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06/19/2017 MINUTESMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017 3:30 P.M. 1. Johnny Norris called the Building and Standards Commission Meeting to order at 3:30 P.M. Roll was called. A. The following members were present: Matthew Allen Sally McEwin Johnny Norris Ben Vaughan Charles Richards Joseph Scott Ken Kohls B. Staff present: Robert Talley Larry Wright Clyde Crews Stephanie Harris Debra Burge C. Others present: George Preston James Belcher 2. Approval of minutes from previous meetings. (April 17, 2017 & May 15, 2017) Motion made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Joseph Scott to approve minutes from April 17, 2017. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 Motion made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Charles Richards to approve minutes from May 15, 2017. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 3. Public Hearing to consider presentations by City of Paris Code Inspectors and owner(s) and/or lien holder(s) of the below properties who have been given notice of a violation of Article III of Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas, entitled "Substandard and Dangerous Buildings and Structures;" Article II of Chapter 17, entitled "Control of Weeds, Junk, and Other Objectionable, Unsightly, or Unsanitary Matter of Private Premises;" Chapter 1 -6 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Paris, TX: E. 534 10th SE; City Block 113, Lot 17A Owner: George Preston, 16 Clarksville, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated owner is present. Tenant is William Reed. Owner and tenant taken to court for junk and rubbish violation, appealed to county and case was dismissed. Spoke with owner and tenant numerous times about getting cleaned up, and owner stated constitutionally he cannot remove items. Rubbish and junk front, back, and sides of house. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare junk and rubbish a nuisance, remove within 30 days, or city has right to do so. George Preston; reside at 16 Clarksville St, Paris — Got onto tenant and says 90 -95% has been cleaned up. Commission questions. Q — Mr. Talley, have you looked at the property since it's been cleaned up? A — No; this is the first I've heard of it being cleaned up. Q — Ms. Harris, can you help out here? What recourse does BSC have if it's gone to court? A — Reason on dismissal was that property had been cleaned up. BSC order is civil procedure to get property cleaned up. If that happens, nothing further would need to be done. Under city ordinance, property owner must be notified. Q — Is our procedure to deal with owner and not tenant? A — We've dealt with owner and tenant. Q — In your leases, do you have an inspection clause? A — Yes. Also going to include city ordinance. Commend Mr. Preston for getting 90 -95% cleaned up. Motion was made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Joseph Scott to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried. 6 -1 Ken Kohls voted no; as Mr. Preston stated, landlord cannot go onto property without tenant's permission. Brings into question who has the right to clean up the property. A. 37 Clarksville; City Block 3, Lot 11 Owner: TMRF LLC, 508 S Church, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated property is owned by Ben Faber. City inspected and cataloged downtown buildings over one (1) story in the past year for fire safety reasons. We have concerns about the structure of this building, specifically the floors supporting someone if emergency responders had to enter the building. Looking through front window you can see a large hole in the floor. Several places where ceiling tile is missing, evidence of mold. Evidence of serious roof leaking. Plastic swimming pools on second floor to catch water. Floor is sloping on second story, beginning to sag and pull away from the wall. Building was brought to BSC 3 -4 years ago for roof repair. Owner repaired and there was no evidence of leaking after that. Appears to be leaking again. These photos are from end of February 2017. Deterioration inside from water damage. Robert Talley's recommendation: Repair roof and floor joists and wall connections within 90 days, or back to BSC. Commission questions. Q — How long has building been vacant? A — Probably at least early 90's. Q — Are the walls in danger of collapsing? A — Not sure; no exterior evidence of cracking in mortar or the bricks. No deterioration in brick walls inside either. Q — Was roof repaired or replaced? A — Both; has metal roof, but repaired/replaced some of the metal, but put white foam from parapet wall down to sheet metal. But is a flat roof, and is presently leaking. Motion made by Joseph Scott, seconded by Ben Vaughan to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 B. 1804 W Houston; Westview Addition Block A, Lot 5 & 6 Owner: James & Lacey Sykes, 1804 W Houston, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated turned in by Fire Marshal. Total burn -out. Owners boarded up on their own, were not told to do so. Roof has collapsed in on itself. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare nuisance; demo within 60 days, or city has right to do so. Commission questions. Q — What has owner said? A — Have not spoken to owner. Fire Marshal — Recommend giving 60 days because there is an active insurance investigation on this property. Q — Do we want to post -pone due to investigation? A — No, it is a safety issue due to being a total burn -out. Would recommend going with Fire Marshal recommendation of 60 days; insurance company will contact us. Q — Are we not concerned this is an arson? A — Insured is not the owner, which is why there's an investigation. Johnny Norris made a motion, seconded by Sally McEwin to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 C. 1501 W Campbell; City Block 232 -A, Lot 3 Owner: Kerry Easley, c/o B.R. Easley, 9 Hardesty Dr, Shawnee OK 74804 Robert Talley stated Paris PD turned this in to see if it can be condemned. Stated criminal activity at this property. Was occupied 3 -4 years ago. Person squatting there now gave several versions of how he "knows" the owners. Person appeared to be high at the time of these statements. Items inside are being dragged outside to potentially sell. Separation along roofline at soffit. Cigarette butts and trash inside house. Burned carpet; squatter admitted to falling asleep with a lit cigarette. High grass and rubbish in front and back yards. Owner left VM; tried calling back, but did not reach them. Utilities are cut off. Owner said his son is technically the owner, left in his VM. Said he has no idea where his is or how to contact him. Roof beginning to sag and buckle. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare nuisance, demo within 30 days, or city has right to do so. Commission questions. Q — Are there houses around this house? A — Not directly, but there are some across the street. Told person squatting there he needed to leave, and PD is keeping an eye on it. Q — Would it do any good to secure it until we can demo it? A — We could put secure orders on it. It may secure it or not. Q — If it's secured and someone goes in, does that give PD additional ammo for charges? A — If it's tagged, which it is, that's a violation. Motion was made by Sally McEwin, seconded by Joseph Scott to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 D. 73714 th NW; Colonial Addition Block 7, Lot 11 -12 -13 Owner: Nelda Melton, 737 14th NW, Paris TX 75460 Robert Talley stated been to BSC before with repair and secure orders. Evidence of repair being started. Fire Marshal contacted me that kids in neighborhood entered house and caught it on fire. What they caught on fire was highly flammable, and if the room has been enclosed, they could have died very quickly. Boards securing property have been removed. Appears since then someone has attempted to burn something again inside. Robert Talley's recommendation: Declare nuisance, demo within 30 days, or city has right to do so. Also secure within 14 days due to kids entering the house. Commission questions. Q — Can this be moved up on demo priority list? And should we leave it unsecure so it's ventilated? A — Yes, we can move it up. Will speak with Fire Marshal and Fire Chief about whether or not to secure it. Motion was made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Charles Richards to accept Robert's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 4. Code Enforcement update. Demo crew only did one (1) house in May, 564 SW 7th. More action this month with 5 properties being made a priority. Q — West Sherman, Mr. Darnell. Haven't seen any progress. A — Countdown for orders starts when letter is sent, but not more than 10 days from BSC meeting. On day one (1) after end of orders, file at courthouse. On a property this size, will have to get OK from Fire Chief due to size and amount of junk and rubbish to be removed due to cost involved. Q — 600 block of 12th SE, caught fire. Hasn't been brought to BSC. A — Will put on list. Q — S Collegiate by the Paris Trail, culverts that have been there about 10 years. A — Will contact Public Works. James Belcher; I mow some of these lots. NE 5`h. Selling drugs constantly. Q — Ms. Harris, do we know anything about Mr. Darnell's court case that's shielding him from cleaning up his property? A — No, we have no notice that he's appealed these current orders. 5. Future agenda items. 6. Adjournment. Motion was made by Ben Vaughan, seconded by Joseph Scott to adjourn the meeting at 4:39 pm. Motion carried unanimously. 7 -0 APPROVED THIS 1d1h DAY OF , 2017. )- K"V� C airman