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 Tuesday, March 29, 2016 9:00 AM Room 330 City Hall & Court House 9:00 a.m. Hearings Special Tax Assessments 1 RLH TA 16-116 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 210 GRAND AVENUE. (File No. J1606C, Assessment No. 162005) Sponsors: Noecker Approve the assessment. (NOTE: owner was not present.) Inspector Joe Yannarelly: -the city contractor did an asbestos testing (HAZMAT Survey) but did not do the removal; he had already done that work -cost of testing: $850 + $1,164.19 service charge = $2,014.19 -the city paid the contractor $850 (his survey & his labor) -this cost was incurred before the property owner got to Council to stop the demolition -since then, the building has been razed but the site has not yet been restored so the demo permit needs to be signed off before the Vacant Building file will be closed Ms. Nhia Vang: -will recommend approving this assessment Referred to the City Council due back on 4/20/2016 2 RLH TA 16-161 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 287 HAMLINE AVENUE SOUTH (File No. J1607E, Assessment No. 168308). Sponsors: Tolbert Approve the assessment; no show. Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 3 RLH TA 16-156 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 651 IVY AVENUE EAST. (File No. J1607G, Assessment No. 168706). Sponsors: Bostrom City of Saint Paul Page 1 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 Patricia Thomas, First Rate Services, appeared. Inspector Paula Seeley: -this is a garbage hauling Order (confusing) -she sent Orders Sep 3, 2015; compliance date Sep 8; re-checked Sep 8 -has an Order she sent Dec 18; compliance date Dec 22; re-checked Dec 23 - still no container out there; so, she sent a Work Order but it's kind of conflicting; however, the Cost was $200 + $40 service charge = $240 (to drop off 2 containers ($100); 2 weeks later this became a Vacant Building and she was asked by the VB inspector to remove the containers because no one was living there (pick up 2 containers ($100) -sent to US Bank, 1661 Worthington Rd Ste 100, West Palm Beach FL; and Jerome Koslowski, 5263 Saint Croix Trail S, Afton MN -has been an on-going yearly thing -Jerome kept saying that he didn't own this; US Bank did; people were squatting; Fire C of O couldn't get them out of there - a mess -there are several more assessments of weeks and weeks of trash hauling; no one appealed the previous ones Ms. Thomas: -we get contracted through First Rate Services, which gets contracted through US Bank (big branches) -we did get the trash out of the property and are getting bids to have everything fixed; it's an 8 month process to get it all approved -the building is in rough condition but it is secured now -no one is living there -there's a "For Sale" sign out now -trash is being maintained Ms. Nhia Vang: -we are here today about the trash hauling assessment for $240 -will recommend approval at the City Council Public Hearing May 4, 2016 Ms. Mai Vang: -if you're not contesting, you'll get an invoice after it goes to City Council; you can choose to pay it then or let it go onto the property taxes Approve the assessment. Referred to the City Council due back on 5/4/2016 4 RLH TA 16-162 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 1499 SCHLETTI STREET (File No. J1606B, Assessment No. 168105). Sponsors: Brendmoen Jennifer Neujahr, personal representative of the estate, appeared. Inspector Joe Yannarelly: -emergency boarding dated Nov 15, 2015; due to a burglary, SPPD called RESPRO at 5:03 pm -cost: $290 + $160 service charge = $450 Ms. Neujahr: -she had no idea that there was a charge for the boarding; the officer said that they'd call the city to board it up if that was OK with her; he did not tell her that the city would charge her; she thought that the cost would probably come out of the property taxes the citizens pay City of Saint Paul Page 2 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 -had she known there was a cost involved, she would have boarded it up herself Ms. Nhia Vang: -checking the Police Report -1 door was secured with clips and a board Ms. Neujahr: -it was the side door that has a window Ms. Nhia Vang: -she apologized that SPPD wasn't clear about there being a cost for the boarding -although she cannot delete the assessment, she can reduce it to $300 Ms. Neujahr: -really thinks that it's unfair that a homeowner is expected to know all the rules; there are so many things that we pay for in taxes -had she known, she would have secured the door herself Ms. Nhia Vang: -the city is just paying the contractor -you can appeal to the City Council on May 18, 2016 at 5:30 pm -agrees that the city needs to do a better job of educating its citizens about the rules but recommended that she reach out to her district council to help her acquaint herself with city policies and processes Reduce the assessment from $450.00 to $300.00. Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 5 RLH TA 16-168 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 652 STRYKER AVENUE (File No. J1606B, Assessment No. 168105). Sponsors: Noecker Approve the assessment; no show. Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 6 RLH TA 16-163 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 1749 WORDSWORTH AVENUE (File No. J1606B, Assessment No. 168105). Sponsors: Tolbert Steven Mark, tax owner, appeared. Inspector Joe Yannarelly: -emergency boarding ordered by SPPD for Apt 2 after a call on a domestic disturbance on Nov 27, 2015 -time of boarding: 12:45 a.m. Nov 28, 2015 -cost: $280 + $160 = $440 Mr. Mark: -SPPD broke down a door that wasn't even locked; they just needed to turn the knob on the door -anyone could have screwed that door shut in 10 minutes; questioned the $280 for 10 minutes of work City of Saint Paul Page 3 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 -ultimately, the cost won't be his; he is passing it onto the tenant, who's disabled and on a limited income and she's probably suffering enough with the brain trauma and the loss of sight in her right eye & tearing -she is asking for mercy from the city on her behalf because she can't afford this -he thinks that SPPD should have at least called him to see if he could come to secure the building; they didn't do that -he is available 24 hours a day with the phone next to me; my number is posted right by the mailbox -in other instances, SPPD has called him to avoid an expensive board-up cost -that cost is exorbitant -SPPD is supposed to use due care when exercising their duties; at the minimum, they could have at least turned the door knob -asking that the cost be either deleted or reduced Ms. Nhia Vang: -she is not here to argue police protocol in an emergency situation; she is here to look at whether or not the city was proper in its assessment of the situation; it was a domestic situation -she heard that Mr. Mark was sympathetic to the tenant because of her situation but then, she also heard him say that he was going to put the cost of this onto the tenant; she doesn't know where his sympathy lies Mr. Yannarelly: -the cost is exorbitant to send someone out at midnight in an emergency situation -at midnight, to call the owner/property manager is a courtesy that SPPD often does -SPPD can't leave a building unsecured and its easier for them to call the boarding company when they are busy with other issues -a domestic disturbance usually means that someone is inside the building Ms. Nhia Vang: -she will reduce this assessment to $300 Reduce the assessment from $440.00 to $300.00. Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 7 RLH TA 16-181 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 1746 SIMS AVENUE. (File No. VB1607, Assessment No. 168806) Sponsors: Bostrom Geleta Megerssa, owner, appeared. Ms. Mai Vang: -annual Vacant Building registration fee $2025 + $150 service charge = $2,180 -Category 2 VB file was opened Sep 10, 2013 -active permits on file -asked how far he was with the rehab Mr. Megerssa: -the contractors delayed the finish date; expects to be done by Sep 2016 -has pulled electrical, plumbing, building & mechanical permits Ms. Mai Vang: -became new owner in Dec 2014 and Code Compliance was approved in Dec 22, 2014; under Bostrom's approval; he went through Sale Review and was approved; he started pulling permits to do the work City of Saint Paul Page 4 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 -Code Compliance Report expired in Nov -if you say that you will not finish the work until Aug 2016, that means that you're already into the 11th month of the program and usually Ms. Moermond would not recommend a reduction of the VB fee at that point; her reductions usually come between 1-6 months into the year Ms. Nhia Vang: -will recommend approval of this assessment Approve the assessment. Referred to the City Council due back on 5/4/2016 Special Tax Assessments - ROLLS 8 RLH AR 16-17 Ratifying Excessive Inspection/Abatement services billed during October 22 to November 20, 2015. (File No. J1607E, Assessment No. 168308) Sponsors: Stark Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 9 RLH AR 16-18 Ratifying Boarding and/or Securing services during November 2015. (File No. J1606B, Assessment No. 168105) Sponsors: Stark Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 10 RLH AR 16-19 Ratifying Boarding and/or Securing services during December 2015. (File No. J1607B, Assessment No. 168106) Sponsors: Stark Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 11 RLH AR 16-20 Ratifying Graffiti Removal services during December 24 to January 24, 2016. (File No. J1607P, Assessment No. 168406) Sponsors: Stark Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 Special Tax Assessments - FOR DELETION, NO HEARING NECESSARY 12 RLH TA 16-159 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 971 CENTRAL AVENUE WEST (File No. J1607E, Assessment No. 168308). Sponsors: Thao Delete the assessment. Inspector sent EC letter on something which was illegal dumping from Police. (No hearing necessary) City of Saint Paul Page 5 Legislative Hearings Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 13 RLH TA 16-167 Ratifying the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 375 COOK AVENUE WEST (File No. J1607E, Assessment No. 168308). Sponsors: Brendmoen Delete the assessment because the letter was never generated. (No hearing necessary.) Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 14 RLH TA 16-164 Deleting the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 1748 MARSHALL AVENUE (File No. CRT1606, Assessment No. 168205). Sponsors: Stark Delete the assessment. Payment received and processed at DSI. Referred to the City Council due back on 4/6/2016 15 RLH TA 16-160 Deleting the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 676 RIVOLI STREET. (File No. VB1607, Assessment No. 168806) Sponsors: Brendmoen Delete the assessment. A code compliance certificate was issued on February 24, 2016; the vacant building folder has been closed. (No hearing necessary.) Referred to the City Council due back on 5/4/2016 16 RLH TA 16-169 Deleting the Appealed Special Tax Assessment for Property at 439 ROBERT STREET (File No. J1607P, Assessment No. 168406). Sponsors: Prince Delete the assessment; waiver on file. (No hearing necessary.) Referred to the City Council due back on 5/18/2016 2:30 p.m. Hearings Vacant Building Registrations 17 RLH VBR 15-93 Appeal of Marcus Landrum to a Vacant Building Registration Renewal Notice at 1308 VICTORIA STREET NORTH. Sponsors: Brendmoen This layover date may not be definite. Will know more when the hearing officer returns. Laid Over to the Legislative Hearings due back on 5/24/2016 City of Saint Paul Page 6