4th Warder

News and Notes for Residents of South Euclid's Ward 4 from Councilwoman Jane Goodman.

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Location: South Euclid, Ohio

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Door-to-Door

Hi, all. Sorry I've been off the blog for a bit. With taxes, holidays and trying to get a new printed 4th Warder newsletter done, it's been busy around here. We all wait for spring to get here, and the minute it comes we rush to do spring things knowing that summer will be here in a flash.

Speaking of summer, it looks like we might actually have ice cream trucks plying their icy wares this season. Council is finalizing the language to make sure that nobody on the trucks has a criminal background, or a history of predation or domestic abuse, and that they do have licenses and proper safety signals on the vehicles.

This means that if you're having a block party, you'll be able to have an "ice cream social" theme. Speaking of block parties, now is the time to start planning one.

You'll notice that Miramar is being repaved. And the city engineer is seeking bids for the street work west of Warrensville.

ON THE CASE WITH INSPECTOR REALE
Yesterday I walked with Frank Reale, one of the city's housing inspectors, as he made his rounds. I wanted to see what the inspectors look for, and how they decide what needs to be fixed and what doesn't.

Frank lives in Ward 4 but does his inspecting north of Mayfield. He and T.J. Murray, the inspector for our half of town, cover a lot of ground.

They each have about 4,200 houses to inspect over the 5-year cycle of regular exterior inspections. That's not just one visit per house, either. There's the initial inspection, then if a permit is involved in the repairs, they go check that, then they go back again to make sure the work has been completed in the allotted time. In addition to the door-to-door inspections and followups, they respond to complaints and spend time in court when someone doesn't do the work, and as they drive around they're on the lookout for special cases...workers doing stuff without permits where permits are required, for example.

On our tour yesterday, Frank showed me what to look for, and problems were pretty much the same from one house to the next. Here's what he found most often:
• gutters hanging or missing, and downspouts not tied in to gutters or drain pipes;
• dirty siding, peeling paint on houses, trim and step railings;
• crumbling front steps and landings;
• cracked and buckled sidewalks, driveways and private service walks (the walkway from the driveway to the front stoop);
• foundation bricks missing mortar.

There were also cases where fences needed mending, and firewood needed to be raised off the ground, and one case where the foundation under a room addition was so bad that you couldn't figure out what was holding the addition up!

I got to see Frank work with a homeowner, giving him advice on the least expensive ways to fix, in this case, his driveway. This guy really knows his business, he appreciates people's financial burdens, and he believes it's better to focus on the most important issues of structure, safety and appearance than to nitpick every little cosmetic problem.

THE IMPORTANT THING is to call the inspector right away, when you get a notice that there are violations on your property. They will come and show you exactly what needs to be done, tell you whether it can be fixed (cheaper) or has to be replaced ($$) and if you need more time, they can negotiate.

DON'T WAIT TO GO TO COURT to argue about it. By that time, you'll have to pay court costs of at least $100, and you'll still have to fix the problem even if Judge Kleri gives a time extension.

Well, I'm off to recycle my old computer stuff (at the Service Department Garage until April 21st.)

Have a sunny day,
Jane