Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES Wednesday, October 26, 2016 5:00 PM Committee members present: Alderman H. Tucker Braddock, Jr., James Heist, Sofee Noblick, James Quarto and Gary Schnip Committee members absent: None Others Present: Alderwoman Stacy Gould, City Building Official James Troeger Citizens Present: Gloria Warheide, Bob Rands, Darrell Wickham and Sylvia Little 1. Call to Order: Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:27 PM. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum was present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes: On a motion by Jim Quarto, seconded by Sofee Noblick, the minutes of August 24, 2016 were unanimously approved as presented. 4. Communications: None On a motion by Alderman Braddock, seconded by Jim Quarto, the agenda was unanimously suspended to allow for a report on 98 Washington Street by Gloria Warheide and Bob Rands. Bob reported he is still hurting and can’t work as much as he’d like. He has been scraping one section and replacing some boards up on the top cornice. The boards are being painted now. He has made the tongue and groove by hand. Gary asked Gloria for the plan for the next two months. She replied they would be priming and painting along the front of the house as they continue to make tongue and groove pieces. They are hoping to get all the way across and around the corner. The vertical accent pieces have been made and are being painted. They will try some crown molding in places as it is cost prohibitive to make it all by hand. The band will be done across the front but Gloria hesitated to give a date for completion. Alderman Braddock inquired as to the condition inside the house. Gloria reported it doesn’t leak. On the south side, trim molding nails have pulled through the wood but the roof is good. Sofee reported that the house is no longer on the Fire Marshal’s list. Gloria noted they had not moved that wood pile. Gloria and Bob left the meeting. 5. Blight updates/concerns: a) 62 North Main Street: Jim T reported the owner has done a lot of clearing. The vegetation has been cut back. The owner told Jim T he wants to work on the inside but Jim said he has to do the outside first. Sofee and Gary noted that water was getting in the last time they were in the building. The BOR decided to keep this on the Blight list and monitor the situation.  b) 554-556 East Main Street: Jim T reported he issued Property Maintenance violation citation fines. The Hearing Officer found against the owner so he is taking it to court. Attorney Mark Block is representing him to fight the fines. He has cleaned up some. The old foundation is still there. The BOR had given him the expectations of painting the boards over all windows (on the inside) to match, demolish the foundation and clean up the broken glass. The glass is still exposed. The BOR will follow the law suit. Fines stopped accruing once the law suit was filed. c) 29 Boswell Avenue: Jim T reported this is a tax foreclosure. Attorney Amy Wickless said by mid-November the foreclosure will be done. 6. Watch List: a) 23 Pearl Street: Jim T reported this is cleaned up. b) 34 Lake Street (garage): Jim T reported this property sold and the new owner pulled permits but nothing has happened. The BOR will continue to watch this property. c) 25 Otrobando Avenue mobile homes: Jim T reported the owner, Jay Doubleday, is not going to demolish them. There is no sewer there. Gary asked if the City can condemn them. Jim T reported that Tianne has stated they cannot be occupied due to zoning regulations and they cannot be replaced. Gary asked Jim T to contact the blight officer, Dan Coley. 7. Foreclosure in Progress: a) 15 Park: Jim T reported as of today the City owns it. The property is a mess. Jim T will refer it to Public Works Committee. The deck needs to be removed. This may be a good lot to sell to an abutter. Pat McLaughlin is aware of the situation. b) 61 Lincoln Avenue: Jim T reported he made several inquiries to the City’s Corporate Counsel. Attorney Kim McGee returned his message but it seems that she did not have all of the pertinent information regarding the blight liens. Sofee noted that Attorney Driscoll had advised the BOR to issue the blight liens. Due to the misunderstanding, Alderwoman Gould will contact Attorney Michael Driscoll directly. c) 11 Lake Street: Alderwoman Gould reported the City finally has the appraisal, so this is moving forward. Attorney Wickless is working on it. d) 27-29 2nd Street: Jim T reported the owner is deceased. He said that per Attorney Wickless, the taxes are not paid. The foreclosure started in June. It will probably be sold. The BOR no longer needs to monitor the property. 8. City Owned Properties a) 45 Lake Street (foundation): This has gone to Fred Allen to sell. Alderman Gould will look into it. b) Reid and Hughes: Jim T reported that the City is going out to bid for engineered design of demolition. Alderwoman Gould is working on discussing this with the neighbors. There is a waiting period of sixty days in case an injunction is made to stop demolition. The possibility exists that the building will need to be made safe in the interim. c) 88-90 Boswell Avenue: Jim T reported this will be demolished. Mystic Air came out to do a hazmat survey. They could do it but abatement is impossible, so he has formally  condemned the building. It will go out to bid as an all asbestos demolition. This needs to be approved by the state prior to bidding it out. Gary Evans, Community Development Supervisor, may be able to pay for the demolition with CDBG funding. Jim T will take steps to get it out to bid as soon as possible. There will be the need for a fence or fill once the demolition is complete. This could be part of the RFP. d) 270 West Thames Street: Alderwoman Gould said it is actively on the market for $27,700. e) 13 Baltic Street: Alderwoman Gould said this is under contract per Fred Allen. He has not called her back with an update. f) 165 Prospect Street: Alderwoman Gould reported that DPW said the house is full of debris. Four 20-yard dumpsters have been estimated. Also Fred Allen said there are personal items which make the site very unsanitary. She reported that Pat McLaughlin will talk to Patrick McCormack, Director of Health at Uncas Health District, about the best process. Alderman Braddock said they were quoted $3,000 to clean the house. Gary Evans has funding to renovate the property. Discussion was held to sell it as-is. The BOR agreed that the house can be sold as-is. Alderwoman Gould will call Gary Evans first. Sofee noted there are two piles of debris outside that need to be picked up. Jim T will make sure this is done. g) 60 6th Street: This has gone to a Committee of Sale. h) 196 Yantic Street (The Artform Building): Jim T reported this demolition bid was opened yesterday. Mel Weiss was the low bidder. i) 232 Yantic Street: Jim T reported that Gary Evans was waiting to see the cost on 196 Yantic Street to see if he had funding enough for 232 Yantic Street. Jim T will follow-up with Gary. 9. Other: a) Public Works Committee Report: Alderman Braddock noted all issues from the PWC were previously discussed. b) Other: 19 Stonington Road: Alderwoman Gould reported one mobile home has been removed at 19 Stonington Road. She will ask Attorney Driscoll for an update. Alderman Braddock noted there are residents in mobile home. The City foreclosed on the land. 646 East Main Street: There is a blight issue. Alderman Gould will get an update for the next meeting. 337 Main Street: Jim T asked if the YMCA should be on the BOR agenda. Alderman Braddock spoke with Harlan Hyde who will clean up the grounds. There are a large amount of taxes owed. Jim T noted there has been a lot of vandalism and recently a fire destroyed three rooms. The BOR agreed to monitor the property. Alderman Braddock and Alderwoman Gould will talk to Attorney Driscoll. On a motion by Sofee Noblick, seconded by Alderman Braddock, the BOR unanimously voted to recommend to the City  Council that the City take possession of the YMCA building and appoint a committee of sale who will put out an RFP. On a motion by Alderman Braddock, seconded by Jim Heist, the 2017 meeting schedule was unanimously approved as presented with meetings on the 4th Wednesday of each month with the exception of November 29 and no meeting in December. 10. Public Comments: None 11. Next meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at 5 PM. 12. Adjournment: On a motion by Jim Heist, seconded by Jim Quarto, the Board of Review unanimously adjourned at 6:41 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary