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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter - 2/10/1998 "Jt _..... : Law Offices of YAKES, BAUER, KINDT & PHILLIPS, S.C. POST OFFICE BOX 1338 OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN 54902-1338 FAX (920) 231-5426 APPlETON-NEENAH (920) 722-5810 OSHKOSH (920) 231-1500 f~ February 10, 1998..,. '\.~~ GARY R. YAKES JOSEPH N. BAUER CHRISTOPHER R. KINDT ANDREW J. PHilLIPS SUZANNE M. BREYER MICHAEL D, GOLDEN Mr. Allyn Dannhoff Chief Building Inspector City of Oshkosh 215 Church Avenue' Oshkosh, WI 54901 1 .:~ '1'':'',:'''; 0 ;... ~.~. j : i\d ~:r~~T nr ,~ ~ ' ] ; ".; _' ;".: i.) C\;: E L(: ? 1\'1 E :'.rr RE: Repairs and Improvements to the Frontenac and Washington Avenue Properties owned by Brinkman Associates Dear Mr. Dannhoff: I am in receipt of the letter from your office dated January 30, 1998 but received by our client on February 6, 1998 which includes a copy of a letter you sent to our clients on January 10, 1995 in reference to the Washington building. Specifically, this letter refers to correction notices dated July 31, 1992 and December 15, 1992 which I will review in this letter along with other matters. Consequently, in reply to both letters, we submit to you the following: 1. Under our settlement with the City of Oshkosh as outlined in my letter of January 8, 1998 and approved by the City Attorney on January 15, 1998 it is agreed that the window corrections to both the Frontenac and Washington buildings will be completed by June 30, 1998. This letter applies to both buildings. The screens will be installed as soon as possible after the windows are completed, also in accordance with our settlement agreement. As you know, the prototype was inspected on February 6, 1998 and approved except for filling in three holes and some other minor miscellaneous patching which will be taken care of by our contractor. The windows in question were reviewed with your department and our architect in July, October and November as well as February as the result of work done by our clients' staff in order to meet the requirements of the correction notice which you issued. Contrary to the newspaper reports, our clients have not been sitting on their hands in this regard. Our clients have and will continue the repairs in accordance with our agreement to both the Frontenac and Washington buildings. 2. As to the unit" 1 situation in the Washington building, it is our clients' intent to allow that apartment to remain vacant until further notice to you in accordance with our prior agreement. Consequently, before any action is taken to re-rent this apartment, your office will be contacted in order to inspect the repairs noted in your correction notice. Until that time, the unit will remain vacant. 141 N. SAWYER STREET OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN 54901 -. ... .-~ Mr. Allyn Dannhoff Page Two February 10, 1998 3. As to unit 4 in the Washington building, a contractor has been hired to perform the resurfacing of the tub and thatwork is schedul~d to be done on February 26, 1998. It requires up to six hours to complete the work and three days before the surface is cured sufficiently to permit water in the tub. Consequently, the tub will be ready for inspection after March 3, 1998. I will ask my clients to contact you for an inspection of this item. 4. Referring to your letter of January 10, 1995 the mechanical vents in apartment number 1 in the Washington building were present at the time of your inspection and confirmed on August 3, 1992. However. this apartment is not being rented at the present time as noted in comment 2, above. 5. The kitchen sink in apartment number 1 of the Washington building which had a leak at the waste pipe was repaired on August 4, 1992. 6. The debris of the tenant in the ventilation shaft. of apartment number 1 was removed on August 3, 1992. 7. In regard to item number 1 of correction notice issued on December 15, 1992 a new boiler was installed in the Washington building. 8. Our clients' architect, James Larson, as confirmed by the contractor, inspected the prototype window units with you on February 6, 1998 and those prototypes were approved subject to the holes under the three (3) sashes which the contractor has already begun to repair as noted in item number 1, above. Our architect has informed us that we may proceed with work on the other windows in accordance with the work done on the prototype. Our clients will instruct their contractors to do so in order to meet the deadline noted in item number 1, above. 9. As you probably know, the Frontenac repairs were part of a planned restoration which was commenced by our clients in May of 1997. There was a newspaper article in the Oshkosh Northwestern at that time which announced the repairs and substantial repairs have been installed on both the Frontenac and Washington buildings. We have previously provided the City Attorney with a detailed list of all of the improvements that have been made to both buildings. The total is approximately $200,000.00 for the Frontenac alone and an additional $106,000.00 for the Washington building. Consequently, the inference contained in some quotes from representatives of your department that nothing has been done to our clients' properties over the years, simply is not true. Furthermore, the citations which were issued in November were issued in face of the fact that our clients, through their architect, was negotiating with you in regard to the window problem even though a solution had not been found which was acceptable to you. Consequently, " - . -. .- ... Mr. Allyn Dannhoff Page Three February 10, 1998 I was shocked to receive the citations. Under the circumstances, we probably had a basis to contest the citations but rather than spend our clients' money in court, we advised them to continue with their restoration plans and to satisfy your correction notices. I do not think our clients have been treated fairly in the newspaper by the representative of your department. Further, whenever an inspection is made of our clients' property, it always seems that a newspaper reporter is around. You will notice that neither our clients or I have made any comment to the newspaper with respect to what has gone on over the last two months. I feel there is no need to inflame the situation by getting into a public brawl in the newspaper over this matter. Of course, your department can conduct itself as it wishes but having a newspaper reporter follow your inspector around on our clients' property flies in the face of the spirit of cooperation with which our clients' entered this settlement. If representatives of your department wish to go to the newspaper to vent their feelings, there is nothing we can do but it seems to me the City of Oshkosh should be more responsible than to allow an employee to speak for the City while venting his personal feelings as to our clients' efforts to comply with the law. Allyn, my comments in this regard do not apply to you and I appreciate your honesty and candor in the most recent newspaper article which described the repairs our clients intend to make. Frankly, the City should have a policy that public statements to the press should only be made through the department head so that facts and not personal feelings can be brought out. If you would like to discuss the specific detailed nature of our complaint in this regard, I would be more than happy to do so. I will be on vacation from February 12 through February 21st, but I would be happy to meet with you after that. 11. One last item, since our clients have put a new roof on at the Frontenac as well as the repair of the windows in unit number 309D, our clients would like to re-rent this unit but we will need to have your Order lifted concerning the occupancy of this unit. I would appreciate it if you would inform me that this Order has been lifted so that our client can proceed to rent this unit. I will look forward to hearing from you concerning these matters. yours, .. ;/ '. ~. GRY/pac cc: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Brinkman Mr. James Larson Mr. Warren Kraft