Code Enforcement Committee

City of Middletown OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL 245 deKoven Drive Middletown, CT 06457-1300 TEL: (860) 638-4820 FAX: (860) 638-1920 TDD: (860) 344-3521 Minutes Regular Meeting of August 10, 2023 Code Enforcement Committee Committee Members Present: Thomas Hazel, Zoning and Blight Enforcement Officer; Lieutenant Nick Puorro; Gary Gessaro; Fire Marshal; Tanielle Davis, Public Health Manager; James Mastroianni, Fire Marshal; Scott Kotowski, Deputy Fire Marshal; Dean Lisitano, Chief Building Official; Christopher Holden, Director of Public Works; and Christopher Forte, Assistant General Counsel. Members of the Public: Ed McKeon. 1. Call to Order By Staff. AGC Forte called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. 2. Approval of Minutes. Review and approval of the minutes for the July 27, 2023 regular meeting. Motion to Approve made by Dean Lisitano, seconded by James Mastroianni. Motion passed unanimously at 9:02 am. 3. Public Session. None. 4. New Business. A. Mayor’s Office. 1. Update from the Mayor’s Office. No updates. B. Public Works. 1. Update from the Public Works Department. No updates. C. Health Department. 1. Update from the Health Department. No updates.  D. Department of Land Use. 1. Update from the Department of Land Use. 1. 113 Hunting Hill Road: Blight order issued on June 28, 2023 for overgrown grass and yard. Property owner failed to remediate violations within timeframe set forth in the order. Motion refer this matter to the Office of General Counsel to issue a Notice of Abatement and initiate clean-and-lien procedures made by Thomas Hazel, seconded by Dean Lisitano. Motion passed unanimously at 9:07 am. E. Building Department. 1. Update from the Building Department. No updates. F. Police Department. 1. Update from the Police Department. No updates. G. City Fire. 1. Update from City Fire. No updates. H. South Fire District. 1. Update from the South Fire District. No updates. I. Westfield Fire District. 1. Update from the Westfield Fire District. No updates. J. Office of the General Counsel. 1. Update from the Office of the General Counsel. No updates. 5. Old Business. A. Mayor’s Office. 1. Forbidden Llama: Health is working with the owner to get the upstairs bar approved. No other updates. Will continue to monitor. B. Health Department 1. 455 & 465 Middlefield Street: No calls for service to the PD since April. Health Department has no new complaints from residents since the last meeting. Land Use stated that they have received a new complaint from the Mayor’s Office regarding tenants illegally living on the properties. After an inspection the ZEO was unable to confirm whether anyone was living on  site. ZEO also has been attempting to inspect the pipe runoff from the property, but high river levels have obstructed the view. Will continue to monitor. Dean Lisitano stated that the tenant on the property with the paint booth is prohibited from using it until the Building Department is able to confirm compliance and issue a permit for its use. The Building Department has communicated this to the tenant and issued a Cease & Desist. C. Department of Land Use 1. Bob’s Building. Owner has boarded up the windows and painted the wood to match the building. Permits for construction are being held up because of an utility issue. 2. 19 Clinton Avenue. Cease and Desist for illegal accessory unit issued. Owner has remediated the violations for now. No further action required. D. Building Department 1. 699 Country Club Road: Dean Lisitano is working with State to figure out next steps and will reach out to State’s Attorney to see whether anything can be done to get owner of property to communicate with Building Department. E. Fire Department 1. 139 Church Street. Fire Department inspected the property and owner has made progress on bringing the property into compliance. Will continue to monitor. F. Office of the General Counsel 1. Forest City Laundry. A Notice of Abatement was issued with a deadline of July 28, 2023. Once the City receives confirmation from the State of Connecticut that the City will be indemnified against any environmental contamination and for the removal of the structure, the City will remove the structure on the property. 2. 237 Spencer Drive. Complaints of outdoor burning. Fire Marshal inspected the property and found blight and unsafe conditions. ZEO Hazel has cited the property for blight and AGC Forte has referred the matter to the City’s Citation Hearing Officer. Will continue to monitor 6. Adjournment. Motion to adjourn by Tanielle Davis, seconded by Gary Gessaro, and passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:22 a.m.