Minutes 08-23-07(2)
EXCERPT FROM THE AUGUST 23, 2007 CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION
MEETING
VERBATIM EXCERPT REQUESTED BY COMMISSIONER WEILAND
Case #98-1986
Dominic J. & Vivian A. Micheli
115 W. Ocean Dr.
Mr. Blasie: The first lien reduction on your agenda today is on page one. It's Case 98-
1986. The property address is 115 West Ocean Drive. The property owner of records
are Dominic J and Vivian A. Micheli, I hope I spelled that, or pronounced that right.
This case was originated on May 15, 1998 for violations of our Community Appearance
Code, uh removing a propane tank, uh. trash and debris from the swale area,
overgrown yard and parts of the yard and swale also required sod. On August 19,
1998, Mark Micheli appeared. I believe he is the son and you have those minutes in
your agenda package. And I believe the son uh, pled no contest and asked for sixty
days. Uh the board granted him those sixty days and the compliance date was October
19, 1998 or be fined $25 per day. We've documented compliance as of July 24, 2007
which is 3,199 days of non-compliance at $25 a day, plus the City's administrative cost.
I do have photos to submit to the board. I have a photograph that was taken on August
19, 1998. One that was taken October 20, 1998 and one that was taken November 10,
1998. Those are basically the before pictures. And I have a photograph that I took
yesterday at 9:34 a.m. Um, the rv1ichelis did contact our office last February. That
would be February '06 and I went out and did an inspection and there were a number
of items that needed to be completed and I'll run down those items real briefly. Uh,
they had an open waste line that needed to be repaired, they had a washing machine
that wasn't properly drained. Uh they had exterior doors that needed to be fixed. They
had to clean up trash and debris, replace a torn screen and get permits and inspections
for a new front door. Uh they did ultimately get the permit for the new front door. And
I thought I had a record of that here but it escapes me at the moment, but I'll show
them, Michelis the pictures then I'll leave it back to the board.
Chair Costantino: Your name and address for the record please.
Mr. Micheli: 115 West Ocean Drive. Boynton.
First Vice Chair Yerzy: Your name sir?
Mr. Micheli: Mark Micheli.
Mr. Blasie: These are the picture I mentiored earlier.
Chair Costantino: Mr. Micheli, what is your relationship to the property?
Mr. Micheli: It's my, my dad's house, ma'am.
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Chair Costantino: And-
Mr. Micheli: And I've just -
Chair Costantino: Are they aware, your dad, is he aware that you are here speaking on
this.
Mr. Micheli: Yes.
Chair Costantino: His behalf.
Mr. Micheli: He's away, he's away right now. It's and um, he wasn't aware of all this
and I should have taken better care of it back then but I just - I, when they told me to
clean the place up I did what I could do and I didn't have the money but I did
everything except put the sod in the front swale, but I did everything else. Everything
else is cleaned up. That's really basically all I didn't do was put the sod out there. But
other than that I've been working at this for quite a while.
Chair Costantino: Very nice.
Mr. Blasie: The uh, door replacement I mentioned they obtained a permit for that
January 20th of' 07. I knew I had it here, I just didn't have it pulled.
Mr. Moyer: Did you realize that there was a, uh fine being imposed?
Mr. Micheli: No, I did, I did ask for the 60 day extension. And I, but I didn't just have
the money to do the sod, but I cleaned everything else up. I didn't think they were
going to fine me for the sod in the swale. But obviously, I found out that they did so.
Chair Costantino: When did, when did you find all of this out, that this was, this fine
was going on and that there was now a lien on the property.
Mr. Micheli: I spoke with an inspector out there one day doing a, - they dug up the
front yard out there where the swale is, they dug that up and they made like a little v
shaped thing for drainage and I asked him. He told me that I had a lien against the
house. But there was another inspector too that told me there was a lien against the
house and I tried to have them check it twice but every time that someone would come
they'd have me fix something else. I'd fix it and then I wouldn't get back to them to
come and check it and this just kept going and going. It has just been a tough time
getting all this stuff done.
Chair Costantino: What kind of lien reduction are you looking for?
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Mr. Micheli: Whatever I can ma'am, I mean I don't have any more, or have a lot of
money that's for sure.
Mr. Foot: Madam Chair, can I ask, uh, when did you finally put in the sod?
Mr. Micheli: I, I never did put the sod down, sir. They came and dug it up. They came
back a couple, few years later. I put seed down there and raked it up there, fertilized
it, but he told me, so I got it looking green, but then they came and tore it up a few
years later. But the - -
Mr. Blasie: The City did a swale project on that, in that neighborhood.
Mr. Foot: The swale, the front grass, the lawn itself, was that just by your seeding it
and - -
Mr. Micheli: Out there now?
Chair Costantino: Yeah.
Mr. Micheli: Well no. I had it, I had it looking real pretty. I had it looking real pretty
out there. I put seed and fertilized. I got the grass going, so I didn't need the sod and it
looked real nice. But then after that they just came and dug it up. That's, that the
grass that they put it in when they dug it up.
Mr. Foot: When did you finish the seeding and, and uh?
Mr. Micheli: That was done right, right after all, I came down here and, and they said
they'd put sod down there, but I got the grass growing with the seed and the fertilizer,
but I never came to have any body come and inspect it.
Mr. Blasie: Yeah, I think what the board members asking I, knowing Mr. Foot and his
questions in previous board meetings, he's looking for a compliance date. I believe we
came up with a compliance date based on getting ready for this lien reduction and you
inquiring and my going out and doing the inspection. So I think what he's looking for is
when did the City complete the swale, to your knowledge, because that was probably
the only remaining issue that I can tell from the file and the pictures.
Mr. Micheli: It was looking - -Yeah, it was looking, it was looking good way before they
dug it up but they only did that about three years ago. Four years ago they dug it up.
Mr. Blasie: I don't know. I don't. It's been a while -
Mr. Micheli: Yeah, I'd say four years. They dug it up from now. I had it looking green,
it was looking nice.
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Mr. Foot: Including the swale, you had that looking green?
Mr. Micheli: My swale, where I, yeah I -
Mr. Foot: Before they tore it up.
Mr. Micheli: Before they tore it up, yes sir. And I just never came and had anybody
come to inspect it.
Mr. Cook: Madam Chair, may I ask a question?
Chair Costantino: Sure.
Ms. Cook: Mark, do you live at the house?
Mr. Micheli: Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Cook: Okay. Your parents live there too?
Mr. Micheli: No, ma'am.
Ms. Cook: No, no they just don't and you live there. So you're to maintain it.
Mr. Micheli: Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Cook: Okay
Mr. Micheli: And my dad was pretty upset when he found out all this was going on too.
Ms. Cook: You know how parents are. Discussion?
Chair Costantino: Yes, go ahead.
Ms. Cook: Uh, I think the property is looking very nice. I think that there was some
miscommunication. Um, it seems like that maybe he, uh, had this taken care of long
before the three thousand days. I hate to see a lien of $80,000 because of a
miscommunication of a swale. Uh, I would be looking at, you know, a maximum of, of
a $1,000 with all the inspections and everything that's been outstanding. Uh, mainly
because he didn't take care of it, he did have some neighbors that, you know, probably
had lost some value based on that looking like it did at the time and it wasn't taken
care of when it should have, but I don't think the City should, uh, dwell on $80K .I just
think it was a miscommunication and he's not gonna let that happen again.
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First Vice Chair Yerzy: Madame Chair Lady?
Chair Costantino: Mr. Yerzy.
First Vice Chair Yerzy: According to my figures here, if uh, that swale problem had
been taken care of, for example, four years ago, uh, at $25 a day, that would knock off
$36,500 from this uh $80K lien. Just for general information.
Chair Costantino: Which would bring a total to, do you have that number?
First Vice Chair Yerzy: No I don't, but I'll give it to you in a second.
Chair Costantino: Okay.
Mr. Foot: I went the opposite direction, I came out to about 36-6.
First Vice Chair Yerzy: 43-475.
Chair Costantino: Still uh, quite a chunk -
First Vice Chair Yerzy: Still a chunk.
Chair Costantino: - of change there just for not wanting to be able to put sod in your
yard or --
Mr. Micheli: Ma'am, I just -
Ms. Carroll: Madam Chair, if I may?
Chair Costantino: Yes, Ms. Carroll.
Ms. Carroll: I, I hear the gentlemen saying that long before the four years, he had it
looking good with just seed and it was four years ago the City came and dug up the
seed that he already had growing and reput the sod. So I agree with Kathy, I think
that there were a series of miscommunications here. That every time the City guys
came out, they saw something else, something else still had to be done that wasn't part
of this original citation. And that the thing that the City was hung up on, the only thing
that hadn't been completed in the beginning in the 60 days was the swale which he did
say he had the seed growing there. Now a couple of years after that, the City came
and dug it up again and then put sod down. So I, I think that um, going back four
years is a, you know, an injustice. I have a feeling that it was done a lot before then
but then other things came up like the door, and the washing machine we heard about
and another pipe.
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Mr. Blasie: Well that just kept him from qualifying for lien reduction. It-
Ms. Carroll: Right, right.
Ms. Cook: That was the other question I had.
Mr. Blasie: It, that -
Ms. Carroll: That's what I'm saying. It's been this series of, a series of other things
that kept stopping him from coming in sooner to reduce this fine.
Ms. Cook: I had one other question, Madam Chair.
Chair Costantino: Go ahead.
Ms. Cook: Um, as you started to say there were some other items but that wasn't based
on a, a actual complaint or it wasn't uh, the gentleman, uh, hasn't had a lot of
violations. It just happened to be that the things that you needed him to fix were
because you went out there last February, but its not like this gentleman has been in
front of the board every year for the last seven or eight years that I've been here. I
don't recognize him.
Mr. Blasie: No, he was looking to do the lien reduction last February. And when I went
out there was a washing machine draining out into the back yard and there was the,
the clean out, the cap was broken off and they had the open line there. And the other
things and then the permit for the door and of course the permit for the door, he
eventually got July of this year. I don't know the circumstances behind the, the
timeframe there on what took so long to get the permit for the door, but. And you
know, obviously it's an old case. Our last inspection was November 10th of '98 and it
appears that uh, according to Officer Lewis, he still needed sod in the yard and swale
and the trash and the debris still existed but the mowing and propane tank was
removed, so he had done some of it by November of '98.
Mr. Foot: Madame Chair I, I am certainly not looking for the full fine, but I think $1000
is a little bit on the thin side. That's barely exceeding our administrative costs - lien
filing costs are $600. That's only $400 on top of that for uh, the delay of years. We're
talking about what originated in '98 going until Oct. 3, if we take four years off the
current date, to me we should be looking at something more meaningful. The
neighborhood doesn't deserve to have this kind of mess in their neighborhood and, and
then being tolerated by us to pay only a fine of, in a sense $400. Uh, I think we should
be talking more in the range of $2,000 and up and that is very shy on my side.
Second Vice Chair Simshauser: Madam Chair, may I ask a question?
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Chair Costantino: Sure.
Second Vice Chair Simshauser: When this was originally cite, and you guys went back
you didn't recite it so, it, it, obviously somewhere in there was fixed and okay. Um, I
agree with Kathy, I think that uh, inspections and administrative costs which is about
$1200 would be fair.
Ms. Cook: Well then make a motion we'll see if - -what flies.
Chair Costantino: Well you know, I don't - by the time this went into uh, from the time
of the violation back in May to the time of a fine was proposed by the board was
October, and it was still going on. I mean that's five months there that they chose to do
nothing, or minimal, and that's you know, trash and debris in the swale. We're talking
hurricane season even though back in '98 we may not have even have had a hurricane
I don't know, sometimes we let our hearts kind of - - I don't know. Alright, alright. I
have to tend to lean towards Bob we need to -
Mr. Micheli: Miss. Miss.
Chair Costantino: Yes.
Mr. Micheli: It wasn't always, excuse me, when they asked me to clean it all up and get
rid of the tank and all that, I mean, I cleaned everything up. It was totally cleaned up
and then I probably put some more debris out there for the boat pickup or something
but, when I was told to clean that yard up, they, the yard was spotless, spotless when I
came over here there was nothing out there. So then maybe I came back out and I put
some stuff over there for pickup or whatever. But I worked at it the whole time and
kept it clean. It wasn't it didn't sit with a bunch of garbage out there for a long, long
time.
Mr. Blasie: I think what he's saying he just didn't have grass on it for the most part.
Mr. Micheli: Yes, that, that was it. Yes sir, it was just the sod I didn't have. I didn't
have the money to put the sod down, but I grew it, I grew the grass.
Ms. Cook: I'd like to make a motion if I may and if it - -
Chair Costantino: Ms. Cook?
Ms. Cook: - - goes then you know. Uh this would be uh, number 10, uh based on the
testimony and evidence presented in case number 98-1986 and having been advised
that the respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section
2-84 through 2-89, the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, I move that this
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board reduce the fines instituted in Case number 98-1986 by virtue of this boards Order
of 8-19-98 to the amount of $1,000 which includes administrative cost.
Second Vice Chair Simshauser: I'll second that.
Chair Costantino: All in favor?
Ms. Cook: Aye.
Chair Costantino: All opposed?
Unknown: No.
Chair Costantino: You want to do a roll call ma'am. Thank you.
Recording Secretary: George Moyer?
Mr. Moyer: No.
First Vice Chair Yerzy: No.
Second Vice Chair Simshauser: Yes.
Chair Costantino: No. Someone want to make another motion. Mr. Yerzy?
First Vice Chair Yerzy: Based on the testimony and evidence presented in case number
98-1986 and having been advised that the respondent has complied with all lien
reduction procedures set forth in Section 2-84 through 2-89, the City of Boynton Beach
Code of Ordinances, I move that this board reduce the fines instituted in Case number
98-1986 by virtue of this boards Order of 8-19-98 to an amount of $4,347 including
administrative costs.
Chair Costantino: What's the number again? Three thousand?
First Vice Chair Yerzy: $4,347. That's ten percent of the amount that I felt was due
and owing.
Chair Costantino: Is there a second?
Mr. Foot: Second
Chair Costantino: All in favor
Some: Aye.
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Chair Costantino: All opposed?
Some: No.
Chair Costantino: Do a roll call please.
Ms. Cook: Okay guys.
Chair Costantino: That's okay. At least it's not a tie.
Recording Secretary: George Moyer?
Mr. Moyer: Yes.
Recording Secretary: Lisa Simsllauser?
First Vice Chair Yerzy: Yes.
Recording Secretary: Robert Foot?
Mr. Foot: Yes.
Recording Secretary: Kathy Cook?
Ms. Cook: No.
Recording Secretary: Kathleen Carroll?
Ms. Carroll: No.
Chair Costantino: Yes.
Recording Secretary: Motion passes 4-3.
Chair Costantino: Four to three. Okay. Alrightie. We have decided that the fine, the,
the $,4347 -
Inaudible: includes administrative costs.
Chair Costantino: Which includes administrative costs. So, you need to check with
Diane. Keep in touch with Diane.
Mr. Micheli: Who is Diane?
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Chair Costantino: Diane.
Mr. Blasie: Right here. You can uh, you know how to get a hold of me right?
Mr. Micheli: Yes sir, Scott, right?
Mr. Blasie: Right. You can call me and if I'm not there you'll get Diane.
Mr. Micheli: Is there a way to make like a payment plan on this?
Mr. Blasie: You can meet with us to talk to us, we'll talk about that. There's actually by
Code, there's a 90 day window to pay it.
Mr. Micheli: That's uh.
Mr. Blasie: In full.
Mr. Micheli: See now I'm right back to the same old where I started from before, I
didn't have any money before to put the grass down. And - - now, where am I gonna
get the $4K to pay you all? I mean, what happens then. I've got four kids and a house
payment and, - -
Mr. Blasie: Well right now, the board made their decision and if you want, I'll be here
tomorrow. If you want to make, you want to come in tomorrow I'll be here Monday, if
you want we can talk about it. But I mean, the boards made their decision and right
now we're, that's it.
Mr. Micheli; Okay.
Mr. Blasie: Okay.
Mr. Micheli: Yep.
Mr. Blasie: Thanks.
Mr. Micheli: Thank you all.
(End Transcription this item)
(: QkUuJ -- QJ, I t'0u~(Vla/V\
Catherine Cherry~~an t
Recording Secretary
(Transcribed from one recording)
8/29/07
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