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Home My WebLink About2002-07-10 Special Meeting City Commission Meeting Minutes MINUTES DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING JULY 10, 2002 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Chunn called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Present: Mayor: Robert H. Chunn, Jr. Vice-Mayor: Pat Flury Commissioners: C.K. McElyea Bob Mikes City Attorney: Tom Ansbro Acting City Manager: Bonnie Temchuk City Clerk: Charlene Johnson Absent: Commissioner: John Bertino (out of town) City Attorney Ansbro explained to the public that the Code Enforcement Board has already heard these cases and that the issue before the City Commission is whether or not the fine imposed, as accrued, should be reduced or abated. The City Commission is not going to deal with issues relating to cases already heard at the Code Enforcement Board level. 3. ABATEMENT REQUESTS: 3.1 Request by Michael Grant for abatement of four (4) lot mowing liens for debris removal for property located at 4541 SW 28 Way. Michael Grant was not present and City Commission continued with the rest of the agenda in hopes that Mr. Grant would appear. After Item 3.6, Item 3.1 was heard. A motion was made by Commissioner McElyea, seconded by Vice-Mayor Flury, to deny the abatement request. The motion passed on the following 4/0 roll call vote with Commissioner Bertino being absent. Commissioner McElyea-yes Vice-Mayor Flury-yes MINUTES 1 JULY 10, 2002 SPECIAL MEETING . Commissioner Mikes-yes Mayor Chunn-yes Item 3.5 was heard after Item 3.1 3.2 - Request by Steven Altland, for abatement of CEB00-0545 for property located at 230 SW 14 Street. Steven Altland explained that he had a lease/purchase agreement with the renter on the property who agreed to maintain the property. A Code violation occurred and he corrected it. Mr. Altland advised that he paid the $3,000 fine in order to sell the property and paid the City from the closing proceeds. He advised that he is now asking for consideration on being reimbursed. Vice-Mayor Flury disagreed with making any changes as the petitioner paid the find and sold the property. A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Flury, seconded by Commissioner McElyea, to deny the abatement request. The motion passed on the following 4/0 roll call vote with Commissioner Bertino being absent. Commissioner McElyea-yes Vice-Mayor Flury-yes Commissioner Mikes-yes Mayor Chunn-yes 3.3 Request by Coconut Rentals Inc., for abatement of CEB01-0030 for property located at 3333 SE 14 Avenue. Attorney Steve Deutsch, on behalf of Coconut Rentals, Inc., mentioned that his client purchased the property with a number of Code Enforcement violations and complied with the violations. His client did receive notification of the Occupational License requirement, but thought the issue was resolved when he complied with the Code violations. Attorney Deutsch could not offer any excuse for his client and advised that it was a mistake. He asked for consideration of a portion abatement based on the improvements made to the property. William Johnson, Chief Code Enforcement Officer, advised that Coconut Rentals was operating without an Occupational License and explained the notifications provided to the owner. Ken Koch, Building Official, thought that the business was most likely started and the inspection was conducted by the City and items probably needed to be completed before the license could be issued. The owner probably did not follow through on the license and should have known he needed the license to conduct the business. MINUTES 2 JULY 10, 2002 SPECIAL MEETING Mr. Johnson explained that the warehouse was located in Port Everglades and that the owner sold some type of dog product. Discussion followed on the amount of the license estimated at $200 to $400 a year. Mayor Chunn was agreeable to reducing the lien by 50%. A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Flury, seconded by Commissioner McElyea, to deny the abatement request. The motion passed on the following 3/1 roll call vote with Commissioner Bertino being absent. Commissioner McElyea-yes Vice-Mayor Flury-yes Commissioner Mikes-yes Mayor Chunn-no 3.4 Request by Shirley Blackie, for abatement of CEB96-0129 for property located at 25 NW 5 Avenue. Attorney Richard Seay, representing Shirley Blackie, advised that Mrs. Blackie is under the care of a physician in Trinidad Tobago and that she is unable to travel. Attorney Seay introduced Ms. Blackie's sister, Juliana Findley, who has been helping her sister with the nursing home business in 1996. Attorney Seay advised that the State Attorney's office conducted a random inspection of nursing homes and the City's inspectors cited the property in August 1996 with 24 violations and required compliance within 90 days or a fine of $75 a day would begin. Mrs. Blackie's husband had recently died at the time and he was the one maintaining the properties and Mrs. Blackie also had to deal with tax issues with the IRS and she was ill. It took Mrs. Blackie 186 days to come into complete compliance, however, she did eventually rectify the problems and, unfortunately, the fine amounted to $14,050 with interest and recording fees. Attorney Seay clarified that the property is not currently being used as a nursing home and Ms. Findley's son resides on a portion of the property and there are two lots. One of the lots has a structure in disrepair and the value of property continues to decrease. Ms. Findley is having difficulty selling the property because of the . extensive liens on the property and she would like to sell the land so that a new buyer could renovate the property and improve the property. Attorney Seay advised that Ms. Findley is agreeable to paying $6,000 as recommended by the Code Enforcement Board and that she owes around $100,000 in medical bills to Memorial Hospital and the property is her only asset at this time. Ms. Findley advised that the ALF was licensed for 12 residents and she operates the facility with 9 residents since 1998 and that it eventually ran down to 6 . residents. Commissioner Mikes advised of past problems in the City with nursing homes in the City and was not sympathetic to nursing homes operating with these types of violations. He mentioned that the nursing homes receive State funds from the MINUTES 3 JULY 10, 2002 SPECIAL MEETING • residents and they do not properly maintain the nursing homes. Ms. Findley commented on her efforts to maintain the property. A motion was made by Commissioner McElyea, seconded by Commissioner Mikes, abating the liens to $6,000 as recommended by the Code Enforcement Board subject to payment within 30 days. The motion passed on the following 4/0 roll call vote with Commissioner Bertino being absent. Commissioner McElyea-yes Vice-Mayor Flury-yes Commissioner Mikes-yes Mayor Chunn-yes Item 3.5 was heard after Item 3.1 3.5 Request by Carl Ching, for abatement of#2245 for property located at 201 SW 2 Street. Carl Ching was not present and the City Commission continued with the agenda in hopes that Mr. Ching would appear. A motion was made by Commissioner Mikes, seconded by Commissioner McElyea, to deny the abatement request. The motion passed on the following 4/0 roll call vote with Commissioner Bertino being absent. Commissioner McElyea-yes Vice-Mayor Flury-yes • Commissioner Mikes-yes Mayor Chunn-yes The meeting adjourned after Item 3.5. 3.6 Request by Joseph & Sabina Clementi, for abatement of#2331 for property located at 602 S. Federal Highway. Mr. Joseph Clementi advised that he lives in North Miami Beach and checks on the property two or three times a month. Once he receives the registered letter notifying him of the Code Enforcement Board violations, he stated that he takes care of them, however, he needs a few days to make arrangements to fix the problems. Mr. Clementi felt that it is excessive to be charged over $100 a day for grass being too high. William Johnson, Chief Code Enforcement Officer, advised that the Code Enforcement Board has the right to automatically imposes a fine on repeat offenders at $100 a day without having to bring the cases back before the board and that Mr. Clementi is a repeat offender. Mr. Clementi pointed out that he cannot control debris that is thrown on the property on a daily basis and that he lives in North Miami Beach and needs time to resolve the problems. Commissioner Mikes stressed the importance of absentee landlords maintaining properties in spite of where they live. MINUTES 4 JULY 10, 2002 SPECIAL MEETING ® A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Flury, seconded by Commissioner Mikes, abating the lien to $350.00 subject to payment within 30 days. The motion passed on the following 4/0 roll call vote with Commissioner Bertino being absent. Commissioner McElyea-yes Vice-Mayor Flury-yes Commissioner Mikes-yes Mayor Chunn-yes The City Commission returned to Items #3.1 and #3.5 after Item 3.6. 4. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m. ROB RT FA CHUNN, JR. MAYOR-COMMISSIONER ATTEST: CHARLENE J NSON ® CITY CLERK APPROVED: October 22, 2002 AGENDA 5 JULY 10, 2002 SPECIAL MEETING