Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES Wednesday, September 23, 2015 5:00 PM Committee members present: Gary Schnip, Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, James Quarto, James Heist, Richard Caron, Sr. Committee members absent: Joseph East Others Present: City of Norwich Building Official James Troeger Citizens Present: Gloria Worheide, Bob Rands, Jianshi (James) Wang, and Richard Hamar 1. Call to Order: Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:02 PM. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum was present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes of August 31, 2015: On a motion by Jim Quarto, seconded by Sofee Noblick, the minutes of August 31, 2015 were unanimously approved as presented. 4. Communications: Gary had no communications to report. 5. Blight updates/concerns: a) 98 Washington Street: Gloria Worheide and Bob Rands reported on the progress on the front of the house. He hopes to have a single coat of paint on the front by the end of October. He presented a picture. He needs to replace the vertical wood and may not have it done by winter. He is also making new window frames to replace five rotten window frames. All sills on the second and third floors need to be replaced. Jim Quarto asked if they considered replacement windows. Bob replied they cost too much and won’t look as good. Gary asked about the sides and porch which have problems, too. Gary is concerned about the timeframe for completion of projects. Bob thinks it will take about three years. Gary asked how much longer for the front of the house. Bob replied that the third floor can be done in two weeks. Everything else will be painted before the vertical. They will report to the Committee again at the December 16, 2015 meeting. b) 46 School Street: (fire damaged) Jim Troeger reported Mel Weise will be demolishing this building soon. c) 556 East Main Street: Jianshi (James) Wang spoke to the Committee. He lives in New York City. He needs to collect sufficient financial resources to complete any work on the property. He reported that Jim Troeger has called him several times to check on the status of repair of the building. James noted that parking is the major problem with development of the property. He has discussed this with NCDC and DPW. He plans to develop 22-25 residential units. He may use the first floor as parking and storage for the  apartments. A smaller building also exists on the property. He doesn’t want to tear it down because he hopes to make two additional apartments in the building. The rubber roof is new. Gary asked how long James has owned the property. James replied he has owned the property since 2007. Gary asked for a list of accomplishments in that time. James said he has replaced the roof and repaired one section of the floor. Discussion ensued about the possibility of James selling the property. After consideration, James stated he will consider selling it. Jim Quarto noted the buildings are very close to a school so this is a dangerous situation, especially the glass falling from broken windows. James noted he does not have insurance on the property. Jim Quarto asked him to put OSB on the outside of the windows and paint it. He asked James for a time frame for completion of this safety request. James clarified he needs to remove the glass and put the OSB on the outside and paint it. The Committee agreed completion of covering the widows as discussed must occur by October 28, 2014, which is the next Board of Review meeting. Gary read from the letter issued by Jim Troeger to James. Effective Saturday, the property will accrue $100/day in blight fines. On a motion by Gary Schnip, seconded by Jim Quarto, the Committee unanimously voted to delay the assessment of blight fines until October 29, 2015, pending completion of adequately covering the windows. James was invited back to the October 28, 2015 Board of Review meeting. He agreed to attend. d) 15 Park Street: Jim T. said citations have been sent but he has not gotten a response. e) 218 Washington Street: Jim T. reported there is a purchase and sale agreement in progress. 6. Watch List: a) 16 Fountain Street: Jim Heist reported this needs to go to the Blight section of the agenda. He is concerned about structural integrity. Jim T. will follow up again with owner. b) 241 Broadway: Richard Hamar spoke to the Committee. He has replaced the 12x12 section of the roof. For the first time in over 30 years, it doesn’t leak in that area. He has cut back the porch and cleaned around it. He knows there is more work to be done. He has not painted and won’t until the roof is fixed. He noted he is only heating the kitchen. Discussion ensued about the possibility of Mr. Hamar putting the property back on the market for sale.  c) 23 Pearl Street: Jim T. reported that the owner wanted to wait till spring to work on the property, but Jim T. told him it has to be dealt with right away. Per Jim T., Greg Arpin said today he is in the process of finding a contractor to demolish it. d) Otrobando Barn: Jim T. reported that the owner spoke to Greg. He is supposed to be cabling it so it’s safe over the winter. e) 60 6th Street: Sofee reported either Hyde or DPW have cut the grass and did a good job. There is still some unsafe glass at the property. Jim T. said there is a barn ready to fall down. The property is in the process of foreclosure. Sofee will reach out to Attorney Michael Driscoll’s office to see how close the foreclosure is and the committee will reassess next month. f) 11 Lake Street: Jim T. noted this property is also in foreclosure. 7. City Owned Properties a) 34 Lake Street Garage: Sofee reported an offer is coming in for the property. b) Reid and Hughes: Jim T. reported a letter is being drafted by CLA Engineers updating the condition of the building and their recommendations. 8. Public Comments: Greg Grippo presented pictures of several properties for which he has blight concerns. Sofee suggested he send a list of addresses to Jim T. so the properties can be looked at by the Blight Officer and discussed next month. The Committee reviewed the pictures Mr. Grippo supplied. 9. Other: 49 Boswell Avenue: Jim T. reported on this property, which is at the corner of Boswell and Reynolds. It has been vacant for quite a while and is owned by Seaport Capital Partners. Back taxes are owed on the property. The fire department is very concerned and considers it hazardous. Sofee will ask Attorney Driscoll’s office about the status of the property. Gary inquired about Seder’s property along the river. Jim Quarto said he has done a wonderful job of cleaning it up. He has taken down a couple of buildings and overall, the property looks decent. 10. Next meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, October 28, 2015, at 5 PM. 11. Adjournment: On a motion by Jim Quarto, seconded by Rich Caron, the meeting of the Board of Review unanimously adjourned at 6:50 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary