HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-19-1984 BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE
CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, APRIL 19, 1984
1 The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond, Indiana, met in
11/ 2 regular session, April 19, 1984 at the hour of 9:00 a.m. in the Municipal Building
3 in said City. Ms. Maness presided with Mr. Brown and Ms. Silberstein present.
4 The following business was had to-wit:
5
6 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 12, 1984
7
8 Ms. Silberstein moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as received,
9 _seconded by Mr. Brown and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
10
11 APPROVAL OF CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT
12
13 Mr. Brown moved to approve claims for payment in the amount of $62,869.81, seconded
14 by Ms. Silberstein and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
15
16 TABLED ITEMS
17
18 South L Street Appraiser
19
20 The request to appoint an appraiser for right of way purchase for the South L Street
21 Extension was striken from the agenda. The Common Coumcil defeated an Ordinance
22 to provide the funding for right of way purchases and appraising fees.
23
24 Relinquishment of portion of Route 40 to City of Richmond
25
26 Ms. Maness stated this item will remain tabled until action is taken by the State of
27 Indiana on a letter stating provisions for the acceptance by the City.
28
29 Removal of Flashers on Chester Boulevard and Crestdate Drive
30
31 Traffic Captain Wogoman presented the following letter to the Board members:
32
33 We are recinding our request to remove the signals at the School Crossing
34 on U.S. 27 North.
35
36 /s/ Dan Wogoman, Captain
37 Traffic Safety Division
38
39 Ms. Maness asked Captain Wogoman is the state was still going to remove the flashers.
40 Captain Wogoman stated he had met with Mr. Tim Jackson of the Richmond Community
41 Schools and Mr. Jackson will confer with the State to determine the future of the
42 signals.
43
iv' Ms. Maness stated the Board will strike the original request to remove the flashers
45 from the agenda and will take no formal action, but will pursue the matter and
46 find out the results of the conference with the schools and the State.
47
48 Approval to use North 7th Street parking lot for Farmer's Market
49
50 The request of Charlie Springer to use the North 7th Street Parking lot to hold
51 the Farmer's Market was brought from the table for consideration. _ City Attorney
52 Barden stated he had gone over the Agreement signed by vendors regarding
53 liability and clean up of the area and felt with the addition of a signature for
54 the members of the Board of Works the Agreement was satisfactory.
55
56 Ms. Silberstein moved to approve the request to hold the Farmers Market on the
57 North 7th Street Parking starting on June 30, 1984 until October 27, 1984 from
58 dawn until noon on Saturday mornings, seconded by Mr. Brown and on unanimous
59 voice vote the motion was carried.
60
61 911 Concept
62
63 Ms. Maness stated the Common Council will be meeting as a Committee of the Whole and
64 will discuss the 911 Concept. This meeting will be on May 2, 1984.
65
94
Board of Works Minutes Cont'd
April 19, 1984
Page 2
1 COMMITTEE REPORTS
2
3 Wrecker Service
4
5 Mr. Barden stated that he, Mr. Brown, Jim Ramey and Chief Nimitz had met to establish
6 guidelines for wrecker service in the City. They have approximately thirty-five (35)
7 points they would like to see incorporated into an Ordinance. Mr. Barden is
8 working on the Ordinance and it will be submitted to the Committee for approval to -be
9 taken to the Common Council
10
11 DEPARTMENT REQUESTS
12
13 Request of City Attorney to Dispose of Surplus Books
14
15 Mr. Barden presented a request to the Board of Works to dispose of surplus and
16 obsolete books in his office. He requested the Board to declare these obsolete and
17 worthless and authorize him to donate them to other departments, the library or
18 to dispose of them.
19
20 Ms. Silberstein moved to declare the duplicate and surplus books in the City Attorney's
21 Office obsolete and worthless and authorize the City Attorney to either donate the
22 books to those interested or otherwise dispose of them, seconded by Mr. Brown and
23 on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
24
25 Fire Department Monthly Report
26
27 Fire Chief Bosell presented the monthly report from the Fire Department to the
28 Board of Works. Chief Bosell noted the fire loss was $97,815.40.
29
30 Mr. Brown moved to accept and file the Fire Department Monthly Report, seconded by
31 Ms. Silberstein and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
32
33 Presentation of Plaque to William Meinsen-Retiring Firefighter
34
35 Chief Bosell introduced William Meinsen to the Board of Works and presented Mr. Meinsen
36 a plaque in gratitude for his many years of service to the City of Richmond on the
37 Richmond Fire Department. The members of the Board of Works extended their best
38 wishes to Mr. Meinsen and thanked him for his loyal service to the City.
39
40 Request to Reset Bid Date for Lubricants for Public Works Department
41
42 Due to a problem with the legal advertisement, it was requested that the bid date for
43 lubricants for the Public Works Department be reset to May 10, 1984 at 9:00 a.m.
44 Ms. Silberstein moved to reset the bid date for lubricants per specifications from
45 April 26, 1984 to May 10, 1984 at 9:00 a.m. , seconded by Mr. Brown and on unanimous
46 voice vote the motion was carried.
47
48 Temporary Sewer Connection of Mr. Richard Gabriel - Public Works
49
50 Mr. Barden explained to the Board of Works that Mr. Gabriel was in breach of the
51 agreement for a temporary sewer connection granted to him by the Board of Works.
52 The plans and specifications were not submitted by April 1, 1984 as set out in the
53 original agreement, but Mr. Gabriel has since submitted alternative arrangements.
54111
55 Mr. Barden and Mr. Willis will be meeting with Mr. Gabriel today regarding the
56 sewer connection at the Kroger Mall and they will report back to the Board of Works.
57
58 Quotes for Lawn Service for Municipal Building Board of Works
59
60 Ms. Maness explained to the Board that the lawn at the Municipal was in need of attention
61 and the Park Department was understaffed and unable to take care of the seeding and
62 fertilizing necessary to bring portions of the lawn back to good condition. Mr. McBride
63 had received quotes from several lawn services and the quote received from the Greenskeeper,
64 Inc was the lowest and best. The quote includes three treatments at $750.00 total and
65 seeding and verticut on the south and west aide of the building for $276.00.
Board of Works Minutes Cont'd
April 19, 1984
Page 3
1 Ms. Silberstein moved to accept the quote of the Greenskeeper, Inc. for treatment
2 and seeding of a portion of the Municipal Building lawn, seconded by Mr. Brown
3 and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
4
5 PUBLIC COMMENT
6
7 Request of Lions Club for Candy for Cancer Day - April 28, 1984
8
9 Mr. Karl Reese Jr. , a member of the Lions Club and Chairman of Candy for Cancer
10 day requested approval of the Board of Works to solicit contributions in exchange
11 for candy on the Downtown Promenade in front of Knollenberg's Department Store on
12 April 28, 1984. The Park Board has approved the solitication on the Promenade.
13
14 Ms. Silberstein moved to approve the request of the Lions Club to solicit
15 contributions in exchange for candy on April 28, 1984 on the Downtown Promenade,
16 seconded by Mr. Brown and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
17
18 Request of Ralph Taylor for Preliminary Authority for an Agreement for Curb
19 Improvement at 648 South H Street
20
21 Mr. Taylor, manager of the Whistle Stop, 648 South H Street, requested the Board
22 to authorize the repair and improvement of a section of curb along the right of
23 way in front of his business. This curb line is being destroyed by the large
24 trucks at the business across the street. Mr. Taylor will reimburse the City
25 for materials used in this repair.
26
111 27 Mr. Barden stated the Board can give him authority to draw up an Agreement with
28 Mr. Taylor which will be submitted to the Board for their final approval.
29
30 Mr. Brown moved to approve the request for preliminary authority for an agreement
31 to be approved by the Board, seconded by Ms. Silberstein and on unanimous voice
32 vote the motion was carried.
33
34 DEPARTMENT HEAD COMMENTS
35
36 Statement regarding Unpaid Ordinance Violation Tickets - City Attorney
37
38 Mr. Barden stated letters are being sent to persons with unpaid tickets over three
39 (3) months in age. He urged persons to pay these fines while the cost is still
40 reasonable, since the City will seek Court enforcement and the cost of the Court
41 will then be added to the total fine. Mr. Barden stated there are approximately
42 $600.00 worth of unpaid fines from the month of January, 1984.
43
44 Disclosure Statements of Jane Brookbank, Terry Whitesell and Joanne Tiano
45
46 City Clerk Mary Merchanthouse presented for the record Disclosure Statements
47 regarding possible Conflicts of Interest for small repetitive purchases by the
48 different City Departments for 1984 for Jane Brookbank - Brookbank Chevrolet,
49 Terry Whitesell - Wayne Division and Joanne Tiano - Hamilton Harris. These
50 statements have been filed with the State Board of Accounts and the County Clerk's
51 Office per State Statute.
52
53 Progress Report on Street Lighting - Robert Hankosky
54
55 Mr. Robert Hankosky of Richmond Power & Light reported that the conversion of
56 Street Lights had been completed on West Main Street from First to Fifth Street.
57 The lights have also been installed from Straightline to Boston Pike.
58
59 Mr. Hankosky told the Board that there will possibly be some dark time during
60 the construction of the Bridge on North J Street and New Paris Pike since RP&L
61 will be removing and installing lights during the construction period. This
62 will take around fifty (50) working days to complete the project.
63
64 Grant Request Approval for Information and Referral - Clerk's Office
65
66 Mary Merchanthouse presented a request to the Board for $4000. 00 in Title III
cG.
Board of Works Minutes Cont'd
April 19, 1984
Page 4
1 Funds throughthe Older American's Act to help fund the Information and Referral
2 Services located in the Clerk's Office and a part of the Office of Human and
3 Enviromental Information and Referral Services. The matching portion of this
4 grant will be furnished by the Clerk's Office and private funding.
5
6 Ms. Silberstein moved to approve and sign the Grant Request for Title III Funds
7 for Information and Referral, seconded by Mr. Brown and on unanimous voice vote
8 the motion was carried.
9
10 Repair of Ramp on Interstate 70
11
12 Captain Wogoman told the Board that westbound entrance ramp from U.S. 40 to I-70
13 was closed for repairs and could cause some traffic confusion in the area.
14
15 ADJOURNMENT
16
17 There being no further business on a motion duly made seconded and passed the
18 regular meeting of the Board of Works and Safety was adjourned. until 10:00 A.M.
19 at which time there will be a continuation of a Public Hearing on an Unsafe
20 Building at 321 N.W. E Street.
21
22
23
24 UNSAFE BUILDING HEARING - 321 N.W. E Street
25
26 The Board of Public Works and Safety with Ms. Maness presiding and Mr. Brown and
27 Ms. Silberstein in attendance met at the hour of 10:00 A.M. , April 19, 1984 for
28 the purpose of continuing the hearing on an unsafe building at 321 N.W. E Street,
29 Richmond. Such property belonging to Mrs. Rhonda Lawrence, Contract Purchaser.
30
31 The hearing was conducted by Ms. Maness pursuant to the Unsafe Building Ordinance.
32
33 The Clerk of the Board administered the Oath to Mr. Bronston to give testimony
34 for the Department of Community and Economic Development. Mr. Bronston stated
35 that he, Martel Winburn of the Health Department and Curtis Hedgecock, Building
36 Inspector with the cooperation of Mrs. Lawrence had inspected the dwelling at 321
37 N.W. E Street on April 12, 1984.
38
39 Ms. Bronston presented the following report on conditions of the property and
40 recommendation on an Order modification on the property:
41
42 As a result of the inspection, the following conditions were found to exist_:
43
44 1) Sanitary facilities
45 a) Richmond Sanitary District verified that this property has never
46 received a Sanitary User Fee billing.
47 b) Indiana-American Water Co. Inc. - Richmond District verified that this
48 property has not received 'a billing since May of 1982.
49 c) Richmond Gas Corporation verified that the gas service to this property
50 has not been on since May of 1983.
51
52 Due to the fact that the utilities that service this property have not been on for
53 a considerable period of time, and were not on at the time of the inspection, I
54 was not able to determine to what extent the sanitary facilities comply with the
55 City of Richmond Housing Code. However Section 151.10, Sanitary Facilities,
111
56 of the Housing Code does provide that no person be allowed to occupy a dwelling
57 unless a dwelling is serviced by such utilities and that all sinks, showers, basins,
58 lavatories, water pipes, water closets, catch basins, and similar devices be
59 properly installed and good operating order.
60
61 2) Heating facilities
62 a) A gas space heater is located in the middle downstairs dining room.
63 b) A vent pipe to this heater was not properly sealed, which may allow
64 the escape of fumes and represents a possible health or fire hazard.
65 c) Vent pipe to heater is located too close to wall which presents a possible
7%
Board of Works Minutes Cont'd
' April 19, 1984
Page 5
1 fire hazard.
111 2 d) No shutoff valve on space heater as required. Richmond Gas Corporation
3 verified that the gas service to this property has not been on since
4 May of 1983.
5 e) The present gas space heater is not of sufficient size to comply with
6 the requirements of Section 151.11 of the Housing Code which requires
7 that every dwelling have heating facilities that are capable of
8 safely and adequately heating all habitable rooms contained therein
9 to a temperature of at least 70° when the outside temperature is -10°F.
10
11 3) Electrical facilities
12 a) This house was serviced by a 110 volt line. Richmond Power & Light
13 verified that the service to this dwelling was disconnected June of
14 1983 because of the poor and deteriorated condition of the service
15 entrance cable.
16 b) Knob and tube wiring exposed in basement of dwelling --outdated and
17 dangerous.
18 The electrical system in this dwelling is outdated and presents a fire
19 hazard, and does not meet the provisions of Chapter 151.12 of the
20 Housing Code of the City of Richmond.
21
22 4) General Requirements and Maintenance
23 a) In the interior of the dwelling there was accumulation of old clothes,
24 debris and other combustible materials that presents a potential
25 fire hazard and health hazard as described in letter from Environmental
26 Health Division.
27
78 I recomment that the Order be modified to read as follows:
29
30 That the dwelling is an unsafe building as defined in Chapter 98 Unsafe
31 Building of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Richmond and that it not
32 be occupied until the following is accomplished:
33
34 1) That the sanitary facilities be inspected by a licensed plumber and be
35 made to meet the minimum code requirements established in Building Code
36 and Housing Code of the City of Richmond.
37 2) That the heating facilities be inspected by a heating contractor and be
38 made to meet the minimum code requirements as established in the Building
39 Code and Housing Code of the City of Richmond.
40 3) That the electrical system be inspected by an Electrical Contractor and be
41 made to meet the minimum code requirememts as established in the Building
42 Code and Housing Code of the City of Richmond.
43 4) That the interior of the dwelling be inspected by Environmental Health
44 Division of Wayne County Health Department to assure that it in no longer
45 in violation of the public health laws.
46 5) That the ordered inspections be made and all required work be completed
47 by July 1, 1984.
48 6) That the outbuilding be wrecked and removed by May 15, 1984.
49
50 /s/ John D. Bronston
51 Bldg. & Zoning Administrator
52
53 The Clerk of the Board administered the Oath to Mr. Winburn of the Environmental
54 Health Division of the Wayne County Health Depattment to give testimony regarding
55 the housing hygiene investigation of the property at 321 N.W. E Street.
56
57 Mr. Winburn stated that Mrs. Lawrence has made a good ernest effort to clean up
58 the premises, but that this is difficult to do with no utilities at this property.
59 Mr. Winburn further stated that he is willing to work with agencies to assist Mra.
60 Lawrence to get the dwelling in suitable condition.
61
62 The dwelling still is considered unfit for human habitation and cannot be occupied.
63 Mr. Winburn stated that with community help the unsanitary conditions could be
64 corrected and she would no longer be in violation of the Public Health Laws.
65
Board of Works Minutes Cont'd
April 19, 1984
Page 6
1 The Clerk of the Board administered the Oath to Mrs. Lawrence to give testimony as
2 the owner of record, Contract Purchaser.
3
4 Mrs. Lawrence stated she had cleaned the property and sprayed the property. 111
5 She has contacted legal help through the Legal Services Organization and wants
6 to have the windows replaced that were broken by the Police on entry to the
7 dwelling and would like to have the windows broken by juveniles in the area also
8 replaced.
9
10 Ms. Maness stated the Board would follow up on the broken windows.
11
12 Ms. Silberstein asked Mr. Bronston regarding the structural condition of the property.
13 Mr. Bronston stated the structural condition is still sound but is deteriorating
14 with the lack of utilities to the structure.
15
16 Ms. Maness stated she does not want to see the structure demolished and offered
17 assistance to Mr. Winburn in seeking agency help for Mrs. Lawrence.
18
19 Ms. Silberstein asked Mr. John Sayre when the property was purchased by Mrs. Lawrence.
20
21 The Clerk of the Board administered the Oath to Mr. Sayre, Attorney at Law,
22 representing the estate of Lena Watkins. Mr. Sayre told the Board that the property
23 had been sold on October 19, 1979 to Mrs. Lawrence.
24
25 Ms. Silberstein commented on the fact that the date of July 1, 1984 in the modified
26 order would take some prompt serious effort to be met. Mr. Bronston told the Board
27 that this Order could be modified again by the Board if they feel that progress is
28 being made to meet the recommendations in the Order. Ms. Maness requested Mr.
29 Bronston to make a report back to the Board at their meeting the third week in
30 June regarding the status of the recommendations.
31
32 Ms. Silberstein moved to accept the Order as modified not to be occupied until
33 the six (6) recommendations in the modification are accomplished, seconded by Mr.
34 Brown and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried.
35
36 There being no further business, on a motion duly made, seconded and passed the
37 Public Hearing on an Unsafe Building at 321 N.W. E Street was adjourned.
38
39
40 Cathy A. Maness
41 President
42
43 ATTEST: Mary Merchanthouse
44 Clerk of the Board
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65