Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES Wednesday, October 28, 2015 5:00 PM Committee members present: Gary Schnip, James Quarto, James Heist, and Richard Caron, Sr. Committee members absent: Alderwoman Sofee Noblick, Joseph East City of Norwich Staff: Building Official James Troeger, Blight Officer Dan Coley Citizens Present: Jianshi (James) Wang, David Samis 1. Call to Order: Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:22 PM. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum was present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes of September 23, 2015: On a motion by Rich Caron, seconded by Jim Heist, the minutes of September 23, 2015 were unanimously approved as presented. 4. Communications: Gary had no communications to report. 5. Blight updates/concerns: a) 556 East Main Street: Jianshi (James) Wang spoke to the Committee. Jim Troeger reviewed the items which had been required of Mr. Wang to complete prior to the meeting, including boarding up windows on the outside of the building with OSB and painting all OBS and cleaning up all broken glass. Discussion ensued with Mr. Wang. There were several items which needed clarification leading Jim T. to suggest the Committee members and Dan Coley meet Mr. Wang at the property. A meeting time of Monday, November 2, 2015 at 10 AM was decided upon. Jim T. noted the outbuilding will be discussed Monday, as well. Jim T. and the Committee will set clear requirements to secure the buildings and associated deadlines on Monday. A start date for blight fines assessment will also be determined. b) 46 School Street: (fire damaged) Jim Troeger reported the building has been demolished. c) 15 Park Street: Jim T. said blight citations total $3,000 and back taxes are $8,000. Perhaps city foreclosure should begin. d) 218 Washington Street: Jim T. reported that the bank is waiting for the final insurance payment before they can close on the sale of the property. 6. Watch List: a) 16 Fountain Street: Jim Heist reported the owner says he’s working on it. Dan will take a look and get back to the Committee. b) 241 Broadway: Jim T. reported the grass has been cut and the porch is half apart but seems secure. c) 23 Pearl Street: Jim T. reported on the barn. The owner wants to put up a new structure next Spring using the same footprint. Greg Arpin said the barn needs to be taken down before Winter. The owner needs an accommodation to build on the footprint in the spring and the permits from zoning. d) Otrobando Barn: Jim T. reported a small part of it has been removed and cleaned up some. e) 60 6th Street: No updates to be reported. f) 11 Lake Street: Jim T. noted it’s still in foreclosure. g) 49 Boswell Ave: No updates to be reported. 7. City Owned Properties a) 34 Lake Street Garage: No updates to be reported. b) Reid and Hughes: Jim T. reported there is no update from the last meeting. c) 45 Lake St: The OSB on top of the foundation has rotted. There is approximately a foot of water in foundation. Department of Public Works and the Uncas Health Department have both been involved with the property. Jim Q. would like this property to be followed up on. 9. Other: a) Update on citizen concern blight list Dan Coley reported on Greg Grillo’s list from the prior meeting. Mr. Grillo had taken his list to DPW, as well, so some efforts were duplicated. Dan reviewed each property on the list. He noted that he receives a weekly report from Waste Management on bulky waste pick-ups for the week. For the properties with blight issues, he followed up with letters with blight ordinance information. He will maintain the list and email it to the Committee members. Dan also reported he will be meeting with Mayor Deb Hinchey and corporate counsel to propose several updates to the Blight Ordinance. b) List of dangerous buildings Gary will clarify the original intent of the Board of Review including a clarification of blight versus dangerous.  Discussion ensued regarding dangerous buildings. Jim T. will ask Alderwoman Sofee Noblick to email the list of city owned properties to each Committee member. It was decided that each committee member will make a priority list of dangerous properties throughout the city including those owned by the city. Once they have a comprehensive dangerous property list, the Committee will present it to the City Manager. c) Jim T. introduced David Samis, owner of Hale Mill, 140 Yantic Road, Norwich. Mr. Samis updated the Committee on the current state of development of the building, which has been delayed for various reasons. He has looked into many different development paths. Jim T. noted that the building is structurally sound with certain sections of the roof doubtful. He also noted that the amount of storage is a problem according to the Fire Chief, who is questioning combustibility. The Fire Chief has given Mr. Samis specific orders with which to comply. Jim T. noted code issues with use of the building, including that it is not for occupancy or storage, and there is no sprinkler system. The Committee agreed that the whole property needs to be cleaned up in order to remove dangers. Several vehicles and pieces of equipment can be seen from the main road. Jim Quarto will set-up a time to view the property and make suggestions. d) The Committee set 2016 meeting dates for Board of Review: Dangerous Buildings and all current subcommittees as the fourth Wednesday of each month at 5 PM in the Union Street Conference Room, with the exception of November’s meeting which will occur on November 30, 2016 and there will be no meeting in December 2016. 9. Public Comments: None 10. Next meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, December 16, 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 6:40 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary