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Minutes 12-17-12 MINUTES OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 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 Robert Foot, Vice Chair (arr 6 40 pm) Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator Gary Cole, Second Vice Chair Robert Bucella ABSENT: Kathleen Carroll RoseMarie Yerzy Alan Borrelli, Alt I. Call to Order Chair Costantino called the meeting to order at 6:40 p m. when a quorum was acknowledged II. Approval of Agenda Motion Mr. Cole moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that unanimously passed. III. Swearing in of Witnesses Attorney Bridgeman explained the hearing procedures and administered an oath to all those intending to testify. Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator, advised that since there were only four members present, all four would have to have the same vote There could not be a 3 -1 majonty. An option was presented to the Respondents to come back when more than four members were present. There were no withdrawals Case No. 12 -15 Finbar E. Quinn 141 Lancaster Road Ms. Springer advised the case came before the Board on March 21, 2012 and no one appeared The proposed compliance date was March 31, 2012 or $100 per day. The Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 compliance date was on November 27, 2012, for 240 days of non - compliance for the total amount of $24,000 plus administrative costs of $730.15. Finbar E. Quinn, 6431 Lemon Tree Lane, Miami Lakes advised he was never given notice of the violation at his address until the violation notice was found at the property of the tenant He immediately phoned Officer Melillo and was advised he was in violation of an ordinance and was told a letter was sent and signed for advising him of the violation He had been trying to cooperate and become compliant Due to his current financial situation, he requested a fine waiver or as much reduction as possible. Ms. Springer presented the signed green card to Mr. Quinn. Although the card contained a signature, Mr Quinn advised the signature was not his and the address the card was sent to had not been his address for approximately nine months There was brief discussion on the notification procedures followed. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Finbar E Quinn, 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. Foot moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of March 21, 2012 to an amount of $3,130 15, including administrative costs Mr. Bucella seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously Case No. 05 -1346 Boynton Shipwreck, Inc. 811 S.E. 3rd Street Ms Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on June 20, 2005. It came before the Board on August 17, 2005 and Bob Katz appeared. The proposed compliance date was October 1, 2005 or $25 per day. The compliance date was on November 14, 2012, for 2,600 days of non - compliance for a total amount of $65,000 plus administrative costs. Mr. Springer advised that upon further research, a Business Tax Receipt was issued in 2007 and the violations would have had to comply before this was issued. That would significantly bring the lien down to approximately $13,000 Arthur Dalmada, 105 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, advised that he became aware of this recently when the title search was done. Mr. Katz purchased the home in 2005 and it was occupied by a tenant at the time. The tenant was difficult and eventually was evicted in 2006 due to criminal charges and other issues. The property complied in January of 2007. Mr. Katz became ill and passed away shortly after. Mr Dalmada indicated he was not aware these liens existed until the title search. He advised the property had been maintained and was in compliance. 2 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Boynton Shipwreck, Inc., 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 August 17, 2005, to an amount of $1,934.12, including administrative costs. Mr Cole seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Case No. 11 -896 Deutsche Bank National Trust 3391 Orange Street Ms. Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on April 21, 2011. It came before the Board on June 15, 2011 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was June 25, 2011 or $150 per day. The compliance date was on November 16, 2011, for 143 days of non - compliance. There were many items that needed to comply before becoming eligible for a lien reduction such as missing glass on the front door, replace the rear door and steps, obtain permits for newly installed windows, trim overgrowth, remove outside storage, trash and debris, replace mailbox, repair sprinkler system, replace shed door and remove shed trash. Notice was given in April and the realtor had been working diligently to complete the outstanding items. Chair Costantino called for a recess at 7 p m. Chair Costantino reconvened the meeting at 7:21 p.m Brian Koch, was an authorized representative and proposed buyer of the property. He advised the repairs on the home were more significant than he had originally anticipated, as well as the liens on the property that had to be paid. Even though he does not own the property at this point, he paid the monies. He was requesting as much of a reduction as possible. The property was previously under contract with someone else and that contract fell through The realtor renegotiated with him and he had paid the maintenance and repairs on the property to become compliant There was discussion on the amount of fine per day and that the amount was high for an overgrown yard, since Mr Koch was only responsible for the maintenance portion of the violation Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Deutsche Bank National Trust 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 3 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of June 15, 2011 to an amount of $1,634.12, including administrative costs Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Case No. 11 -1485 Deutsche Bank National Trust 5 Buxton Lane Ms Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on June 20, 2011. It came before the Board on August 17, 2011 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was August 27, 2011 or $200 per day The compliance date was on September 4, 2012, for 373 days of non - compliance for a total amount of $74,600 plus administrative costs. Elsie Kaprel, was a realtor with Century 21 appearing on behalf of the seller, advised the property was listed on November 2, 2010 as a short sale. From that date on, multiple offers were made on the property which were submitted to the Bank and declined for one reason or another. The water bill lien had been paid by the seller. On July 26, 2012, Ms. Kaprel wrote a letter to the negotiator at the Bank and indicated they were ready to close on July 31 but was unable to do so due to the Bank's negligence. The seller attempted to rectify the issues with the City of Boynton Beach but was unable because the lien was not against the seller, but it was against the Bank. In 2011, the property was broken into and the seller immediately repaired the property so that intruders could not come in. Ms. Kaprel further advised she wrote a letter to the negotiator on July 26, 2012 indicating the liens and the inability to close, even though there was a closing date The negotiator advised them that no one could take care of the liens except for their preservation team. Even after telling them what needed to be done, the negotiator indicated nothing could be done until the preservation team took care of the liens. To date, nothing had been done The last correspondence she had was on October 24, 2012 requesting a status and had received no response. The property was currently compliant and it was evident the Bank was not willing to cooperate There was brief discussion on who the fine would be levied on. The Board wants the Bank to be responsible since the Bank was cited, but Ms. Kaprel advised that the responsibility would be with the owner since the property was not yet in foreclosure, but in a short sale status. In the meantime, the homeowner association fees continued to build and are approxiamtely $9,000 and until this issue is settled, those fees would continue to grow waiting for the home to close. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Deutsche Bank National Trust has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2 -84 through 2 -89 of the City of Boynton 4 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 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 August 17, 2011 to an amount of $634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Case No. 11 -3002 Deutsche Bank National Trust 5 Buxton Lane Ms Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on October 31, 2011. It came before the Board on January 18, 2012 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was January 28, 2012 or $200 per day. Compliance date was on September 4, 2012, for 219 days of non - compliance for a total amount of $43,800 plus administrative costs. The information on the details of the case would be the same as the previous case Elsie Kaprel, was a realtor with Century 21 appearing on behalf of the seller. She advised she had nothing further to add on this case. Mr Foot commented that Duetsche Bank should be held responsible because this was a health issue. He stated that the Bank was not in a position to go in and remove the bees and the property owner was still in possession of the property who should have controlled the situation. Chair Costantino advised as soon as the Lis Pendens was filed, under the Ordinances for Registration of Property, the Bank put themselves in the middle of the game. They were cited for registration and maintenance issues and the bees were considered part of the maintenance issues. Ms. Kaprel stated the owner was not aware of the bees nest until recently. Ms. Springer confirmed this and stated the problem was resolved. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Deutsche Bank National Trust 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 January 18, 2012 to an amount of $2,500 plus 634.12, administrative costs for a total of $3,134.12. Mr Bucella seconded the motion that passed unanimously Case No. 12 -281 Fred & Pam Greenspan 18 Southport Lane, Unit C Ms. Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on February 15, 2012. It came before the Board on July 18, 2012 and no one appeared The proposed compliance date was July 28, 2012 or $50 per day. The compliance date was on December 6, 2012, for 130 days of non - compliance for a total amount of $6,500 plus administrative costs. 5 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 Fred Greenspan, 11 Crowdon Lane, Rockland, NY and 18C Southport Lane, commented that there was a misunderstanding on what needed to be done. He was under the impression that the fee was a tax and he paid it as such. He indicated he had a rental agent that handled things for him because he spends only a month a year in Florida. The intent was not to avoid having the inspection. Both he and the real estate agent were not aware that a Business Tax Receipt inspection was required. This year was the first year he saw that he was required to pay a fee and have the apartment inspected. In addition, he spoke to many people who had no knowledge of the Business Tax Receipt requirement. He paid fees when due and when he paid the June fee, the check was cashed and at that time, he still was not made aware that he needed an inspection Ms. Costantino commented that since the license had to be renewed in September she inquired of Mr. Greenspan if he had to pay another fee He indicated he paid another fee in November and was made aware at that time there was a problem. Mr. Cole opined that Mr. Greenspan wrote the check before the hearing date and was paid before the levy was started. The policy stated that once you pay the fee, an inspection would be set up and then advised whether it passed or failed. Ms. Springer interjected that if the fees were paid online, there would be no instruction as to what to do and the printed instructions are very small She further stated they had asked the Business Tax Receipt Department to put the print in bold and larger. Mr. Greenspan reiterated the fact he paid the monies indicated. He was not trying to get out of his obligation, and as soon as he found out there was a problem, he contacted the City immediately. Mr Foot inquired of Attorney Bridgeman if it would be better to waive or rescind the fee since Mr. Greenspan was in compliance before he appeared in front of the Board. Attorney Bridgeman advised the better course of action would be to rescind all the prior Orders, rather than reducing the fine to zero. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Fred and Pam Greenspan 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 rescind the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of July 18, 2012 and that the lien imposed by that Order be released. Mr. Bucella seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Case No. 02 -227 Christine A. Tetrick/Joseph Magnetico 1010 Coral Court Ms Springer presented the details of the case The notice of violation was issued on January 23, 2002. It came before the Board on March 20, 2002 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was April 19, 2002 or $25 per day. The compliance 6 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 date was on December 6, 2012, for 3,883 days of non - compliance for a total amount of $97,075, plus administrative costs. Ms. Springer indicated she spoke to Ms. Tetrick and she was applying to have the mortgage refinanced and found out about this lien. She was advised to get the shed and irrigation permitted. She removed the shed and applied for the permit, paid the fees, hired a contractor to get the irrigation system in working order and found it was too expensive. She made the decision to remove the irrigation system and the removal requirements were approved by the Building Department All the green cards were signed by Mr. Magnetico who co -owned the property at the time. She knew nothing of the case as it existed Mr Magnetico was no longer on the deed; she is now the sole property owner. Christine Ann Tetrick, 1010 Coral Court, advised that when she bought the property, she put her then boyfriend on the deed. The irrigation system had been put in when the house was purchased. She understood he was adding to the existing system when the permit was required. She did not know anything about the lien or any notifications until October when she applied for a low- income loan to refinance her mortgage. She was approved and when the title company did the title search, that was when the lien was discovered. She immediately called the City and took steps to resolve the issue. She indicated she would have to sell the home without a lien reduction and she would also lose the refinance. The house was valued at approximately $150,000 Mr Cole reviewed the timeline dating back to 2002 and remarked he was unsure how Ms. Tetrick could not know there was a lien continuing on the property. Ms. Springer reiterated all the green cards were signed by Mr Magnetico and the last one was sent in 2002 along with the green card for the lien certification Ms Tetrick advised she had no reason to perform a lien search on the property to become aware of the lien Ms. Springer also noted that when Ms Tetrick applied for all the permits and paid the monies, even though she did not follow through on any of the work, the City would not refund any money to her. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Christine A. Tetrick and Joseph Magnetico 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 March 20, 2002 to an amount of zero dollars, including administrative costs Mr Bucella seconded the motion. The vote was 3 -1. (Mr. Foot dissenting). Attorney Bridgeman suggested on the next motion there be discussion so that the motion could be passed. 7 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL December 17, 2012 Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Christine A Tetrick and Joseph Magnetico 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. Foot moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of March 20, 2002 to an amount of $634.12, including administrative costs. The motion died for lack of second Attorney Bridgeman advised if the Board could not come to a unanimous decision, the amount would remain at $97,000 and the property owner would also lose the monies paid for lien reduction. Chair Costantino passed the gavel to Mr. Foot. Motion Chair Costantino moved to table this case to the Wednesday, December 18, 2012, Code Compliance meeting when there was a full board. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Attorney Bridgeman suggested that if any of the Board members had questions on an Ordinance or suggestions for modifications, to call her office for discussion rather than discuss publically. Also, if there were questions as to why the Code Officers were citing things certain ways, to call Ms. Springer for discussion rather than have a public discussion Motion Ms. Yerzy moved to adjourn. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:46 p.m. 1 ,1, 1 ,6,,Z . (alx,t,d t--- Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 8