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Minutes 03-18-13 MINUTES OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2013, 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 Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator Gary Cole, Second Vice Chair Alan Borrelli (arr. 6:49) ABSENT: Kathleen Carroll RoseMarie Yerzy I. Call to Order Chair Costantino called the meeting to order at 6:49 p.m. when a quorum was established and acknowledged. II. Approval of Agenda Motion Mr. Foot moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Cole 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. She also, 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 majority. An option was presented to the Respondents to come back when more than four members were present. There were no withdrawals. IV. New Business Case No. 12 -765 Trudevelopment, Inc. 3120 E. Atlantic Dr. Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator, reviewed the details of the case. The case came before the Board on June 20, 2012 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was June 30, 2012 or $150 per day. The compliance date was on November 30, 2012, for 152 days of non - compliance. Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL March 18, 2013 David Abbabo, 1731 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, advised he flew here from Boston and met with Melissa Dyer and stated there was no record of the fence on the computer He surmises the tenant attempted to build a fence and the City told him he had to obtain a permit, so the tenant immediately removed the fence. The pool fence was repaired and the property was cleaned. He spoke with Officer Roy when he failed the inspection and Mr. Abbabo immediately repaired the items and passed. He was told the case would be closed. Mr. Abbabo was told he would have to reapply for the Business Tax Receipt since it was December, but he would not have to pay the fee since it was just paid. He advised an associate paid the fee with cash to Ms. Dyer but no one could find a record of payment on the computer. In the interim, the lien was running on the property. Ms. Springer advised the original citation did include the fence, but the fence was removed prior to the Business Tax Receipt issue. The payment eventually was found and the payment was backdated to reflect the date the original inspection was passed. There was a second inspection done for lien reduction. The Business Tax Receipt was paid for, but since he never called for an inspection, the system showed he didn't have it, so the lien continued to run. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, David Abbabo, 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 June 20, 2012 to an amount of $2,634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Foot seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Case No. 08 -2092 Nicole Maximin- Joseph 151 Citrus Park Circle Ms. Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on July 18, 2008. It came before the Board on August 20, 2008 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was August 30, 2008 or $50 per day. The compliance date was on June 7, 2011, for 1,010 days of non - compliance. Originally the lis pendens was filed in 2008 by Washington Mutual Bank and was re -filed by JP Morgan Chase in 2010. When it was realized the property was in foreclosure, JP Morgan Chase was cited and a lien was recorded against the property. The lien in this case was satisfied on February 13, 2012, so the property is no longer in foreclosure and the lien case against the bank has been closed. 2 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL March 18, 2013 In May, 2012, the Respondent contacted Ms. Springer and inquired what needed to be completed to qualify for a lien reduction. She completed all the items to come into compliance. Wesley Findley, 8282 Emerald Avenue, Parkland, FL, advised he was the financial advisor for the Respondent, Ms. Maximin- Joseph He advised his client purchased the property in 2003 and had lived in it since that time. Unfortunately, she became ill with and left the area for rehabilitation in New York. During the time, the property had been vandalized and items were stolen. When she got better, she moved back to the home in Florida and found out there was an excessive amount of money owed on the property for liens She took care of the issues and came into compliance. While she was away from the property, it was vacant The timeframe was approximately 2007 — 2010. There was brief discussion on the securing of the property and the procedure followed in posting the property. Tanya Blass, girlfriend of the Respondent's son, advised that the medical bills were being paid by the family, but nothing else was paid because the house went into foreclosure. The respondent did not think she was going to come back because the house was going to foreclosure. The bank, however, ended up working with her to save the home. During the time frame, all the other bills were returned to sender due to no forwarding address. Chair Costantino inquired whether this HOA had a maintenance service that would come and mow the yard. Mr. Findley advised, as of last year, the maintenance company mowed the lawn. Before then, the neighbor would mow the lawn for her Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, Nicole Maximin- Joseph, 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 August 28, 2008, to an amount of $3,230.15, including administrative costs. Mr. Cole seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Case No. 10 -1661 New Urban High Ridge, LLC 3001 High Ridge Road Ms. Springer presented the details of the case. The notice of violation was issued on June 2, 2010. It came before the Board on July 21, 2010 and no one appeared. The proposed compliance date was August 20, 2010 or $150 per day. The compliance date was on March 11, 2013, for 933 days of non - compliance. 3 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL March 18, 2013 Tim Hernandez, 398 NE 6th Avenue, Delray Beach was one of the owners of the property. He distributed documentation to the Board members. He advised that in January 2005, he purchased 18 acres of property at the corner of High Ridge and Miner Road to develop into a residential community. The process was approved by the City and it was opened up for sales. Shortly thereafter, the lender froze the development funding on the property. He tried to work with the lender to reinstate the funding but they refused as the real estate market was headed in a negative direction, which put the project at a standstill. Mr. Hernandez indicated they were able to sell the north four acres to The Imagine Charter School and the rest of the site was marketed for a variety of uses to builders and industrial users. There was a private school that was interested and during the time the property was being marketed, it was being maintained. Unfortunately, the lender would not allow any of the sales to move forward. In February 2010, the loan matured and immediately thereafter, the lender filed a foreclosure suit in Palm Beach County. Under foreclosure, nothing could be done. The Notice of Violation was issued and in October 2010 the lien was recorded. Prior to that, a counterclaim was filed against SunTrust stating what they were attempting was illegal. After two years of litigation, on December 21, 2012, a settlement was reached with the lender and alternative financing was secured to pay SunTrust what was due to eliminate that action. They assigned their rights to the new lender and on December 31, 2012 began the process of putting the property into compliance. Ms. Costantino inquired why the property was not maintained sooner and Mr. Hernandez stated they tried to resolve these issues with the Bank continually, but their refusal and the fact the property was in foreclosure, did not allow them to rectify the situation. According to Ms. Springer, the lis pendens was filed on March 23, 2010. Mr. Hernandez stated that the hope was to sell the property to the adjacent charter school as they were looking to expand and then hopefully sell the remainder of the property. There was discussion on the history of the property since the owners obtained it. Ms. Springer indicated that the lien occurred after their trailer and the signs were removed. Before that time, the property looked nice. The school purchased the property in 2009 and finished building in 2010. That was when the dirt piles came and subsequently, the violation. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case and having been advised that the Respondent, New Urban High Ridge, LLC 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 July 21, 2010 to an amount of $7,634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that passed unanimously. 4 Meeting Minutes Code Lien Reduction Boynton Beach, FL March 18, 2013 V. Adjournment Motion Mr. Foot moved to adjourn. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m. ,,LeCii ( Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 5