Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES Monday August 31, 2015 5:00 PM Committee members present: Gary Schnip, Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, Joseph East, James Quarto, James Heist, Richard Caron, Sr. Committee members absent: None Others Present: City of Norwich Building Official James Troeger Citizens Present: Greg Grippo, 209 Boswell Ave, Norwich 1. Call to Order: Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum was present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes of June 24, 2015: On a motion by Jim Quarto, seconded by Gary Schnip, the minutes of June 24, 2015 were unanimously approved as presented. 4. Communications: Gary reviewed an email regarding 218 Washington Street from Fire Chief Kenneth Scandariato which had been forwarded to the Committee members. Gary verified that everyone received the email. Jim Troeger reported he had a conversation with Michael Rauh, President of Chelsea Groton Bank, who verified that it took so long to clear the title due to the insurance processes. The title is now clear and he expects to have it transferred to a private party within 30 days. The new owner will be restoring the property to its original grandeur. Gary will contact Chief Scandariato with this updated information. There were no other communications. 5. Blight updates/concerns: a) 98 Washington Street: Jim Troeger reported. Unfortunately Gloria Worheide was not present, although she had been schedule. Sofee reported that she saw work being done on the peak. There were concerns by the fire marshal for combustibles that have been cleaned up. Gary asked that they be invited to the next meeting. Jim will extend the invitation. b) 46 School Street: (fire damaged) Jim reported that he sent her a rather strong letter in which she was given 20 or 30 days to repair or demolish the structure. If this is not done, she will be fined $100/day. She has been put on notice. Gary noted we will see reaction to the fines. c) 556 East Main Street: Jim reported inviting the owner, Jianshi Wang, to the Board of Review meeting but once again he did not show up. Jim presented a copy of the letter  which he sent August 24, 2015. He then handed out pictures of the blighted buildings. According to the letters fines not exceeding $100/day will begin September 26, 2015. d) 15 Park Street: Jim passed around pictures of the property’s blight issue. Dan Coley, Blight Control-Housing Code Enforcement Official, sent out the first $100 citation last week. There has been no response from owner. e) 218 Washington Street: Please refer to Communications section. f) Central Ave Blight Walk: Sofee was in attendance and reported it went really well. A lot of issues were pointed out to actual City Department Heads. A follow-up meeting will take place. Jim said Dan has been working on the issues raised during the walk. Sofee noted this was such a successful event the organizers are hoping to use it as a template to address other issues in the City. 6. Watch List: a) 16 Fountain Street: Jim reported the garbage has pretty much been picked up. The front has been painted, but it is overgrown again. Jim Heist noted a front door has been put on the building. b) 241 Broadway: Richard Hamar is scheduled to come back next month. The yard is clean and relatively kept up. Gary noted there are questions about the building. Mr. Hamar is supposed to have the roof fixed by next month. He did one section. Jim will send him a reminder. c) 23 Pearl Street: Pictures were handed out. Jim reported Dan is working on it. The building is in various stages of collapse. Gary noted there are many children in that neighborhood, so the safety issue is very important. d) Otrobando Barn: Photos were handed out. Gary reported a small piece knocked down a few months ago. Jim reported Dan has been talking to the owner about options including cabling it together so it won’t collapse. The owner will take it down in the spring. Greg indicated to Jim that he thought the cabling would work. Jim Heist noted it is only going to get worse over the winter. Gary asked that the owner come to the next meeting. Jim will take care of inviting him. e) 60 6th Street: Jim reported the action will take a long time because of multiple heirs. Sofee suggested that Hyde Landscaping do some work there. Barry Ellison, Public Works Director, can authorize the work. Jim reported that Maury of Leader Stores said he’d clean up the address next to it since he owns it. 7. City Owned Properties a) 34 Lake Street Garage: Sofee reported that as of last PW meeting, it was reported that an offer was coming in on the garage. b) 11 Lake Street: Property should not be on this list. c) Reid and Hughes: Jim had another walk thru with Jeremy Williamson from CLA. Little bits and pieces are coming down. Jeremy is about ready to write something up that a heavy snow load may cause more of a collapse therefore something should be done before snow season. He will write letter of concern to Jim. Jim will confirm and send the letter to the Acting City Manager. Jim T will let NCDC know since they have taken over development of the building. Upon receipt of the letter he will also inform this Committee. Jim noted the very real concern of further collapse in a heavy storm. He is  unsure about NCDC’s status with development. Sofee said it is a public safety issue if CLA says there is a problem. d) 130 Prospect Street: Jim reported the building is down. Sofee reported it is in the hands of real estate agent. An abutter auction will take place. 8. Public Comments: Greg Grippo, 209 Boswell Avenue, Norwich, commented that he is impressed with new blight officer, Dan Coley. He recently made use of web site with a concern on a blight issue. He reported having 28 concerns. Some have been taken care of, including street weeds. He recommended 155-157 Boswell Avenue be added to the blight list. It is owned by a non-profit. The garbage issue has been rectified. Mr. Grippo also feels that citizens are being made aware of website reporting utility that they can use to make their community better. He hopes if one building improves, others will as well. However, he noted the reverse also happens and all suffer when this happens. He said Dan is doing a great job and the website utility is great. He suggested NPU put it in their newsletter. 9. Other: None 10. Next meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, September 23, 2015, at 5 PM. 11. Adjournment: On a motion by Rich Caron, seconded by Sofee Noblick, the meeting of the Board of Review unanimously adjourned at 5:38 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary