Legislative Hearings

15 West Kellogg Blvd. City of Saint Paul Saint Paul, MN 55102 Minutes - Final Legislative Hearings Marcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer Mai Vang, Hearing Coordinator Jean Birkholz, Hearing Secretary legislativehearings@ci.stpaul.mn.us 651-266-8585 Thursday, August 28, 2014 12:30 PM Room 330 City Hall & Court House 12:30 p.m. Hearings Orders To Vacate, Condemnations and Revocations 1 RLH VO 14-41 Appeal of Lawanda Wade to a Notice of Condemnation Unfit for Human Habitation Order to Vacate at 430 EDMUND AVENUE. Sponsors: Thao Deny the appeal. 430 Edmund Avenue The hearing was called to order on August 28, 2014, 12:30 p.m. The following appeared: Shavona Wade, 430 Edmund Avenue; LaWanda Wade, 430 Edmund Avenue; Latasha Turner, 434 Edmund Avenue. Marcia Moermond - Delisle shows up as the owner and Barbara Wade shows up Lawanda - Barbara was her mother Moermond - she will develop a recommendation for the City Council - for emergencies, she will make a decision that will stand before the City Council public hearing - Leanna Shaff is the supervisor for the eastern half - Neis is the supervisor for the western half of the City and is on vacation - Magner is the manager for Code Enforcement and vacant buildings Shaff - they received a complaint on August 20 that the unit was overcrowded, owner is deceased, and the property is no longer owner occupied - Neis went to the home and found deficiencies: doors, walls, ceilings, smoke detectors, garbage, broken windows, screens - it was in such bad condition that he felt it necessary to condemn with a short vacate date - when he went back on August 26, he had to call the police to have it vacated - one of the tenants chased him down the street - the building was vacated for the conditions City of Saint Paul Page 1 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final August 28, 2014 Moermond - there was a summary abatement for exterior conditions Magner - Neis referred the condemned property to his office, which is standard practice - an inspector went out on August 27, opened a Category 2 vacant building, and issued a summary abatement for the exterior - photos have been put in AMANDA - there is quite a bit of exterior storage - the next thing would be to issue an order to the contractor Moermond - the ceiling is profoundly damaged - it looked like water was the problem - she is guessing the floors are soft Shavonna - responded it was water damaged Moermond - Officer Edwards was there with Neis Lawanda - responded two officers were there - in answer to a comment that the floors were soft, she responded faucets were stripped, and it was running - she turned it off in the basement so it would not run - she has a friend that would fix it - the guy (inspector) never said anything to them and never came to the house Shavona - Inspector Neis was riding around - she asked was he looking for someone and he said no - then he came back with the police Moermond - asked do they all live there Turner - responded she lives next door at 434 Edmund Shavona - responded she lives at the house - she is 21 Lawanda - she lives at the house with her two kids - her son is 14 Lawanda - responded her brother moved out and left her with cleaning up everything Latasha - he moved out a month ago City of Saint Paul Page 2 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final August 28, 2014 Moermond - asked what they are looking for Lawanda - responded said she would like to go home - she is in the process of getting her mom’s things together - it does look messy - she does not want to put things inside - she is waiting for help to move some things Turner - Lawanda is doing things on her own, and they harass her every day Lawanda - when asked by Moermond where they are staying, she responded in cars, wherever they can fit - when asked by Shaff when the mom passed, she responded almost a year - her cousin let her stay at her house last night - she needs time Magner - when he looks at the ownership, it comes up with Del Company on Robert Street Lawanda - when asked was the mother purchasing the property on a contract for deed, she responded yes - she has been giving them money to be there - she is no squatter - when asked by Magner if Del Company was trying to convict them, she responded no - he keeps asking for money and trying to put them out - everyday someone is coming to the house Shavona - said a biker has been coming to the house Lawanda - added he never had a card and didn’t say who he was - she had to call the police - when asked by Moermond how long her mother had been paying, she responded six years Magner - asked is there a copy of the contract - (Lawanda gave Magner some papers, which he looked over.) - it looks like she entered into a contract - did it happen in 2008 Lawanda - responded yes - when asked about monthly payments, she responded she has been doing that since her mother passed away (Magner gave document to Moermond and then explained what he sees in the contract.) City of Saint Paul Page 3 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final August 28, 2014 Lawanda - she has not had a conversation with Delisle about changing the name - a woman was calling and a male showed up at the house - she thought the male was from the City Magner - there are no biker guys working for the City Lawanda - he keeps sending people over there, and they never have any papers - she is using her emergency assistance to make payment - when asked who is her lawyer, she responded Terrence Henderson from Legal Aide Moermond- - if this contract is the official copy, it is cockeyed - all the text is not showing up Magner - hard to say if the contract is transferable or not - there may be an issue with equity or something - if it is not transferable, he doesn’t know their options Lawanda - when asked if Henderson has talked about this, she told him the owner had not said anything, just wants the money - they have been paying on it - when asked about the monthly payment, she responded $800, which included insurance Shaff - said she would like to get back to the soft floor, which is a serious issue Moermond - this building is in horrible condition and will have to be professionally fixed - she does not know if Lawanda has the resources to do that Lawanda - she was going to use her emergency assistance for what she owes - she has a friend that can help her with this Moermond - Ramsey County Public Health works with people in housing crisis - the most useful thing is a free rolloff dumpster - if they do not get the yard cleaned up, it will cost them Lawanda - responded $560 Magner - said there is at least an hour (of cleanup) - it is $260 an hour plus administrative charges - other people can do that for much fewer funds - Magner’s concern is that Neis noted numerous deficiencies on the August 22 condemnation report - it may be that Ms. Wade can get a permit to do some of the cosmetic repairs City of Saint Paul Page 4 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final August 28, 2014 - electrical and plumbing have to be done by licensed contractors Moermond - she could see in the photos open wiring and plumbing. (Moermond showed the photos) (Group said they didn’t see it) Mai Vang, paralegal - there were two sets of photos Moermond - apologized: they didn’t see all the photos - (explained the dangers with walls and ceilings open) - they probably had problems with the faucets and pipe Lawanda - responded the water kept running so they turned it off in the basement - when asked if there is hot water in the bathroom, she responded she shut it off Magner - they do not have hot water, which is basic - there needs to be documentation about how the 30 items will be resolved - it sounds like she has resources - the concern from the City is that homeowners cannot do their own plumbing - only the homeowner is entitled to do the electrical, but the owner is deceased (There was discussion about how much is owed on the property and how much it is worth.) (Moermond asked to look at the contract again. The group handed it to Moermond, who gave it to Magner.) Moermond - they are trying to put together a solution - she suspects they owe more money than what it is worth - instead of paying for it, they might as well put money into rent Magner - this is not the full contract for deed - after looking at the contract further, this is a balloon payment - the balance came due on August 1, 2014 Moermond - now the balance is due - this can be handled in two ways: 1) they get new financing, 2) write out a check and be done with it - her advice is to stop the bleeding now Lawanda - when asked about the house on 794 Frank Street, she responded it was demoed Magner - explained that this contract is expired - even if she is making payments, she has no legal right to be there City of Saint Paul Page 5 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final August 28, 2014 - the contract is due on August 1, 2014 - that is why Delisle started to send the people out there - they want their money or she has the power to go to someone - she had the right to do that up until August 1 - they can give her a 30 day vacate order Shaff - a lender is not going to lend you more money than the house is worth (There was discussion about the the value of the property.) (Other people arrived in the hearing room.) Moermond - the three of them are coming to the same conclusion - she asked would they like to take a few minutes to let the family know what is going on - we are talking now about how much money is owed on the house and how much to fix it financially - think of some questions and we will talk about repairs on the house - Moermond would like to get support resources for them - Lawanda has possessions in there and staff can help them get things out - they will take a recess Recess taken at 1:19 to 1:34 p.m. The following joined the meeting: Darnella Wade and Terhon Wade Moermond - they are siblings with Lawanda (Darnella asked questions which were previously discussed. Staff answered those questions.) Darnella - asked if they could send out another inspector - they think there is a conflict of interest - they had many days of dealing with the same inspector - the pictures were taken over the fence - there were two sets of pictures: outside and inside - she can get them the other pictures Darnella - the signs on the door were put up in the last 24 hours - this deals with conflict of interest Lawanda - when he first came, he just had the condemned sign Moermond - when she looks at the orders and photos, they are consistent and valid - even if everyone is right, the pictures are overwhelming - the ceiling issue can make dangerous conditions - Magner can address the placards Magner City of Saint Paul Page 6 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final August 28, 2014 - he will repeat what he said - Dornfeld posted those placards - it is standard process after it was in the vacant building program (The group looked at the pictures and said one picture did not belong to their property.) Moermond - she had Mai Vang (paralegal) call Legal Aide to see if they are doing intake today - they are doing that on Wednesday afternoon - Project HOPE is there and a good option - they can help find housing in a pinch - House Calls will give you a free dumpster Magner - if the City cleans up the property, Delisle will get the bill Moermond - she will not let them move back in - Matt Dornfeld deals just with vacant properties - he can open up the place and let them get in - if a second time is needed, they can plan that for next week Magner - if they are ready to move things, Matt’s number is 266-1902 - he cannot go into their experiences with Inspector Neis Moermond - Neis is out of the picture now - in addition to Project Home, House Calls has resources - they are connected to the shelter system - they can give good advice from the outside looking in - we will get you a couple of phone numbers Hearing adjourned at 1:56 p.m. Referred to the City Council due back on 9/17/2014 City of Saint Paul Page 7