11/6/2019 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Council Minutes of 11-6-2019 • There have been 122 referrals of property maintenance cases to law in 2019. That can cover everything from rental registration to unlicensed vehicles, vegetation or exterior house issues. The property owner will get a notice, another notice and one more notice. Those notices provide information on who to contact and when to contact. Once it comes to us there is another round of notices that begin so just because it came to law doesn't mean it's automatically getting prosecuted. Usually there is compliance after it comes to law and before getting to court, but some do end in up court. There are currently four open files pending in Rocky River and 12 pending in Mayor's Court. • The biggest problem right now are ghost corporations, which are out of state companies that have purchased properties in North Olmsted as rental properties. They simply refuse to follow the law. They will not register or maintain the properties and you cannot get ahold of anyone. It is usually a corporation that is owned by a corporation owned by another corporation that is somewhere in Texas. The City is in the process of drafting a complaint to go to court and start to peel back the layers. Unless they start operating the properties to the Code, the City will file an action enjoining them from operating here. These aren't local places, but out of state corporations mainly from Texas. Director of Finance Copfer: • No Report. Council President Jones, Committee of the Whole: The Committee of the Whole met on Tuesday, November 6, 2019 at 7:15 p.m. Present were Council members Brossard, Glassbum, Hemann, Kearney Limpert, Schumann and Williamson; Council President Jones; Mayor Kennedy, Director of Safety & Service Glauner, Director of Planning & Development Lieber and guests. • The Committee of the Whole met to receive an update on the sidewalk program and property maintenance inspections. The total number of properties inspected for the sidewalk program this year was 2,285 versus last year where 1,527 were inspected. Director Lieber noted the grinding and leveling option was a cost effective alternative to complete replacement for those blocks that could be grinded. She said most grinding and leveling contractors charge $80 to $100 per hazard with a typical $250 minimum charge. If the property owner hires the contractor while they are working on the street, the minimum charge can be waived. The way bidding was done this year also seemed to work out better for the residents. • Property maintenance inspections are in Ward IV this year. The total number of houses inspected to date are 1,446, which is about 75% of the Ward and it should be completed soon. About 231 or about 16% of the houses have received violation notices this year. This is the second time around the Wards and there seem to be fewer citations and specifically fewer serious citations. Director Lieber said she believes the initial round of sweeps took care of the more serious concerns. She also said the residents seem to have more experience and expectations of the property maintenance sweeps now that the program has been going on for several years. 2