Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2012 Committee members present: Gary Schnip, Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, James Quarto (arrived at 6:30), Richard Caron and Andrew Zeeman Committee members not present: VACANCY. Others present: James Troeger, Building Official; Joe East; Alderman H. Tucker Braddock, Jr., Leland Loose. 1. Call to Order: Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum is present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes from September 26, 2012. Upon motion by Rich Caron, seconded by Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes as amended. 4. Communications: None. 5. Blight updates/concerns: a. 17 West Town Street – Jim Troeger states that the chimney is down and there is a blue tarp on it and a chain a month ago. Jim also states there is upwards of $8,300 in fines. There is also no historic significance so there are no constraints on the owner. b. 145 Wightman Avenue – No work and no updates on the citation. Jim Troeger will continue looking into it. c. 105 Stonington Road (Garage) – Jim Troeger has spoken with the Management Company and states they didn’t like any of the quotes. There is also some question as to the owner. d. 24 Harland Place – The roof has been patched (it was done with odd lots of shingles), the plywood has been painted and the grass is cut. This is being moved to the watch list. e. 26 Sherman Street – Jim Troeger spoke with Konstant Morell. He doesn’t wish to spend more than $20,000 for demo. He has had a landscaper tend to the grounds. Jim is going to send out the citation. Andy Zeeman asks why Konstant is having so much trouble with the demo. Jim Troeger states that it’s a mess. There are issues with the porch and it’s believed to have asbestos siding which makes demo costly. Watch List: f. Oak Street – Fire – 11 Oak Street is cleaned up. They want to rebuild so leaving the foundation. They did a fence. 5-7 Oak Street is not responding. Ed Martin is trying to make contact. Citations are going. The City may have to clean it up. It is a dangerous building and they can’t get the new owner to reply. g. 556 East Main Street – They have cut down the shrubs. If they did the back of the building it would be acceptable. The other little building needs to come down. The property needs Board of Review – Dangerous Buildings 11/28/2012 Minutes Page 2 a fence around the chimney for safety. The owner wants to develop but they’re having trouble getting financing. There are still open windows at the top. Jim Troeger really wants the back of the building tended to. He will send a letter to get the process started. Andy Zeeman asks if insurance would cover the cleanup after the fire (Oak Street). Jim Troeger replies that he’s unsure. Citations have been started. Andy Zeeman feels that the City is getting stuck every fire cleanup. There has to be a way to improve the rate of fire cleanup by the owners. Rich Caron believes the committee should send a letter to the Council to make changes to the blight ordinance. And there should be notification to the bank holding the mortgage of blight problems before it gets out of control. Gary Schnip will draft a letter for the January meeting of this committee. Jim Troeger is going to invite 556 East Main Street to the January meeting. h. 77 Chestnut Street – And 105 Chestnut Street – The answer about finding will not come in until the Spring. (Art Form is included in this money, as is 631 W. Main and 26 Shipping. i. Mt. Pleasant Street – Permit has been posted but nothing has been done yet. Jim Troeger will look into the permit. Work has to start within 6 months of the permit issuance. j. 492 N. Main Street – This is bank owned. This has been with Ed Martin. There is no news yet. Jim Troeger will continue working on getting an update on this. k. 33-35 Spaulding – A blight letter has been sent by Ed Martin on this property. Jim Troeger will get an update on this from Ed. l. Property behind Sturtevant – No updates as of yet. m. Prentice Street Shed – This has been sent to Ed Martin. Jim Troeger will get an update from Ed. n. Asylum Street – They are being fined. Citations are ongoing. The owner can’t afford anything. The tarp is still on the roof. o. Baltic Street – Same information as n) above. 6. Public Comments: None. Joe East brings up a problem with the City Blight Ordinance. The Ordinance states that the roof must be on. It is also required to obtain a permit to do roof work. If the owner is delinquent on taxes they can’t get a permit. Even if they’re on a payment plan with the tax collector and are current on that agreement they can’ t get a permit. The ordinance should be amended to state that for maintenance or updates (not upgrades or new construction) they should be able to obtain a permit so long as they are up to date on their taxes or tax agreement payments. Board of Review – Dangerous Buildings 11/28/2012 Minutes Page 3  Sofee Noblick will talk with Corporation Counsel Mike Driscoll to obtain information about this. 7. Other: a. Schedule of 2013 Meetings. Upon motion of Rich Caron, seconded by Andy Zeeman, it was unanimously voted to accept the 2013 Meeting Schedule with the amendment of combining the November and December meetings into one meeting on December 18, 2013. 8. Next meeting – the next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, January 23, 2013. 9. Adjournment: Sofee Noblick motioned to adjourn, seconded by Rich Caron, and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 6:37 p.m. Respectfully Submitted By: Christine Averna