Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 2013 5:30 p.m. Committee members present: Gary Schnip, Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, Joe East, Richard Caron, Building Official Jim Troeger, Andrew Zeeman (arrived at 5:44 pm) Committee members not present: James Quarto Others present: Alderman H. Tucker Braddock Jr. 1. Call to Order: Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:37 p.m. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum is present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes. Upon motion by Richard Caron, seconded by Sofee Noblick, the Board voted unanimously to approve the June 26, 2013 minutes as amended. 4. Communications: None. 5. Blight updates/concerns: a. 556 East Main Street – Jim Troeger met with the owner to discuss removal of the back structure. The owner wants to rebuild on that brick structure there and develop it into residential. The owner is concerned about parking. He assured Jim Troeger he will clean up the sidewalk and what is visible from the street and patch up the windows. b. 105 Stonington Road – Garage – All done, cleaned up, and signed off. c. 34-36 Mckinley – Jim Troeger spoke with Ed. It got mowed. Ed will keep an eye on it. d. 205 Gifford Street Shed – Done and gone. Watch List: e. 24 Harland Place – No complaints recently. f. 7-9 Oak Street Fire – All cleaned up. Remove from watch list. g. 77 Chestnut Street – Sofee Noblick states that the City did not get the assessment grant which could have been used for demolition. We may have to demo this on our own. The debrief on the Grant denial was done. Going to try again but that money isn’t given until April. They are going to try for assessment and cleanup grants this time. h. Mt. Pleasant Street – Jim Troeger spoke with Rodney today. He had told Ed he would have it by the end of Spring. He stated that he has money trouble and believes there’s asbestos in there. Jim Troeger told him he has to clean up the property. Joe East believes that since he keeps defaulting on the deadlines he gives us we need to get it in writing so we have the ability to fine him. Jim Troeger is going to give him deadlines, especially on the lawn and weeds. Board of Review – Dangerous Buildings 07/24/2013 Minutes Page 2 i. 496 N. Main Street – Jim Troeger spoke with Ed. Barry is not cutting the grass. He has a lot of flood issues to tend to. Joe East asks if the bank has taken the deed. j. Baltic Street – The tarp is still there. Jim Troeger will continue to watch it. k. 17 West Town Street – Jim Troeger states the owner has met with Gideon Lowenstein (Historic issues). He received his certificate of appropriateness. The owner has obtained a roof permit and has been diligently working on it. As long as he moves forward now we will continue to hold his fines. Joe East believes we need the owners time frame in writing so we have the ability to fine. l. 146 Wightman Avenue – The owner has been issued a building permit. The house is gone and the owner is working on it full speed ahead. m. Broadway Barn – Jim Troeger states he will check on it and let the committee know. Ed was working on this. n. 274 Prospect Street – Tarp – The sidewalk is overgrown. This is believed to be privately owned. 6. Public Comments: None. 7. Other: a. RFP for 105 Chestnut – Still waiting on the legal department. It is believed the owner doesn’t want anything to do with it. b. RFP for 9 - 9 ½ Fountain – The eviction isn’t complete yet. The intent is to RFP this with restrictions. This is municipally slow. c. Joe East brings up 52 School Street. The building requires attention. It is a major eyesore for a long time now. If we start with property maintenance it gets the ball rolling. Jim Troeger will get Ed on this. d. Rich Caron brings up 196-198 Broad Street. The roof is falling down and the lawn is very overgrown. e. Rich Caron also brings up 19 Treadway. He wants to know if the owner pulled any permits. Rich believes the owner took out the sidewalk and plans to do a driveway. That needs curb cut approval from Public Works. We need to check into this. f. Rich Caron also brings up the garage on the back side of Treadway (26 Broad). The roof has a hole in it. They did do part of the chimney. There are no garage doors and kids are playing in it. The roof could cave in on them. Board of Review – Dangerous Buildings 07/24/2013 Minutes Page 3 g. Sofee Noblick brings up 88 Fifth Street. The front sidewalk is very overgrown. The side of the house is open and kids are getting in. h. Sofee Noblick also brings up Washington Street (The house that Dale wanted saved). We now own it. The City should demolish it. It is in very bad shape. Dangerous Building Committee needs to write a letter to the City Manager with status and recommendation. Gary Schnip motions, seconded by Richard Caron, to have Jim Troeger write this letter. The motion passed unanimously. i. Sofee Noblick also brings up the building on the corner of Spaulding and Broad Streets. The Kent Apartments. Sofee received complaints about mattresses and trash in the back yard. j. Sofee Noblick also brings up 60 Sixth Street due to a complaint from neighborhood watch and the mailman. The siding is chipping, peeling paint, there is debris in the yard and it needs a severe cleanup. k. Gary Schnip brings up Otrobando Barns. He would like a status. Jim Troeger will find out. Tianne didn’t think it was a City item. We are concerned with the status of the barn. l. Gary Schnip also brings up 8 West Town Street. The owner had the sumac trees cut down and the lawn maintained. He wants to know what happened with the State Questionnaire. Is it State or not. It is a 6’ drop there. It is very close to the sidewalk (State property). Jim Troeger will look back to see if there re notes on the last discussions about the fence that was taken out by an accident years back. 8. Next meeting – the next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, July 24, 2013. 9. Adjournment: Upon motion of Richard Caron, seconded by Joe East, it was unanimously voted to adjourn at 6:46 p.m. Respectfully Submitted By: Christine Averna