Dangerous Buildings, Board of Review

BOARD OF REVIEW - DANGEROUS BUILDINGS MINUTES Wednesday, September 26, 2018, 5:00 PM Committee members present: Chair Gary Schnip, Alderwoman Stacy Gould, Tucker Braddock Jr., James Heist and Sofee Noblick Committee members absent: James Quarto and Darryl Wickham Others Present: Building Official James Troeger, Blight Officer Brittany Williams, Community Development Supervisor Kathy Crees, Gary Rieacco and Gloria Warheide (arrived during the meeting). 1. Call to Order: Chair Gary Schnip called the meeting to order at 5:20 PM. 2. Determination of a Quorum: It was determined that a quorum was present. 3. Acceptance of Minutes: On a motion by Jim Heist, seconded by Tucker Braddock, the minutes of August 22, 2018 meeting of the Board of Review (BOR) were approved as presented. 4. Public Comment: Gary Rieacco of 23 Rose Street spoke to the committee regarding the city owned property of 270 Thames Street. He reported trouble with storm water drainage. He has spoken to the Department of Public Works (DPW). Alderwoman Gould will follow up with City Engineer Pat McLaughlin. She will call Gary after speaking to DPW. Mr. Rieacco left the meeting. 5. Communications: None 6. Blight updates/concerns: a) 62 North Main Street: Jim T got a call from Mr. Tong who received the notice of $65,000 in fines on the property. He wants to put a large container on the lot. b) 554-556 East Main Street: Jim T reported no change in the status. c) 337-341 Main Street (YMCA): Jim T reported DPW cleaned the front yard. Alderwoman Gould reported there is no legal owner of the building. Attorney Driscoll has been involved. d) Jordan’s Retaining Wall: Blight Officer Brittany Williams reported a blight notice has been sent. e) 38 West Main Street, Marina Towers: Brittany reported she sent a citation notice. She will continue the process. f) 61 Lincoln Avenue: Jim T noted an unsafe condition has developed regarding water near the utilities coming into the home. NPU is considering the possibility of terminating electric power to the building. g) 31-33 Cliff Street: Alderwoman Gould will follow-up with the Tax Collector. Taxes have not been paid since 2011. h) 62 Plain Hill Road: Brittany received a response from one of the letters she sent to potential heirs. She has issued citations and posted a notice at the property. Taxes have not been paid since 2014. This property is on the Do Not Enter list. i) 212 Prospect Street: Jim T reported this property is now owned by NPU. The roof is intact. Alderwoman Gould will follow-up on potential property disposition. j) 87 5th Street: Jim T reported he spoke to Attorney Wickless about potential foreclosure. Taxes are past due. It is condemned and extremely blighted. Alderwoman Gould will follow-up. On a motion by Jim Heist, seconded by Tucker Braddock, the committee suspended the agenda for public comment. Gloria Warheide presented pictures of recent work on the house at 98 Washington Street. The plastic has been taken off the windows and the porch has been painted. The BOR members expressed appreciation. Ms. Warheide left the meeting. 7. Watch List: a) 24 River Avenue: Brittany reported no significant changes. b) Norwich Hospital Site: Jim T reported no update. c) 231 Broadway: Brittany reported the contractor has been into the office. She is moving forward with the legal process. d) 6 Huntington Avenue: Brittany reported no progress. e) 95 River Avenue: Brittany reported there have been improvements. f) 253 Broadway: Jim T reported that Blight Officer and Assistant Building Inspector Dan Coley sent out correspondence but received no response. 8. Foreclosure in Progress: a) 29 Boswell Avenue: Jim T reported that the city will own the property on October 4, 2018. b) 26 Elijah Street: Jim T reported that the city will own the property on October 17, 2018. There are two adjoining lots that will also be city-owned at that time. 9. City Owned Properties: a) 270 West Thames Street: Alderwoman Gould reported the RDA is doing environmental studies on the property. b) 13 Baltic Street: Alderwoman Gould reported Attorney Wickless told her the mortgage was supposed to close out and the title be cleared on September 25, 2018. c) 11 Lake Street: Jim T reported the city’s purchasing agent was planning to issue the RFP for demolition. Alderwoman Gould will follow-up on the stairs. d) 482-492 Norwich Avenue: No updates. e) 43 Fountain Street: Jim T toured the property today. This should go through the Public Works Committee. He recommends that the lots be combined. Alderwoman Gould will follow-up. f) 504 East Main Street: Jim T reported this property is owned by NPU. g) 702 New London Turnpike: There is no update. 10. Other: a) Public Works Committee (PWC) Report: No report. b) RFP Checklist: Melinda will resend the draft city-owned property procedures to BOR members.  c) 2019 Schedule: On a motion by Sofee Noblick, seconded by Tucker Braddock the committee unanimously approved continuing on the same schedule for 2019 meetings on the 4th Wednesday of the month except there will be no November meeting and the December meeting will be on the 4th. d) Jim H noted, as an update to last month’s meeting minutes, David Kang will be invited to the January 2019 meeting of 347 Central Avenue. e) 34 – 36 Slater Avenue: Brittany reported there is a legal ownership issue. This two-family home is vacant. f) Community Development Supervisor Kathy Crees reported that Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds can be used for limited demolition. She recommended the BOR create a list of prioritizing factors to label buildings to be demolished. She will apply for slum and blight removal funding for next year. The option to recapture funds does exist. If that happens, she can recommend funding be set aside for slum and blight. Jim will work on a prioritization list. The BOR will work on demolition criteria. Kathy will plan on slum and blight funding next year. g) Land bank: Brittany reported on a group she attends which has been considering land banks. She invited members to attend a meeting in October with this group of municipalities to discuss land banks. h) 20 Dellwood Road: Brittany reported this is bank-owned. The residents have vacated. There is an active violation notice. There is a real estate agent involved who is working on taking care of the blight conditions. i) 23 Whittaker Avenue: Jim T reported this is newly city owned. j) Haymar (Old Commerce Building): Gary brought this property to the committee’s attention. Jim T reported there were no permits pulled. Work seems to have ceased. k) 8 West Town Street: Gary inquired into the status. Brittany will follow-up. 11. Next meeting: The next regular meeting is Wednesday, October 24, 2018, at 5 PM. 12. Adjournment: On a motion by Sofee Noblick, seconded by Tucker Braddock, the Board of Review unanimously adjourned at 7:14PM. Respectfully Submitted, Melinda Wilson, Recording Secretary