Two Homes Ruled Unsafe, Fines Imposed
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Hearing Officer Lawrence Clifford heard two cases Monday at city hall where he imposed the fines.
The property owners will have to pay the fines if the properties are not in compliance by Dec. 17 when another hearing will be at city hall.[[In-content Ad]]One of the properties where the $1,000 fine was imposed is the home of Roland and Carolyn Safford, 1824 Sue Ave., Warsaw.
The other property where a penalty was imposed was formerly occupied by Janine Kinsey, 415 N. Cook St., who now lives at 3729 S. CR 350E, Warsaw.
Linda Shull, who lives with the Saffords, her sister and brother-in-law, spoke on behalf of the couple who were not able to attend the hearing due to health problems.
A hearing regarding the property previously was Aug. 20 when Clifford imposed a $1,000 civil penalty fine on the Saffords and postponed it for 30 days until Sept. 20. A hearing was held Monday since the family was not in compliance with cleaning their property.
The Warsaw Fire Department was called to the Safford's residence Nov. 23, 2005, due to the occupants complaining of smelling smoke.
The fire report stated the living room had an abundance of combustible materials such as boxes, paper and trash piled in front of the couch area, leaving a walk path of approximately two feet.
The Saffords were mailed a letter dated July 20, 2006, stating the home was an unsafe premise and the family had 30 days to comply with the state and building codes.
Shull attended Monday's hearing and presented a letter to Clifford and Building Commissioner Todd Slabaugh stating she has not had the time to fully clean the items since she had a stroke and had to take care of her sister who was in the hospital.
She said she cleaned up some of the items at the home with the help of her friend, but the friend went on vacation and she does not have a vehicle to clean up the other items.
Clifford ordered an interior inspection of the property for Oct. 22 at 10 a.m.
Slabaugh and Mike Wilson, assistant fire chief for the Warsaw Fire Department, will complete the inspection.
Slabaugh said he will look into the city allowing the family to use a dump truck for a one-time use to remove items from the property before the inspection.
The Warsaw building and planning department mailed a letter to Kinsey May 23 stating they had received a complaint of a possible ordinance violation on Kinsey's property.
The complaint referred to non-operating vehicles being parked in the rear of the yard, the cellar door being open allowing animals to enter the home and a broken kitchen window.
The property is currently vacant.
The city's ordinance states that no person in charge or control of any vehicle within the city, whether an owner, tenant, occupant, lessee will be allowed to have a partially dismantled, non-operating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle to remain on their property longer than 48 hours.
Slabaugh sent a letter to Kinsey Sept. 7 notifying her the non-operating vehicles needed to be taken off the property, the cellar door needed to be secured with a padlock and the broken window needed to be replaced.
The letter stated she had 30 days from receiving the letter to comply with state and city building codes.
Kinsey did not attend Monday's hearing and Slabaugh said said he looked at the property Monday before the hearing.
He said one non-operating car had been removed and two vehicles remained and the cellar door had been shut, but not padlocked.
Another hearing will be Dec. 17 at 1:30 p.m. at city hall to review the cases.
Hearing Officer Lawrence Clifford heard two cases Monday at city hall where he imposed the fines.
The property owners will have to pay the fines if the properties are not in compliance by Dec. 17 when another hearing will be at city hall.[[In-content Ad]]One of the properties where the $1,000 fine was imposed is the home of Roland and Carolyn Safford, 1824 Sue Ave., Warsaw.
The other property where a penalty was imposed was formerly occupied by Janine Kinsey, 415 N. Cook St., who now lives at 3729 S. CR 350E, Warsaw.
Linda Shull, who lives with the Saffords, her sister and brother-in-law, spoke on behalf of the couple who were not able to attend the hearing due to health problems.
A hearing regarding the property previously was Aug. 20 when Clifford imposed a $1,000 civil penalty fine on the Saffords and postponed it for 30 days until Sept. 20. A hearing was held Monday since the family was not in compliance with cleaning their property.
The Warsaw Fire Department was called to the Safford's residence Nov. 23, 2005, due to the occupants complaining of smelling smoke.
The fire report stated the living room had an abundance of combustible materials such as boxes, paper and trash piled in front of the couch area, leaving a walk path of approximately two feet.
The Saffords were mailed a letter dated July 20, 2006, stating the home was an unsafe premise and the family had 30 days to comply with the state and building codes.
Shull attended Monday's hearing and presented a letter to Clifford and Building Commissioner Todd Slabaugh stating she has not had the time to fully clean the items since she had a stroke and had to take care of her sister who was in the hospital.
She said she cleaned up some of the items at the home with the help of her friend, but the friend went on vacation and she does not have a vehicle to clean up the other items.
Clifford ordered an interior inspection of the property for Oct. 22 at 10 a.m.
Slabaugh and Mike Wilson, assistant fire chief for the Warsaw Fire Department, will complete the inspection.
Slabaugh said he will look into the city allowing the family to use a dump truck for a one-time use to remove items from the property before the inspection.
The Warsaw building and planning department mailed a letter to Kinsey May 23 stating they had received a complaint of a possible ordinance violation on Kinsey's property.
The complaint referred to non-operating vehicles being parked in the rear of the yard, the cellar door being open allowing animals to enter the home and a broken kitchen window.
The property is currently vacant.
The city's ordinance states that no person in charge or control of any vehicle within the city, whether an owner, tenant, occupant, lessee will be allowed to have a partially dismantled, non-operating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle to remain on their property longer than 48 hours.
Slabaugh sent a letter to Kinsey Sept. 7 notifying her the non-operating vehicles needed to be taken off the property, the cellar door needed to be secured with a padlock and the broken window needed to be replaced.
The letter stated she had 30 days from receiving the letter to comply with state and city building codes.
Kinsey did not attend Monday's hearing and Slabaugh said said he looked at the property Monday before the hearing.
He said one non-operating car had been removed and two vehicles remained and the cellar door had been shut, but not padlocked.
Another hearing will be Dec. 17 at 1:30 p.m. at city hall to review the cases.
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