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Minutes 06-18-12 MINUTES OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012, AT 6:30 P.M., IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS CITY HALL, 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Michele Costantino, Chair Shana Bridgeman, Assistant City Attorney Gary Cole, Second Vice Chair Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator Robert Bucella Kathleen Carroll Gary Cole Alan Borrelli, Alt ABSENT: Robert Foot, First Vice Chair Rose Marie Yerzy I. Call to Order Chair Costantino called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Approval of Agenda Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator, advised there were no additions or deletions, but did not have a representative for page four at the present time. Motion Ms. Carroll moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Chair Costantino advised there would be a celebration of life for Richard Yerzy on July 15th, at a location to be announced. III. Swearing in of Witnesses Attorney Bridgeman explained the procedures and administered the oath to all those intending to testify. Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 18, 2012 Case No. 09 -3324 Wachovia Mortgage 7801 Manor Forest Lane Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator, presented the case. The notice of violation was October 14, 2009 for violations pertaining to registering property and to mow yard areas. The case was heard on January 20, 2010, and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine established by the Board was February 4, 2010, or incur a fine of $250 a day thereafter. Compliance was documented on May 6, 2010, having 90 days of non - compliance. Ms. Springer received the first email on January 4, 2012 to perform a lien reduction inspection. The results found that missing screens had to be replaced and the gate needed repair. It took 20 days from the email date for the property to be in compliance. Water, taxes, and registration were up to date. Robert Spear, 51 East Commercial Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, representative for Wachovia Bank, advised the office requested a fine reduction to $1,000. The office received the Certificate of Title in December of 2011 and at that point, they began taking care of the property. On December 28 an email was received stating they had complied and the fine was no longer accruing on the property. The property was now in a foreclosure process again. The notice of lis pendens was June, 2009, with final judgment in October, 2011. Mr. Bucella noted the liens began in 2009 and the bank became the owner when they foreclosed on the property in late 2009, early 2010. There was no buyer for the property due to the second foreclosure issue. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2 -84 through 2 -89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Bucella moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of January 20, 2010, to an amount of $3634.12, including administrative costs. The motion was seconded by Ms. Carroll and unanimously passed. Case No. 11 -1586 Bank of New York Mellon 501 W. Ocean Ave. Ms. Springer presented the case, and indicated the notice of violation for this case was June 23, 2011 for violations pertaining to registering the foreclosure property, clean and maintain pool, secure openings, remove trash and mow and trim yard. The case was heard on December 21, 2011, and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine established by the Board was December 31, 2011, or a fine of $300 a day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on May 29, 2012, having 149 days of non - compliance. Ms. Springer advised the first lien reduction inspection was done on April 30, 2012. There were grass and weed issues that still needed to be completed, the pool needed 2 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 18, 2012 to be cleaned, trash and debris had to be removed, overgrown holly and sea grape had to be trimmed, the property was unsecured, there were rotted fascias and soffits and the fence needed to be repaired. In addition, they had to remove a rotted shed, replace rotted doors and frame in the rear of the property, replace missing screens and windows, and outside storage had to be removed, specifically a generator and a hot tub. It was reinspected on May 29, 2012 and all the items were completed. There were no outstanding water bills or taxes. Thomas Sedik, 2000 NW 146 Avenue, Pembroke Pines, was the listing agent representing the Bank. He advised the property was made compliant as soon as they were aware of the violations. The reason why there was a lengthy time span between notification and finalization was due to the Bank having a bid approval processes for all repairs. A specific vendor was used. The vendor took the time needed to get the property into compliance. There was a buyer that was ready to close as soon as there was a reduction in the lien. The sale price was $85,000. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2 -84 through 2 -89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Cole moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of December 21, 2011, to an amount of $5,634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Case No. 11 -173 U.S. Bank National Assoc. 2850 SW 4 Street Ms. Springer presented the case and indicated the notice of violation was sent January 24, 2011, for violations pertaining to removing trash, mowing grass and weeds and securing the building. The case was heard on March 16, 2011, and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine established by the Board was March 23, 2011, or a fine of $1,000 a day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on June 20, 2011, having 88 days of non - compliance. Ms. Springer advised there were outstanding property taxes and water bills prior to lien reduction. There were also permits pulled to correct some problems on the property and there was a wait until those were final before proceeding with lien reduction. When all was completed, the City was contacted in April. Chris Grave, 1860 Old Okeechobee Road, West Palm Beach, advised he purchased the property from the Bank on August 10, 2011. In the beginning of July, he emailed Ms. Springer because they were under contract at that time. The Bank informed Mr. Grave there was a Code lien and there was no way the house could be sold with the 3 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 18, 2012 lien because in order to be in compliance, permits would be required. Mr. Grave advised the house had been burned badly, which required permits for structural engineering, plumbing, and electrical. The cost would have been approximately $10,000 just for permitting. There was no way the Bank would do that. He advised he wanted to purchase the home badly, and ended up renovating it beautifully. He advised the original Code violation stated that in order to be in compliance, a permit would have to be pulled. At the time, the violation for that specific issue had been $200 per day and accumulated to $14,000 at the time it was brought to his attention. He stated the house closed on August 10, 2011. There was discussion and clarification from Ms. Springer that there were two cases involved. One was for the lien on the Bank, the other which Mr. Grave is referring to deals with the permits, which was not fined. She advised the case the Board should consider is the Bank lien. Mr. Grave indicated that the lien on the Bank had nothing to do with him and was in compliance before he purchased the property. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2 -84 through 2 -89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Bucella moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of March 16, 2011, to an amount of $8,634.12, including administrative costs. Chair Costantino passed the gavel to Second Vice Chair Cole and seconded the motion and after discussion, the motion passed 4 -1 (Ms. Carroll dissenting). The gavel was passed back to Chair Costantino. Case No. 11 -1131 BAC Home Loans Servicing 91 Maple Lane Ms. Springer presented the request and stated the notice of violation was sent May 9, 2011, for violations pertaining to the registering of the foreclosed property and business tax receipt. The case was heard on June 15, 2011 and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine established by the Board was June 25, 2011, or a fine of $250 a day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on December 20, 2011, having 177 days of non - compliance. Ms. Springer stated contact was made in January, 2012. Some of the repairs that still needed completion for lien reduction were to repair the screen porch enclosure and install a self - locking latch on the gate. The reinspection was completed on April 13, 2012 and additional violations were found, specifically resodding areas in the front yard. On June 6, 2012, the property came into compliance. In the interim, the person taking care of the property for the Bank no longer works for the company and someone else had taken over. 4 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 18, 2012 Courtney Dunn, 40101 Ravenswood Road, Dania Beach, was the new property manager for the property. She was unfamiliar with the case and was told to attend the meeting. On a quick review, she stated the original violation was failure to register the property which was in compliance. When the lien reduction was requested in January, other violations were noted. Everything had complied and was up to date and she was asking on behalf of the title holder that the fine be reduced as much as possible. Mr. Bucella confirmed with the respondent that the Bank would be paying the fines. Ms. Dunn was unsure if the property was currently being rented. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2 -84 through 2 -89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Ms. Carroll moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of June 15, 2011, to an amount of $3,634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Cole seconded the motion with discussion. Chair Costantino opined that the fine was too low as the Bank was collecting rent during the time of the violations. However, there seemed to be conflicting opinions on whether the property was rented or vacant. Ms. Carroll agreed to amend the fine to $5,634.12. The motion passed unanimously. Case No. 10 -1517 Chase Home Finance LLC 1 Hawthorne Lane Ms. Springer presented the request and stated the notice of violation was sent May 18, 2010, for violations pertaining to the registering of the foreclosed property, removal of a bee infestation and repair of the deteriorated exterior of building. The case was heard on July 21, 2010 and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine established by the Board was July 31, 2010, or a fine of $250 a day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on May 11, 2012, having 649 days of non - compliance. Ms. Springer stated on May 14, 2012, it was requested that the building be secured, which the respondent thought was secure, but it was not. The garage door required scraping and painting, the sprinkler system needed repair, the rotted deck in the rear of the building would need repair or replacement, the mold pressure cleaned, replacement of missing screens on the patio windows, and repair of the gate. The outstanding water bill was paid. A reinspection was completed on June 7, 2012 and all violations were corrected. Margaret White, Ron Wolf and Associates, 4919 Memorial Highway, Tampa, was the attorney for the Bank. She advised the Certificate of Title was issued on the property on February 1, 2012. A lien reduction was being sought as there was a short sale contract on the property with a sale price of $49,900. 5 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 18, 2012 Mr. Cole inquired how long the bee infestation was occurring. Ms. Springer advised it was gone when inspected so she was unsure how long it had been there prior to inspection. There was brief discussion among the Board. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2 -84 through 2 -89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Cole moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of July 10, 2010, to an amount of $10,634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that passed 4 -1. (Ms. Carroll dissenting). Motion In view of the passing of Mr. Yerzy, Ms. Carroll moved to make Mr. Foot the Vice Chair and Mr. Cole the First Vice Chair. Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that unanimously passed The meetings of November were briefly discussed. It was noted the Wednesday meeting of the Code Compliance Board was to take place the day before Thanksgiving. After a brief discussion, it was decided to hold the meeting on Monday together with Code Lien Reductions. Motion There being no further business to discuss, Mr. Cole moved to adjourn. Ms. Carroll seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m. Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 6