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Deliberate and act on a plan of action for dealing with substandard structures in the City <br />of Paris. <br />A. Spreadsheet <br />Committee members came up with 5 recommendations that will be forwarded to City <br />Council. <br />- Recommend City Council budget monies to address engineering studies, or <br />City repair of property <br />- Recommend adoption of the Flow chart <br />- Recommend adoption of the Tracking spreadsheet — prioritizing properties, <br />tracking progress, reporting status, and posting online <br />- Recommend City Attorney look at the BSC and HPC ordinance, amending the <br />BSC ordinance allowing HPC to refer already designated Historic Structures <br />to BSC for repair <br />- Recommend becoming a court of record; or get support from an existing court <br />Committee members discussed the need to react to properties that have received damage <br />due to fire. Members stated properties are being allowed to sit for long periods of time <br />before BSC gets involved. Committee members recommended BSC work closely with <br />the fire department, making structures with fire damage a priority and getting them to <br />BSC quickly in order to get them repaired. <br />There was a lengthy discussion between committee members; Kent Mcllyar, City <br />Attorney; and John Lestock, Assistant City Attorney regarding fines vs. civil penalties. <br />Mr. Lestock stated in the public, the press, the community and in this meeting there is a <br />misconception between a fine and a civil penalty. A fine is criminal in nature and can <br />only be assessed by a judge or a jury in a municipal, district, or county court of law. The <br />Building and Standards Commission can assess a civil penalty; that is not criminal and <br />it's not a fine, the ordinance is very clear it's a civil penalty as part of a Building and <br />Standards order. Civil penalties can be enforced after a civil lawsuit is filed in county or <br />district court as a part on an order from BSC. As a result of the civil penalty, a lien is <br />placed on the property, once the liens reach a certain amount, the city can place a civil <br />judgment in district or county court. Committee members discussed becoming a court <br />of record and what would be involved. John Lestock stated a court of record must be <br />enacted either by City Council or State legislature. Kent McIlyar recommended a court <br />of record, since the county courts are not taking cases seriously. <br />Motion was made by Richard Grossnickle, seconded by Don Wilson to send the list of <br />recommendations to City Council for consideration. Motion carried 8 -0. <br />B. Funding opportunities to help property owners. <br />Committee members discussed different funding opportunities to help property owners. <br />Recommendations included: <br />