important Summary Regarding Tentative Valuation – 779 Garrison Road 

Summary Headers

Thank you, Mr. Yamamoto. We appreciate you seeking a formal legal opinion from the Prosecutor’s office regarding the 2014 record discrepancy and procedural history.

Please share the Prosecutor’s determination with all copied parties once it is rendered, as we remain committed to resolving this baseline property valuation fairly prior to the Board of Revision cycle.

In the meantime, to ensure complete transparency and streamline access for everyone, we are assembling the full paper trail, engineering reports, and record history into a centralized, permanent repository on ArDrive and will share the permaweb address with this group once completed. Our open invitation for a physical site inspection of 779 Garrison Road stands.

On 2026-08-28 11:12, Scott K. Yamamoto wrote:

You are welcome.  I have also requested a legal opinion from the Prosecutor’s office to ensure everything has been done correctly.

—–Original Message—–
From: info@hygiologypost.com <info@hygiologypost.com>
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2026 10:05 AM
To: Scott K. Yamamoto <SKYamamoto@ashtabulacounty.gov>
Cc: Commissioners <Commissioners@ashtabulacounty.us>; commissioners@ashtabulacounty.gov; ckozlowski@ashtabulacounty.gov; kwhittington@ashtabulacounty.gov; J.P. Ducro <JPDucro@ashtabulacounty.us>; lhawkins@ashtabulacounty.gov; sd32@ohiosenate.gov; rep99@ohiohouse.gov; rep65@ohiohouse.gov; Melanie M. Carmack <MMCarmack@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Hunter J. Nolin <HJNolin@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Jake S. Rougeaux <JSRougeaux@ashtabulacounty.gov>; jpete@ashtabulatownship.com; commissioners@co.ashtabula.oh.us; Lisa L. Hawkins <LLHawkins@ashtabulacounty.us>; swessel@gazettenews.com
Subject: Re: Important Summary Regarding Tentative Valuation – 779 Garrison Road

Quick Note: First PDF (emails included except last one in reappraisal
request) was with only the identified Auditor’s Office Employee, Office Worker, and the Real Estate Manager, who was the sole staff member to respond to my request for assistance last month. The second PDF consisted of communications this month with the identified Auditor. The third PDF was sent earlier this week by the Auditor. One County Commissioner Replied To A CC Email—please reply to THIS email if you choose to reply.

Please note that as email threads lengthen, attached PDF files can sometimes be automatically stripped or dropped by mail servers. If any copied party or recipient is missing any of the referenced PDF attachments (such as property records, engineering reports, or appraisal filings), please let us know directly on this thread, and we will gladly re-send them immediately.

Thank you Mr. Yamamoto for alerting us to what you experienced.

To Everyone: When this is sent out others may want to check their similarly labeled infected file folders and spam. We are always OPEN to suggestions to resolve any potential issues.

On 2026-08-27 18:07, Scott K. Yamamoto wrote:

Dr DeCola,

Wanted to give you a heads up – that your email dated/time 8/27/26 at
11:11AM ended up in the Infected File folder in my e-mail as well as
the other selected members of our staff that you sent it to.  I just
found it this afternoon.  I had our IT team scan it and they found no
infected files however – I do not believe that it reached your
intended recipients – or it may be stuck in their SPAM or Infected
folder. I am not sure why this happened but thought you should know.

Scott

—–Original Message—–
From: info@hygiologypost.com <info@hygiologypost.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2026 3:15 PM
To: Scott K. Yamamoto <SKYamamoto@ashtabulacounty.gov>
Cc: Commissioners <Commissioners@ashtabulacounty.us>;
commissioners@ashtabulacounty.gov; ckozlowski@ashtabulacounty.gov;
kwhittington@ashtabulacounty.gov; J.P. Ducro
<JPDucro@ashtabulacounty.us>; lhawkins@ashtabulacounty.gov;
sd32@ohiosenate.gov; rep99@ohiohouse.gov; rep65@ohiohouse.gov; Melanie
M. Carmack <MMCarmack@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Hunter J. Nolin
<HJNolin@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Jake S. Rougeaux
<JSRougeaux@ashtabulacounty.gov>; jpete@ashtabulatownship.com;
commissioners@co.ashtabula.oh.us; Lisa L. Hawkins
<LLHawkins@ashtabulacounty.us>
Subject: Re: Important Summary Regarding Tentative Valuation – 779
Garrison Road

Quick Note: Correcting a minor typo in our previous Quick Note
header—for clarity and full administrative record-keeping, the
official property records and correspondence attached in this send and
previous messages were received from the County Auditor’s Office on
7-30-26 (10 PDFs), 7-31-26 (2 PDFs), and 8-4-26 (1 PDF) regarding 779
Garrison Road.

Attached to this send are three PDFs submitted on 8-9-26 to appeal the
tentative reappraisal property value for 779 Garrison Road, Ashtabula,
Ohio (Parcel 420050003300) for tax year 2026 based upon the 2026
property reappraisal notice.

On 2026-08-27 11:08, info@hygiologypost.com wrote:

Quick Note: Attached are the official property records and
correspondence files received from the County Auditor’s Office on
7-30-26, 7-31-26, and regarding 779 Garrison Road. Please find 10
PDFs from 7-30-26, 2 PDFs from 7-31-26, and 1 PDF from 8-4-26.

On 2026-08-26 12:48, Scott K. Yamamoto wrote:

Received.

—–Original Message—–
From: info@hygiologypost.com <info@hygiologypost.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2026 12:33 PM
To: Scott K. Yamamoto <SKYamamoto@ashtabulacounty.gov>
Cc: Commissioners <Commissioners@ashtabulacounty.us>;
commissioners@ashtabulacounty.gov; ckozlowski@ashtabulacounty.gov;
kwhittington@ashtabulacounty.gov; J.P. Ducro
<JPDucro@ashtabulacounty.us>; lhawkins@ashtabulacounty.gov;
sd32@ohiosenate.gov; rep99@ohiohouse.gov; rep65@ohiohouse.gov;
Melanie M. Carmack <MMCarmack@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Hunter J. Nolin
<HJNolin@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Jake S. Rougeaux
<JSRougeaux@ashtabulacounty.gov>; jpete@ashtabulatownship.com;
ydecola@yahoo.com; ldecolajr@yahoo.com;
commissioners@co.ashtabula.oh.us; Lisa L. Hawkins
<LLHawkins@ashtabulacounty.us>
Subject: Re: Important Summary Regarding Tentative Valuation – 779
Garrison Road

Quick Note: We are sending this reply to the entire thread to
explicitly loop in the County Board of Commissioners and their Clerk
at their corrected email addresses, ensuring total transparency for
all copied state and local officials.

On 2026-08-26 12:14, info@hygiologypost.com wrote:

Quick Note: We are forwarding this communication to additional
elected officials, oversight authorities, and the County
Commissioners to ensure full transparency regarding a
long-standing, systemic administrative error at 779 Garrison Road.
All parties are explicitly copied on this string.

We have attached a full copy of the official 2014 Board of Revision
(BOR) Hearing Minutes and Decision for your immediate review. The
text reads as follows:
“BOR Case 405 – Decision
After carefully weighing the evidence the Complainant submitted and
presented, as well as the evidence and testimony the Auditor
presented, we find the Complainant failed to meet his burden.
Specifically, we did not find the Complainant’s appraiser, Mr.
Huey, or his appraisal persuasive. Mr. Huey admitted he was not a
structural engineer and admitted that he relied, in part, on Mr.
Nyzen’s structural engineering report, in order to determine a
final value.
Further, he admitted that he was not provided with Mr. Koehlinger’s
structural engineering report, which was contrary to Mr. Nyzen’s
report. The Auditor also had an appraisal done. The appraiser Mr.
Cleminshaw was present at the hearing and testified about his
findings. He took into consideration the Complainant’s claimed
structural defects and, like Mr. Koehlinger, deemed the problems to
be relatively minor. Further, both Mr. Huey’s and Mr. Cleminshaw’s
appraisal values, before adjusting for claimed home defects,
supported the Auditor’s appraised value.”

The County Auditor’s Office provided explicit written confirmation
to us on August 5, 2026, that no such report exists in our property
files:
“I do not have a copy of the Koehlinger Engineering report, that is
why it was not included in the documentation I provided. I reviewed
all of the BOR cases files and I do not see the report in any of
the files.
The only reference I found to the Koehlinger Engineering report is
during the tax year 2014 Board of Revision hearing, where it is
mentioned as part of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals case
involving Pete Wing Contracting, Inc. that was discussed during the
hearing.”

Because the county relied on a non-existent document from a
completely separate legal matter involving an outside contracting
firm to dismiss our actual physical engineering evidence and label
our home’s structural damage “minor,” the baseline valuation of our
property has been fundamentally flawed and artificially inflated
for over a decade.
We request that all copied parties review this historical record
and our formal invitation for a physical property inspection before
we move to an adversarial BOR hearing in January.

Sincerely,
Yelena DeCola & Louis DeCola Jr.
Owners, 779 Garrison Road
Ashtabula, Ohio 44004One

On 2026-08-25 16:25, info@hygiologypost.com wrote:

Dear Mr. Yamamoto,

Thank you for your email regarding the property value at 779
Garrison Road and the description of how your office arrived at
that number.
After a careful review and comparison of the properties your
office used to establish the average price, we find that these
comparable properties possess significant premium features that
our property lacks. These differences undoubtedly inflate their
tax assessments relative to ours.
Below is a direct breakdown of the flaws in the properties used
for this review:

1. 7751 Buttonwood: Features a cement driveway, an additional
shed, and a partially finished basement. Our property has a stone
driveway, zero extra structures, and an unfinished basement.

2. 601 Seven Hills: Sits on 9 acres (our property has only 5),
features a 4-car garage, a partially finished basement, a deck,
and an additional storage building.

3. 3818 Wade: Features a 3-car garage and a separate 1-car garage.
Our property only has a standard 2-car garage.

4. 5391 Savannah: Features a cement driveway, a 4-car garage, a
partially finished basement, a deck, and a private pool.

Using these properties is not a fair comparison. 779 Garrison Road
has a 2-car garage, no additional structures, a stone driveway, no
decks, no pools, an unfinished basement, a history of litigation,
and multiple documented structural defects. Your assessed value is
not a fair representation of true market value.

Furthermore, regarding your statement that you have “no answer” to
our core question: the issue is not about carrying a past value
forward.
The issue is that the county’s 2014 BOR decision explicitly
discounted our payment of $4,357 in 2007 to Mr. Nyzen for an
independent structural engineering report by citing a non-existent
report by “Mr.
Koehlinger.” Your office has now confirmed in writing that this
Koehlinger report does not exist in the file.

Because the county relied on a phantom document to dismiss our
actual physical evidence, the baseline valuation of 779 Garrison
Road has been fundamentally flawed and artificially inflated for
over a decade.

Given the compounding nature of this procedural error, the
$175,000 basement repair estimate from 2008, an additional
estimate for separate repairs of $10,353 from 2008, and the
obvious code violations currently on the property, we request that
all copied parties review the actual historical record of this property.

Furthermore, we formally invite your office, the reviewing
appraiser, and the County Commissioners to physically inspect 779
Garrison Road.
We are prepared to walk you through the property to demonstrate
firsthand the extensive structural damage and active code
violations that render components of this home unsafe.

We have copied the County Commissioners on this email to ensure
full transparency. We request a formal, written response via email
addressing these long-standing administrative oversight issues and
flawed property comparisons before we move to a formal,
adversarial BOR hearing in January.

Sincerely,

Yelena DeCola & Louis DeCola Jr.
Owners, 779 Garrison Road

On 2026-08-25 13:06, Scott K. Yamamoto wrote:

Good afternoon Dr. DeCola,

Thank you for clarifying your questions.

It is my understanding that an appraiser reviewed and made what
they feel are fair adjustments to the 2026 value of permanent
parcel
42-006-00-033-00 based on any evidence that you presented for
your informal review.

If you disagree with the outcome of the adjustment that was
provided on 8/24/26 you may file a formal appeal with the Board
of Revision after January 1, but before March 31, 2027.
Information regarding what is required in a formal appeal is
available on our website under “Board of Revisions” should you need it.

As to your “core question” I have no answer since I was not part
of any of any prior Board of Revision discussions or decisions. I
have seen no prior decision(s) that had stipulations where a
particular value (or any limiting condition) was to be carried
forward for any length of time.

Sincerely,
Scott

—–Original Message—–
From: info@hygiologypost.com <info@hygiologypost.com>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2026 1:39 PM
To: Scott K. Yamamoto <SKYamamoto@ashtabulacounty.gov>
Cc: ydecola@yahoo.com; Ldecolajr <ldecolajr@yahoo.com>; Melanie M.
Carmack <MMCarmack@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Hunter J. Nolin
<HJNolin@ashtabulacounty.gov>; Jake S. Rougeaux
<JSRougeaux@ashtabulacounty.gov>
Subject: Re: Important Summary Regarding Tentative Valuation –
779 Garrison Road

Quick Note: Owners have received an email about the 2026 property
valuation being resolved. While now lower than the tentative
value received last month by postcard it is a higher amount than
last year.
Per my limited research the valuation is a mid tier per square
foot amount in this County. This mid tier per square foot amount
appears too high given the documented damages, numerous code
violations (many of these code violations are OBVIOUS), and
documented dollar amounts to fix problems identified across
professionals since the home was built in 2005. Owners are harmed
in numerous ways over and over by the poor quality of
inspections, for example, performed over twenty years ago that
have never been addressed adequately by institutions including
The Ashtabula County Auditor’s Office.

This is a reminder that owners of 779 Garrison Road have brought
a critical piece of the record directly to your attention for
review.

Sincerely,

Louis DeCola Jr. 779 Garrison Road Ashtabula, Ohio 44004

On 2026-08-23 09:06, info@hygiologypost.com wrote:

Dear Mr. Yamamoto,

We are writing to bring a significant procedural discrepancy to
your attention regarding the tentative appraisal ($481,300) for
779
Garrison Road, following our submission of evidence on August 9,
2026.

1. The Missing Report Discrepancy

On July 30, 2026, your office emailed us the 2014 Board of
Revision decision (BOR Case 405). That decision explicitly
stated the Board discounted our appraiser’s findings because he
was not provided with “Mr. Koehlinger’s structural engineering report.”

On August 5, 2026, your office confirmed to us that no report
authored by Stanley Koehlinger actually exists in the file.

The only report authored by Koehlinger Engineering that we are
aware of is the “Inspection Report” we personally submitted to
your office as part of our August 9, 2026 reappraisal evidence.

2. Core Question for the Auditor Given that a prior ruling
weighed heavily against our valuation based on a structural
engineering report that was never actually in the county file,
does this procedural error warrant a retroactive downward
adjustment of the valuation for 779 Garrison Road?

We wanted to bring this critical piece of the record directly to
your attention for review.

Sincerely,

Yelena & Louis DeCola Jr.

Owners, 779 Garrison Road