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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-01-2018 Deliquent AccountsOFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS ASSESSMENT HEARING OCTOBER 1, 2018 The following are the minutes for the Assessment Hearing meeting of the City Council held at 6:45 PM on Monday October 1, 2018 in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 590 40th Avenue N.E., Columbia Heights, Minnesota 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Schmitt called the meeting to order at 6:47 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Schmitt, Councilmembers Williams, Murzyn, Jr., and Novitsky Absent: Councilmember Buesgens Also Present: Walt Fehst; City Manager, Kevin Hansen; Public Works Director, Kathy Young; Assistant City Engineer, Barb Thomas; Assessing Clerk, Kelli Bourgeois; Human Resources Director /Assistant City Manager, Jackie Zillmer; Assistant Finance Director, Matt Markham; Police Captain, and Katie Bruno; City Clerk /Council Secretary 3. SPECIAL ASSESSMENT LEVY HEARING: Delinquent Accounts Identified with the Following Project Numbers: P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -001 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -002 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -003 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -004 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -005 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -006 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -007 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -008 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -009 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -010 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -011 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -012 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -013 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -014 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -015 a. Presentation of Information by Staff Kevin Hansen Public Works Director explained that the terms of the assessments are either one year or ten years, based on the dollar amount of the assessment. Jackie Zillmer, Assistant Finance Director explained the assessments are for the following city services; utility bills, weed cutting, tree removal, and nuisance /hazard abatements. Zillmer clarified that delinquent utility bills are charged 7% interest on any outstanding balance, once assessed the interest rate will be 5 %. b. Questions and Comments from City Council and the Public Lyndsey Malloy, representing her parents; Thomas and Julie Carter -1137 37th Ave NE requested to dispute the charges for a recent water main repair, at her parents' home. A letter outlining the concerns was presented to the council. The Carter's were charged approximately $16,000 for a water main break that occurred underneath their neighbor's garage. Malloy was concerned that the City hired a contractor without getting input from the residents. Malloy commented that neighbors were charged significantly less than the Carters. Hansen explained to Malloy that she could object to the assessment, and work with their attorney. The Carters signed the letter of dispute. (Attached.) c. Recommended Motions: Motion by Councilmember Murzyn, Jr., seconded by Councilmember Novitsky to close the Public Hearing and waive reading of Resolution 2018 -80 there being ample copies available to the public. All Ayes, Motion Carried. Motion by Councilmember Murzyn, Jr., seconded by Councilmember Novitsky to adopt Resolution 2018 -80 being a resolution to adopt an assessment roll and levy a special assessment for delinquent accounts, with a 5% interest rate. All Ayes, Motion Carried. S. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 7:11 p.m. : G�a &wtc- Respectively Submitted, Katie Bruno, Council Secretary /City Clerk Resolution No. 2018 -80 A resolution of the City Council for the City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, adopt an assessment roll and levy a special assessment for delinquent accounts. WHEREAS, one or more services required by city ordinance, including water, sewer, refuse, weedcutting, tree removal, stop box repair /replacement and abatement of nuisance /hazardous conditions, and numbered as projects P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -001 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -002 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -003 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -004 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -005 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -006 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -007 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -008 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -009 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -010 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -011 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -012 P.I.R. 2018- MS -30 -013 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -014 have been provided to and benefited the properties listed in the assessment roll below; and, WHEREAS, the charges to said properties for said services are unpaid and delinquent; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, met at 6:45 p.m. on the 1st day of October 2018 in the City Council Chamber 590 40th Avenue N.E. Columbia Heights, Minnesota, being the time and place set when and where all persons interested could appear and be heard by the Council with respect to the benefits and cost of providing the services described below, a notice of such hearing having been heretofore duly published as required by law, and a notice mailed to each property owner of record, stating the proposed amount of the assessment; therefore, Now, therefore, in accordance with all ordinances and regulations of the City of Columbia Heights, the City Council of the City of Columbia Heights makes the following: ORDER OF COUNCIL BE IT RESOLVED by the City of Columbia Heights as follows: Section 1. That this Council does hereby adopt the assessment roll below known and described as "Assessment Roll for 2018 Delinquent Accounts (A) ", numbered as P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -001 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -002 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -003 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -004 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -005 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -006 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -007 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -008 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -009 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -010 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -011 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -012 P.I.R. 2018- MS -30 -013 P.I.R. 2018 -MS -30 -014 Section 2. That this Council hereby finds and determines that each of the parcels of land enumerated in the assessment roll was and is especially benefited by the services provided. The Council further finds and determines that the proper cost of these services to be especially assessed against each parcel of land is the amount of unpaid delinquent charges for said services. Section 3. That said assessments may be paid in part or in full without interest on or before November 14, 2018. Section 4. Payments will be accepted at Columbia Heights City Hall, 590 40th Avenue N.E. Columbia Heights, Minnesota, on or before November 14, 2018. Any amount unpaid after November 14, 2018, will be certified to the Anoka County Auditor for collection with the real estate taxes as a special assessment beginning with the taxes payable in the year 2019. The annual principal installments, together with 4.5% interest are due and payable with the real estate taxes for a period of one year or less. Section 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon passage. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the above eligibility standard is effective October 1, 2018 To whomever this may concern: Several different factors come into play when discussing the services provided to 1131 37th Avenue NE Columbia Heights, MN 55421 between the dates of January 2018 and February 2018. 1) Thomas and Julie Carter were never given a choice, They were simply told the repairs would be made and they would be billed for the work at a later date and with no one to advocate for them. They assumed they had no choice and this was proper procedure and the city was just following protocol. 2) City officials Appointed Valley Rich incorporated to repair the water main break and replace pipes however they never presented Julie and Thomas Carter with any proposals. They were told that they'd be without water for the weekend and work was going to begin that following Monday with no other information such as Cost, insurance or warranties from the city or contractors hired prior to work commencing and then the City of Columbia helghts Eventually sent Thomas and Julie Carter a Bill totaling close to $25,000, Which was later revised to over $16,000. * ** *Kevin Hanson States in his city council letter that These types of repairs are *publicly bid and those proposals are to be extended to the homeowners. It is then up to the homeowner if they want to proceed or deny. *Lauren mcclanahan never extended any proposals to Thomas and Julie Carter. * * * * * * ** There have also been similar cases to this one, around this area that some homeowners have experienced and I feel these homeowners are being strong armed into decisions that they're not equipped to make without advocacy. * * * * * ** *There was never an agreement signed by the homeowners agreeing to costs of services and /or choice of Company or materials. * * * * ** *The only thing that the city legally had a right to do without homeowner consent was shut off the water. * * * * * * ** The homeowners were home and available throughout this entire time. Had known they had the option to hire their own contractor, They would have hired their Son in law to contract the saving them thousands of dollars. There was A particular day that the homeowners recall a laborer or sub of Valley rich incorporated Expressing to them and I quote ' between you and me, you shouldn't Be held responsible for covering costs of this repair due to the location of the break. The city should be paying for this.' 2) Who determined the origin of the break or leak? * * * * ** *Was it a city official from public works or was It Valley rich incorporated? * * * * * ** The break happened under the garage or under the house West of 1131 37th Avenue right next door (1125) That being said.... Who authorized this garage to built or this home to be moved here if there was In fact water lines under ground. * * * * * ** *Thomas and Julie Are responsible homeowners and had they noticed previous leaking or flooding on their property they would have taken proper steps to repair it. They could have foreseen any problems but they Were not able to maintain responsibility of overseeing any leaks that may have occurred over the course of said time seeing ad the leaks were not on their property. Copy of easement? 3) Looking back at the final invoices from Valley rich I'm noticing double charges For a equipment and trailers used Dated on the same day on both in voices titled 'Hole A' and 'Hole B', costs of sub contractors that Valley Rich was hired to perform that they then sub Contracted out for resulting in double billing that they then charged the city of Columbia Heights for that is now the responsibility of Thomas and Julie Carter and als charging an upwards of $3,000 for one days worth of laborl? 4) The average cost of a water main break repair including Replacing lines should cost usually No less than $800 and usually no more than $3,000- $4,000? * * * * ** There seems to be an ethical breach of error on somebody's part whether it was Intentional or unintentional but Julie and Thomas Carter are not equipped financially to cover this cost, should they be held responsible to pay for somebody else's error not to mention having to repair damages To their own driveway and their landscaping that was destroyed during the process of these repairs. The homeowners son in law is a contractor For the state of Minnesota. * * ** *why are there so many edits to the invoices? 4) I'd also like to look at is whether this was an act of God or not? Julie and Thomas's insurance company denied covering the cost of repairs however it seems to me that because of the fridge n freezing temperatures that occurred in Minnesota during this time And that it even being stated in the news that pipes were bursting all over the city ..... Are extreme freezing temperatures considered an act of God, ultimately resulting in these pipes breaking and bursting? Therefore shouldn't the insurance company should cover some if not all of the cost to repair this. * * ** I spoke to Valley rich incorporated to request original documents of the original invoice totaling upwards of $25000 when I mentioned this address on the service dates their reception expressed an annoyance of this project and how dealing with Columbia Heights with difficult and they preferred not to continue business with them in the future due to the haggling of wording or pricing? The receptionist asked for my email which I then gave her and she said she would send over any and all documentation. A couple hours later I received an email from her stating that she was told by the owner of Valley rich incorporated that they are not allowed to send the original invoices. I then asked for his contact information. She gave It to me and I emalled him again asking for original invoicing and a detailed summary of the work And where the break took place and he refused to provide that into without permission from Columbia Heights. I asked if he had a non disclosure agreement with the city of Columbia Heights and he said no. I expressed that it is the homeowner that he provided service for that is requesting the documentation and he still refused. At that time I cut off communication. * * * * ** *Why would Columbia Heights public works contract out to a plumbing service that originates out of Chaska Minnesota, That apparently just contracts all of their work out to other plumbing companies and up charging 40 to 50% for their services and expecting homeowners to cover all costs of a company that clearly takes advantage of situations. 5) Back in 2005 Columbia Heights submitted a cleaning and lining program to clean and line 3,000 lineal feet of piping and water mains from the alley of 37th Avenue to 39th & Polk . * * * ** Question as are..... Were they replacing lines? If so, were they using new or used parts for that and could that have been one of the factors that came into play of the main breaking in January 2018? Did they replace everything with whole, brand new parts or were they repairing old mains with new parts or vise verse? Why was the budget for all of those repairs in that area less than the cost of this minor repair? Is there a detailed summary of work for The work that took place On the water mains and 2005? * * ** Thomas and Julie Carter are going to submit a request for an 'FOIA' ( Freedom of information act) For any and all documents pertaining to this matter. Including but not limited to..... *A detailed summary of work provided *Invoices from all external sources used - Sub contractors - Materials purchased - Equipment used - Bank statements proving payments from Columbia Heights public works to Valley Rich Incorporated for this project. - A detailed summary Of the origin /location of the break /leak. - Any sign documents pertaining to this matter agreeing to cost and for work to commence for /from any and all parties. - A detailed summary of the Services provided and materials used dated back in 2005. - Insurances from the contractors providing services and their warranties. - Permits for 1125 37"1 Ave. - Enforcements to the property owners of 1125 to demo anything not permitted to stand Lauren McClanahan returned my phone call on September 4th. Expressed the issues and the concerns and also the process that Thomas and Julie Carter are taking on disputing these charges and the only thing he said was 'I'd be more than happy to sit down with you and Thomas and Julie Carter and your representation along with the representation of Columbia Heights to get to the bottom of this matter." * * * ** The city of Columbia Heights has a cleaning and lining project presently existing once again. It is stated that the Alley of 37th Avenue to 39th and Polk repairs are to commence in 2020 * * * ** There is another homeowner on the same block as Julie & Thomas Carter. The same thing happened to her and the city of Columbia heights sent her a bell for $7000 And Valley rich Incorporated performed those services as well. * * * ** Aside from Jacob Malloy bidding out this work I've submitted a few inquiries about the circumstances that took place in January 2018 at 1131 37th Avenue northeast and a few of the "that I've gotten back on the ballpark of $3500 —$5500 to repair. What are we missing? The city violated protocol when they didn't provide Thomas and Julie Carter the proper steps and failed to inform them their rights as a homeowner in Columbia Heights. No documentation was agreed to or signed by Thomas and Julie Carter therefore the bill sent to Thomas and Julie Carter for over $16000 which is stated due by November 15th 2018 Will be disputed and Thomas and Julie Carter would like to counter any charges that they occurred to repair damages to their property, to cover costs of attorneys and /or court fees and also time spent investigating this matter and time spent for pain and suffering for the fact that they are taking the steps to refinance their home and possibly pull out a second mortgage and Thomas Carter reconsidered his retirement Until this bill is paid offl? Also considering the other home owners of that this has happened to this could alternately result in a class action lawsuit against the city of Columbia Heights public works department and their violation of protocols. To help the city recover cover cost paid to Valley Rich Inc..... The Home owners insurance company should be held responsible for at least the cost of material and /or equipment rental if the break did happen on Thomas in Julie's property. Valley rich incorporated needs to send over a detailed summary of the work provided and include mistakes that were made on their part resulting in the extensive cost of services. Also the previous repairs to these lines back in 2005 could have caused the break resulting in the flooding of the neighboring basement. )C-f-ic CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS ASSESSMENT HEARING 2018 DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS City Council Chamber Monday, October 1, 2018 @ 6:45 p.m. ATTENDANCE LIST NAME (Please Print) ADDRESS TELEPHONE NO. �J Attendance Register