1 1 TRUSTEES MEETING JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP 2 * * * 3 TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS 4 * * * 5 DATE OF HEARING: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 6 Beginning at 6:01 o'clock p.m. 7 PLACE OF HEARING: 1 Business Parkway Drive 8 Dayton, Ohio 45427 9 TRUSTEE BOARD: Angela Jones 10 Brice Sims Allen Elijah 11 ALSO PRESENT: Verne Fortson 12 * * * 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 2 1 (Thereupon, the Pledge of Allegiance 2 was recited.) 3 MR. SIMS: For the record we're 4 going to have a roll call. 5 MS. JONES: Mr. Elijah? 6 MR. ELIJAH: Present. 7 MS. JONES: Mr. Sims? 8 MR. SIMS: Present. 9 MR. ELIJAH: Mrs. Jones? 10 MS. JONES: Present. 11 MR. SIMS: This is a nuisance 12 abatement hearing and the purpose of the hearing 13 is we're going to have zoning do the 14 presentation. 15 MR. ELIJAH: You're on. 16 MS. FORTSON: Okay. The first case, 17 case number or property address 1375 Kimmel Lane 18 for the record. The property located at 1375 19 Kimmel Lane has been in violation for six months. 20 The property owner was notified on several 21 occasions to remove all junk motor vehicles from 22 the sideyard of the property. The property owner 23 failed to comply with the order. The zoning 24 department has exhausted all violation procedures 25 with this particular property. To date, which MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 3 1 was Friday, the property was still in violation, 2 but upon further inspection today, which is March 3 the 17th, the property is now in compliance. 4 MR. ELIJAH: You said is now in 5 compliance? 6 MS. FORTSON: The property is now in 7 compliance and I enter into record -- and these 8 exhibits should show for all ten properties. 9 That concludes my report. 10 MR. ELIJAH: Is there a staff 11 recommendation? 12 MS. FORTSON: Staff recommends at 13 this time that we close this case. 14 MR. ELIJAH: So consider this case 15 complete. 16 MS. FORTSON: Case closed, now in 17 compliance. 18 MR. ELIJAH: May I ask a question? 19 Is Mr. Gray here? 20 MS. FORTSON: No. 21 MR. ELIJAH: Okay. 22 MR. SIMS: Can we proceed? 23 MS. FORTSON: Next case, 1372 Kimmel 24 Lane. The property located at 1372 Kimmel Lane 25 has been in violation, but to make a long story MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 4 1 short, this property is now in compliance as of 2 3-17. Recommendation that we remove this case 3 from the agenda and this property is in 4 compliance. 5 MR. SIMS: Do you have pictures of 6 it? 7 MS. FORTSON: Yes. 8 MR. ELIJAH: Verne, there's a 9 reference to a 4900 Coltson Drive. 10 MS. FORTSON: That's next. 11 MR. ELIJAH: 4900? 12 MS. FORTSON: No, no, no. That's 13 1372. 14 (Pause in proceedings.) 15 MS. FORTSON: You have one for 4960? 16 MR. ELIJAH: Um-hum. 17 MS. FORTSON: Next property, 4960 18 Derby Road. The property located at 4960 Derby 19 Road has been in violation for more than five 20 years. The property owner, Mr. Joseph B. 21 Clements, is a repeat offender. He has a 22 tendency to comply occasionally, but then resorts 23 to the earlier patterns. Mr. Clements began 24 construction of a garage three years ago but 25 failed to complete the project. As my pictures MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 5 1 will indicate, Mr. Clements stores garbage, junk, 2 debris and other debris on stationary motor 3 vehicles for lengthy periods of time. 4 Mr. Clements has been given both verbal and 5 written warnings on numerous occasions. He has 6 been notified on several occasions to remove all 7 junk motor vehicles and junk and debris from the 8 front, rear and side of the property. 9 Mr. Clements has failed to comply with the order. 10 The property is in absolute disarray 11 at this time. The zoning department has 12 exhausted all violation procedures with this 13 property owner. There are no efforts being made 14 to correct the said violations, therefore this 15 nuisance hearing is our last effort to rid the 16 property and the neighborhood of this nuisance 17 condition. 18 MR. SIMS: So he hasn't complied? 19 MS. FORTSON: On inspection today he 20 has complied partially, but he still has 21 additional things to do as the pictures will 22 indicate. 23 MR. ELIJAH: Is Mr. Clements 24 present? 25 MR. CLEMENTS: Yeah, Mr. Clements is MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 6 1 present. 2 MS. JONES: Would you like to 3 address the board? 4 MR. CLEMENTS: I don't know what 5 specifically you're indicating, but here are 6 pictures (indicating). The truck that we -- if 7 you want to take a look at them, the whole yard, 8 front and back. There's still a skeleton frame 9 where the garage is going to be due to lack of 10 funds. I mean, if somebody wants to give up 11 twenty thousand dollars, I'm sure we will be more 12 than happy to finish it, but we don't have it at 13 this time. Other than that, as you can see, the 14 front, back, middle part of it, all of it is in 15 order at this date. 16 MR. ELIJAH: Were you going to build 17 a garage through the carport, on the other side 18 of the carport? 19 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes, sir. As soon as 20 the Lord blesses us with funds available to do 21 that, we definitely can do that. 22 MR. SIMS: When do you think that 23 God is going to bless you to do that because 24 actually it's been like this for quite a while? 25 MR. CLEMENTS: Well, actually if MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 7 1 it's required of the family to take down the 2 frame, the frame can be removed. Other than 3 that, personally, myself, I don't see where 4 there's a problem. 5 MS. JONES: So, Mr. Clements, the 6 other things that are in the yard are now all 7 gone? 8 MR. CLEMENTS: The pictures are 9 there, ma'am. The pictures are dated also. 10 MS. JONES: Miss Fortson, did you do 11 another site check today? 12 MS. FORTSON: I did. The only thing 13 I observed is the trash removed. Outside of that 14 it's very difficult to see. The property looks 15 in disarray, is definitely not in an orderly 16 fashion. 17 MR. ELIJAH: You got before and 18 after pictures too? 19 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes. 20 MR. ELIJAH: I think we mixed them 21 in because some I see are completely clean and 22 some are different. 23 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes, sir, before and 24 after. 25 MR. SIMS: You cleaned that back MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 8 1 part up? 2 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes, sir. 3 MR. ELIJAH: Did you say this has 4 been five years you have been working on the 5 garage? 6 MR. CLEMENTS: I'm not sure of the 7 exact -- 8 MR. SIMS: It's been quite a while. 9 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes, it has been 10 quite a while. 11 MR. ELIJAH: You have got the floor 12 poured, right? 13 MR. CLEMENTS: The floor is poured, 14 yes, sir. 15 MR. ELIJAH: So if you were to -- 16 I'm thinking you could make another use out of 17 the space. It's a nice space and you have 18 already got a frame up there. 19 MR. CLEMENTS: Actually we were 20 considering closing it in, at least, and that way 21 if we wanted to store anything in the area, then 22 it wouldn't be an eyesore to anybody who was 23 interested. 24 MR. ELIJAH: So you're saying though 25 again, whenever the Lord blesses you. That one MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 9 1 doesn't seem that bad. I was just thinking in 2 terms of the rains. That's all. 3 MR. CLEMENTS: Well, I plan to use 4 it as an open patio this summer myself. At least 5 those are my plans. 6 MR. ELIJAH: Exactly. 7 MR. SIMS: The problem I have is 8 there's a whole lot of trash in the back. 9 MR. CLEMENTS: That trash is no 10 longer there. 11 MR. ELIJAH: It's been removed? 12 MS. FORTSON: Look at this picture, 13 4960 (indicating). Is that your property? 14 MR. CLEMENTS: Certainly. 15 MS. FORTSON: Is that the way it 16 looks right now? 17 MR. CLEMENTS: No. 18 MS. FORTSON: Are you sure about 19 that? These pictures were taken at least 20 forty-five minutes before this hearing. 21 MR. CLEMENTS: What do you see in 22 your pictures that are in violation? 23 MS. FORTSON: Is this yours 24 (indicating)? 25 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes. We have MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 10 1 pictures that correlate the same thing you have 2 here. 3 MR. SIMS: You say this happened 4 forty-five minutes ago? 5 MR. CLEMENTS: You took it from one 6 end. Here it is from the other end (indicating). 7 MS. FORTSON: When were those 8 pictures taken? 9 MR. CLEMENTS: Those pictures were 10 taken 3-9. There's the back area there, there's 11 the side area there, this is what she was talking 12 about, right (indicating). 13 MS. FORTSON: That was Friday. 14 MR. CLEMENTS: Exactly. Key word 15 Friday. 16 MS. FORTSON: You see this here 17 (indicating)? Show me this right here on your 18 3-9. 19 MR. CLEMENTS: Right there 20 (indicating). 3-9. 21 MS. FORTSON: That's 3-17 22 (indicating). 23 MR. CLEMENTS: It looks like that. 24 There's a barbeque grill with a cover sitting 25 there right now. That block right there, that's MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 11 1 a barbeque grill with a cover that is fully 2 functional. 3 MS. JONES: Thank you, sir. Let me 4 have the pictures. Miss Fortson, what's your 5 recommendation to the board? 6 MS. FORTSON: I recommend that 7 Mr. Clements goes back to the property and cleans 8 up all of the -- the debris sitting on the 9 outside, any of the garbage you see here. I'm 10 planning on an inspection seven days from now. I 11 want to see everything looking exactly like the 12 picture you showed me of 3-9. 13 MS. JONES: Mr. Clements, my concern 14 is not so much the frame. You're obviously in a 15 hardship and we hope that's something you will be 16 able to get in compliance. As far as I'm 17 concerned, I'm willing to give you some time on 18 that, however, if Mrs. Fortson still sees there 19 are items -- which is our zoning inspector -- I'm 20 not going to sit and debate about which pictures 21 are current or not current. She will go back out 22 again and view the site. If there are still 23 additional things that need to be cleaned up and 24 if I'm still on the board, my recommendation 25 would be you have five days to clean up around MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 12 1 that area and if not, then we will abate and then 2 the board will -- then we will have issues. 3 MR. CLEMENTS: Well, certainly I can 4 understand you doing what the board feels it has 5 to do. At the same time too, the homeowners, 6 because see, some of the violations are things 7 that you're pointing out to me, a functioning 8 refrigerator that is sitting on the back patio, 9 that can be used this summer to store sodas and 10 ice and you are telling me I have to throw a 11 fully functional refrigerator away? 12 MS. JONES: I'm telling you she will 13 tell you what you need to do to clean the 14 property up. I'll not press you about the frame, 15 but the property has to be cleaned up. My 16 concern is that she said that she repeatedly, you 17 know, sent you information and tells you that 18 you're in violation. 19 MR. CLEMENTS: Which we have. 20 MS. JONES: We are here because the 21 zoning inspector says you have violated the 22 zoning code. In order to not keep coming here 23 you have to comply with those codes. If she 24 comes back out to do the site inspection of the 25 property, she will explain to you which things MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 13 1 you're in violation of. 2 MR. CLEMENTS: I'm sure she -- I 3 mean, there's certain things to me that just go 4 in the yard that are there, I mean, and 5 somebody's opinion about whether or not it's 6 trash or not is an individual opinion. 7 MR. SIMS: Just clean the yard up. 8 MR. CLEMENTS: I have done that. 9 MS. JONES: I make a motion to the 10 board that he has five days to clean up the 11 property. We will then look later at another 12 time. If not, Mrs. Fortson, you need to bring it 13 back to us. Can I have -- there's a motion on 14 the table. Can I have a vote? 15 MR. ELIJAH: I second on the motion. 16 MS. JONES: Mr. Sims? 17 MR. ELIJAH: Mr. Clements, all I 18 would have to say, man, is all we're trying to do 19 is get everybody to maintain their property to 20 keep the neighborhood kind of thing and that's 21 really what this whole thing is about, bottom 22 line. Jefferson Township is a nice place to 23 live. 24 MR. CLEMENTS: I understand that. 25 MR. ELIJAH: And we have a township, MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 14 1 we're the size that we can share these with each 2 other. There are people looking at us from 3 outside the township. They have always looked at 4 Jefferson Township as a dumping grounds. They 5 don't understand we have nice parks out here, the 6 air can be clean out here. Deal with the 7 Perma-Fix thing, we ain't going there. Fresh 8 air. All we're trying to say is just like 9 Oakwood picks up and just like those people take 10 care of their stuff, we can do the same thing. 11 It ain't that much, and if everybody did their 12 little bit, then it would all be done and that's 13 the bottom line. 14 MR. SIMS: We're just trying to 15 clean up. 16 MR. CLEMENTS: Yes, sir. 17 MR. ELIJAH: I'm done. 18 MS. FORTSON: Next property, 5097 19 Fortman Drive -- 5097. The property located at 20 5097 Fortman Drive has been in violation for nine 21 months. The property owner was notified on 22 numerous occasions to remove all junk motor 23 vehicles from the side of the property. The 24 residential structure burned down approximately 25 one year ago. The owner has failed to tear down MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 15 1 the structure. The property also has a vehicle 2 which was burned out during the fire. The yard 3 is not maintained during the warmer months. The 4 township has been burdened with this property for 5 over nine months. It has proven to be very 6 costly and time consuming for the township. The 7 property owner was notified on numerous 8 occasions. She has failed to comply with the 9 order. The zoning department has exhausted all 10 violation procedures with this property owner. 11 There are no efforts being made to correct the 12 said violations, therefore this nusiance hearing 13 is our last effort to rid the property and the 14 neighborhood of its nuisance condition. 15 MR. SIMS: Is she here? 16 MS. FORTSON: No. 17 MS. JONES: What do you recommend to 18 the board, Mrs. Fortson? 19 MS. FORTSON: I recommend we notify 20 the owner and give them seven days to abate, 21 either remove the vehicles and take down the 22 structure or we will do it for them and abate 23 them on property taxes. 24 MR. SIMS: I make a motion to do 25 that. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 16 1 MR. ELIJAH: Second. 2 MS. JONES: Seven days to complete, 3 so your motion will include -- 4 MS. FORTSON: To notify us, complete 5 the project or let us know what their plans are 6 for this project. 7 MS. JONES: Further motion. 8 MS. FORTSON: We'll work with them. 9 MR. SIMS: How long has this been? 10 MS. FORTSON: A year. 11 MS. JONES: We will vote on the 12 motion. Mr. Elijah? 13 MR. ELIJAH: Yes. 14 MS. JONES: Mr. Sims? 15 MR. SIMS: Yes. 16 MR. ELIJAH: As amended. Any idea 17 what it would cost to take down the house? 18 MS. FORTSON: Hypothetical, no, I 19 would imagine something between three to five 20 thousand dollars. Next property, 5790 Pinnacle 21 Road. 22 MR. TUSS: If I could, I'm Mark Tuss 23 for the owner and before Ms. Fortson starts, I 24 would just like to give you my card and if you 25 would swear in all the witnesses as required by MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 17 1 statute, including Mrs. Fortson. I'm here 2 representing Mr. Rice who is the vendee buying it 3 on land contract from Mr. Speakman who is the 4 deed owner, titled owner. 5 MR. ELIJAH: Which property is this? 6 MS. FORTSON: 5790 Pinnacle Road. 7 MR. SIMS: Put it this way, everyone 8 who is going to talk tonight, we'll swear all of 9 them. Everyone that's going to present -- 10 everyone that's going to talk. 11 (Thereupon, all speakers were 12 sworn.) 13 MS. FORTSON: The property located 14 at 5790 Pinnacle Road. 15 MS. HOWARD: If this is an attorney, 16 I need some clarification as to what his name is 17 or if he could tell me his name or the property 18 owner. 19 MR. ELIJAH: Miss, if you would like 20 to come up front to hear better. 21 MS. HOWARD: No, I can hear. I am 22 Rosanna Howard and I live at 5762 Pinnacle Road. 23 MR. SIMS: Let us proceed and then 24 we will talk about that. 25 MS. FORTSON: I'll start again. The MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 18 1 property located at 5790 Pinnacle Road has been 2 in violation for more than five months. The 3 resident was notified on numerous occasions to 4 remove all junk motor vehicles and junk and 5 debris from the rear of the property. An 6 extension was granted to Mr. Stanley Rice by this 7 office on 1-13-2004. Several meetings were 8 conducted with the property owner/tenant 9 concerning violations. The owner has agreed to 10 comply but has failed to follow through. There 11 are several violations in question. 12 The zoning department has received 13 numerous complaints regarding the emission of 14 truck fumes, the revving of truck engines at 5:00 15 a.m., the possible conduction of a business, 16 trucking company, which constitutes a direct 17 violation of article 36 -- 38, sorry, section 18 3803A which prohibits the storage of trucks as an 19 accessory use in agricultural, residential and 20 office district. The owner/tenant was contacted 21 with these allegations and confirmed them to be 22 true. This property has had a very negative 23 effect on the surrounding neighbors' properties. 24 The zoning department has exhausted all violation 25 procedures with this property owner. There are MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 19 1 no efforts being made to correct the said 2 violations, therefore this nuisance hearing is 3 our last effort to rid the property and this 4 neighborhood of this nuisance condition. 5 MR. TUSS: If I could be heard. 6 Thank you. 7 MS. FORTSON: I have an opposition 8 to call to the witness. 9 MR. TUSS: Whatever you want to do. 10 MS. FORTSON: Mrs. Howard, is there 11 anything you would like to add to this? 12 MS. HOWARD: No. I would just like 13 to say one thing, is that the fumes are very much 14 a health problem. My husband has asthma and it 15 does exacerbate it very much and the fumes are 16 very toxic and very irritating. 17 MS. JONES: I'm sorry, fumes? 18 MS. HOWARD: These are from the 19 truck and they come into the house also. 20 MR. TUSS: Thank you, but without 21 being too technical, but in some ways that's what 22 lawyers do, the notice that was sent to 23 Mr. Speakman which is dated March 1st as a notice 24 letter failed to comply with the statute and your 25 resolution. There's a state statute governing MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 20 1 townships on nuisances. That's 505.87, and then 2 you have your own resolution 01-23, and not all 3 the required language is contained in that 4 notice. What I think is most important is you 5 three in this setting are not legislators, you're 6 not enacting resolutions. You're almost here as 7 judges. And if you look at the March 1st notice 8 letter, there's nothing specific, and I don't 9 represent Mr. Clements, but it was interesting he 10 mentions the same thing, that he received a 11 notice and there's nothing specific in that 12 letter that says mattresses in the back of the 13 house, junk vehicles with the wheels up and no 14 wheels on it. So there's no way for any resident 15 of Jefferson Township receiving a notice letter 16 like this to know what they need to abate or 17 remove. Mr. Rice and Mr. Speakman are going to 18 talk about what steps they have taken. 19 I came out and looked at the file on 20 Friday and there were some photographs. But 21 again, if you're going to either abate it and 22 charge it back to the landowner or charge them a 23 hundred dollars a day fine, they have a right to 24 know what the specific violations are so before 25 you get them here and you here, they could abate MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 21 1 it and save yourself a lot of trouble. 2 Unfortunately the letter that says 3 come here today for a 6:00 hearing doesn't set 4 out anything specific, and as I said before, 5 there's no description of the nuisance. There's 6 no specific description of the nuisance which is 7 required under your resolution and there's no 8 statement you have in your resolution of 9 paragraph F that says if the board determines the 10 property owner has maintained or failed to 11 abate -- there's certain magic language that's 12 not in there. You may not think that that's 13 significant but the statute says that's supposed 14 to be in a notice letter so I think that's 15 defective, both under the statute and under the 16 resolution. 17 Another thing, the nuisance is 18 defined in your resolution as it is in the state 19 statute and that's pretty limited. It's 20 debris -- which I don't know what debris is. We 21 all probably know it when it's sitting in our 22 yard. But debris, refuse, trash and vegetation. 23 Now, without -- if you look at that March 1st 24 letter, it doesn't say your grass is too high or 25 there's weeds here, noxious weeds, and cut them MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 22 1 down. That would be the kind of letter that you 2 would expect. And also it would cover a 3 nuisance. It doesn't say anything about debris 4 or refuse or trash and identifying where it might 5 be located on the site, in the driveway, behind 6 the house, on the porch, something like that 7 that, again, would allow someone to abate it. 8 Most particularly, I think, again, 9 this is where the board is limited, trucks or 10 truck fumes are not nuisances as established 11 under the statute. Maybe we all would like to 12 say that they are, but I can't change the Revised 13 Code and I don't believe the township trustees of 14 Jefferson Township can change the Revised Code 15 either. Those are the kind of limited things you 16 can do under the nuisance abatement process. 17 There may be another process you can go under, 18 but that's what we're here today about, so I 19 would just ask -- and I know it's not easy to 20 wipe your mind clean -- that the issue of the 21 trucks and the issue of the fumes cannot be a 22 part of any nuisance abatement consideration or 23 order and you can order anything you want, but I 24 think it would be defective if it's appealed to 25 the common pleas court, but you're limited to the MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 23 1 debris, trash, vegetation. 2 I would like to have Mr. Rice at 3 least explain to you what he's told me that he's 4 done. I did see pictures when Mrs. Fortson was 5 very nice to let me see the files. I reviewed 6 those photographs and talked to my client about 7 it and it's my understanding that at least some, 8 if not all, of the refuse, the mattresses and 9 there is a car with its hood up have been 10 removed, so I would like Mr. Rice to at least 11 explain to you what's been done at the site and 12 if you have any questions. So stand up. What's 13 been done with respect to let's say that car? 14 MS. JONES: State your name. 15 MR. RICE: Stanley Rice. 16 MR. SIMS: Where do you live? 17 MR. RICE: I live at West 18 Carrollton. 1012 North Alex Road. 19 MR. TUSS: And if I could, again, 20 for the record, Mr. Rice, are you purchasing that 21 property at -- 22 MR. RICE: Yeah, 5790 Pinnacle. 23 MR. TUSS: On land contract? 24 MR. RICE: Yeah, I have been there 25 since January, 2002, will be two and a half MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 24 1 years. 2 MR. TUSS: And what's been done 3 with respect to that property? 4 MR. RICE: The cleanup -- the house 5 caught on fire and the mattress was out there. 6 It's all been cleaned up. There's no debris out 7 there at all now. Everything around the house is 8 clean. 9 MR. TUSS: With respect to the 10 car -- 11 MR. RICE: Except the car, it's 12 still sitting there, which is no problem. It can 13 be moved at any time. 14 MR. SIMS: When did you plan on 15 moving it? 16 MR. TUSS: What would be a 17 reasonable time to move that car, five, six, 18 seven days? 19 MR. RICE: Yeah. 20 MR. SIMS: Is that all you have got? 21 MR. TUSS: I would point out for the 22 board, again, what I say in the photographs, 23 neither Mr. Speakman or Mr. Rice were shown those 24 and given a list of those specific things in a 25 notice letter of violations, so it seems to me if MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 25 1 you're going to put somebody at risk with their 2 pocketbook, a hundred dollars a day, or you're 3 going to come out and abate it and charge it back 4 to the landowner, there needs to be specificity. 5 But as far as the car, it doesn't seem to be in 6 Mr. Rice's statement tough to move and we would 7 comply. 8 MR. SIMS: Are they in a business? 9 MS. FORTSON: Yes. And I wanted to 10 share this with Mr. Tuss, that section, and we 11 have also -- just to clarify, we have spoken, I 12 have spoken to Mr. Rice, is it, and Mr. Speakman, 13 is it? I have spoken to both of them on I think 14 two occasions or one occasion with you and twice 15 with you (indicating) and identified all the 16 violations on the property. 17 MS. JONES: Is that true? 18 MS. FORTSON: There are other 19 violations that we will not go into today and 20 we'll deal with that on another day or we'll set 21 up a meeting so we can discuss those. 22 MR. RICE: Only thing that's left 23 there, the debris, I guess that happened three or 24 four months ago, we hauled that off and it's been 25 done gone. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 26 1 MR. TUSS: I guess my point would be 2 Miss Fortson can talk and she can explain, but I 3 think by law you're required to give someone 4 notice in this letter. The statute requires this 5 notice letter to go out when it has given to the 6 township this power to sit kind of like judges, 7 three judges, and what someone says or may have 8 in photographs is not the same as a letter that 9 lists exactly what the violation is or claimed 10 violation is or claimed nuisance is, really it 11 is, what is needed to be abated. 12 MR. ELIJAH: Mr. Tuss, your point is 13 noted and it's a physical fact that that can't be 14 changed and that may very well be the case. I'll 15 investigate that, but the point of the matter is 16 all we were attempting to do was to try to get a 17 remedy in terms of, number one, are we running a 18 business out of there such that they are spilling 19 diesel fuel fumes up into the air at unreasonable 20 times in an area that's residential/agra and 21 whether or not that was the intent of, you know, 22 of Mr. Rice. So that's really what we're trying 23 to get to, so we have no argument with the former 24 function in terms of what the letter should have 25 said. There were discussions between individuals MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 27 1 so clarity could be added as to what was proposed 2 was lacking in the letter, and like I said, we'll 3 investigate that so henceforth that can be 4 rectified. 5 MR. TUSS: I don't really care about 6 the future. With all due respect, what I'm 7 trying to say, if the three of you issue some 8 form of abatement, that order has to be grounded 9 on law and this letter does not comply with the 10 statute and the shoe doesn't fit the foot and 11 more important, you cannot order an abatement of 12 trucks because trucks are not a nuisance. Not 13 under something I'm telling you about that I've 14 made up, under your own resolution which patterns 15 or mirrors the state statute. Nuisance is simply 16 debris, refuse, trash or weeds -- vegetation is 17 the word used in your resolution. I'm not trying 18 to give you a hard time. I'm not trying to tell 19 you Mr. Rice won't go out and clean up what is 20 reasonable to be cleaned up. I'm pointing out to 21 you if you issue an order to do these things, I 22 can go to the common pleas court and get this 23 flipped and it's not going to do us any good, 24 it's not going to do you any good, it's not going 25 to do Mr. Speakman's neighbor any good. I'm MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 28 1 asking you simply to comply so we can move down 2 the road and get this taken care of. 3 And the business and issue of the 4 truck is entirely different. How you approach 5 that, I'm not going to tell you or Mrs. Fortson 6 is not going to tell you, it isn't going to work 7 under nuisance. Not to be some smart aleck 8 lawyer, but simply to point out what the statute 9 says and more important what your own resolution 10 says. That's the law. You saw me, I had Mr. 11 Rice tell you what he would do about this car. 12 That car can be cleaned up. Most of the debris 13 that was shown in the photographs he told me has 14 been cleaned up. I don't know if Mrs. Fortson 15 has been out there in the last day or two. 16 MS. FORTSON: Actually, I was out 17 there today and due to the weather conditions 18 there was not much visibility. 19 MR. TUSS: Were the mattresses 20 removed? 21 MR. SPEAKMAN: That was from the 22 fire a year ago. 23 MR. TUSS: I would agree that one -- 24 (Pause in proceedings.) 25 MR. TUSS: So, Mr. Speakman, if you MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 29 1 could just address these trustees. Has that 2 mattress been removed? 3 MR. SPEAKMAN: There was a fire a 4 year and three months ago and that mattress 5 probably laid out there because of the last year 6 we had a late snow and everything in February and 7 everything, I couldn't get to work on the house, 8 it probably laid out there until March, but the 9 house was completed in June. Had to renovate the 10 house. 11 MR. ELIJAH: So it's gone now? 12 MR. SPEAKMAN: Yes. There's a car 13 out there and there's a van, but I was wanting to 14 repair those. Can I put them inside my garage 15 until I repair them? 16 MR. ELIJAH: Those will fit in your 17 garage? 18 MR. SPEAKMAN: Yeah, the van and the 19 car will. 20 MR. ELIJAH: I would like to make a 21 motion, if I may. I move that the elements of 22 noncompliance that Mr. Rice and Mr. Speakman have 23 that fit within the purview of our resolution for 24 nuisance abatement by definition, that those 25 items be abated -- or rather have seven days to MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 30 1 be rectified at which time we will go out and 2 measure their compliance with those elements of 3 our nuisance abatement resolution. 4 MS. FORTSON: Agreed. 5 MR. ELIJAH: I would further 6 recommend that we modify all future 7 communications so that they comply with the 8 statute in terms of proper notification on 9 elements that fit the definition of our nuisance 10 abatement resolution. 11 MS. FORTSON: Agreed. 12 MR. TUSS: Could I ask for some 13 clarification? I'm just trying to be specific. 14 MR. ELIJAH: You're talking about my 15 motion not clear? 16 MR. TUSS: Yes, I guess -- if they 17 are going to comply, I certainly don't want them 18 back out here and I'm sure you don't want them 19 back out here. If it means, the truck and the 20 van, removing them and putting them in the 21 garage, is that good enough for the abatement? 22 MR. ELIJAH: In addition to those 23 other elements like the mattress I think you said 24 was gone? 25 MR. SPEAKMAN: Yes. That was during MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 31 1 the fire and we'll clean it up. There's probably 2 a little debris. There's some tires. We can get 3 rid of that. 4 MR. TUSS: And if there's a problem, 5 could we be brought back in for review rather 6 than cited or something where you can levy a fine 7 on? 8 MR. SIMS: If there's a problem she 9 will tell you. 10 MS. FORTSON: What I would accept if 11 I sent out notices that I get some sort of 12 response. Either let me know that you're working 13 on it, telephone call, or tell me you received my 14 notice and you have a problem and you would like 15 to work out the details or you would like a 16 meeting. Now, if I don't get any one of those, 17 then I would come back here and we will abate. 18 MR. ELIJAH: May I have a second on 19 my motion? 20 MR. SIMS: I second. 21 MS. JONES: Voting on the motion. 22 Mr. Elijah? 23 MR. ELIJAH: Yes. 24 MS. JONES: Mr. Sims? 25 MR. SIMS: Yes. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 32 1 MS. JONES: Ms. Jones? Yes. 2 MS. HOWARD: I still need some 3 clarification. I'm not clear. Please tell me 4 what you're going to do about the trucks and the 5 fumes and the health issue. If it's not heard 6 here, where? 7 MR. ELIJAH: Well, that we're going 8 to have to investigate. I don't have a clear 9 answer for you right now. 10 MR. SIMS: But we are going to 11 investigate that. Mrs. Howard, we probably need 12 your telephone number and address. 13 MS. HOWARD: Mrs. Fortson has that. 14 I'll give it to her again. 15 MR. ELIJAH: We will get back to you 16 on what we need to do about that. Thank you, 17 Mr. Tuss. 18 MS. FORTSON: Next case, property at 19 9133 Huffman Road. Are the property owners here? 20 You want to stand and give your names for the 21 record? 22 MS. PINKERTON: I'm Rebecca 23 Pinkerton. I'm Miss Ellip's daughter. She's the 24 property owner, but my mother is not in very good 25 shape and I'm her power of attorney, but we do MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 33 1 also live on the property with her. 2 MS. FORTSON: Property located at 3 9133 Huffman Road has been in violation for six 4 months. The property owner was notified on 5 numerous occasions to remove all junk motor 6 vehicles, motorcycles, junk and debris and 7 household trash from the front, side and rear of 8 the property. The property owner was notified on 9 several occasions. The owner has filed to comply 10 with the order. The property has created a very 11 negative effect on the surrounding properties. 12 The zoning department has exhausted all violation 13 procedures with this property owner. There are 14 no efforts being made to correct the said 15 violation, therefore this nuisance hearing is our 16 last effort to rid the property and the 17 neighborhood of its nuisance condition. 18 I have spoken to Mrs. Pinkerton this 19 afternoon. Apparently she has removed half the 20 trash and junk and debris from the property. 21 MS. PINKERTON: I just got to one 22 half. There's still another side. The worst 23 side is still to be taken care of. 24 MS. JONES: Is this just the trash 25 that's around the house that is a problem, the MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 34 1 tires? 2 MS. FORTSON: It's the trash, the 3 tires, there's a motor engine hanging from the 4 tree, the vehicles, and there's trash all over 5 the property. I'm not sure if Miss Pinkerton has 6 moved them today. 7 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: The motor is 8 still in the tree. I'm going to put it in the 9 truck. The truck and that motor home are a 10 problem. 11 MS. PINKERTON: They belong to 12 friends of ours that lived with us and they are 13 now in Florida. 14 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: If they can't 15 get back in seven days, I'll have them towed off. 16 MS. JONES: What is reasonable? 17 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: If we can get 18 seven days, I'll make sure it's clean. 19 MS. PINKERTON: The only thing I 20 need to ask about that is the trash is not a 21 problem, but there are a lot of downed trees and 22 things such as this. I realize that makes it 23 look ugly, but that would require more time. We 24 don't even own a chain saw anymore. There's a 25 lot of weeds standing that should be yard. It MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 35 1 used to be yard. We had to have our own house 2 burnt down, it was falling down, but there's a 3 lot grown up in front where the neighbors were 4 used to seeing yard and it's been overtaken by 5 weeds, so are you asking to have all that removed 6 as well is what I need to know? 7 MS. JONES: I know you can't do that 8 in seven days. 9 MS. PINKERTON: That's what I'm 10 asking. If you need to have all that done, can 11 you please give us thirty days? 12 MS. JONES: I make a motion they be 13 given thirty days to clean up the site. If there 14 are problems and you can't get done, you need to 15 call Mrs. Fortson. We would like to see some 16 changes within ten days. My motion is that we 17 give them thirty days to clean the property. 18 MR. SIMS: I second. 19 MR. ELIJAH: I call for the vote. 20 Mrs. Jones? 21 MS. JONES: Yes. 22 MR. ELIJAH: Mr. Sims? 23 MR. SIMS: Yes. 24 MR. ELIJAH: And I vote yes. 25 MS. FORTSON: I have one other thing MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 36 1 to add. Is it possible when you call at the end 2 of the thirty days for an inspection that you 3 show some sort of an invoice for a trash hauler 4 showing that you did get a trash hauler so we 5 won't run into the trash all over the place? 6 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes, I'll 7 have that the end of the month. 8 MS. FORTSON: Next case, property at 9 9739 Huffman Road. As my pictures indicate, the 10 property is now in compliance. 11 MS. JONES: Mrs. Fortson, are we 12 talking about -- is there someone here in regard 13 to that property? 14 MR. SIMS: Is someone here? 15 MS. JONES: Have you spoken to the 16 people who own the home? 17 MS. FORTSON: Yes, I spoke to 18 Mr. Van Hook on Friday. He offered to clean up 19 the property. I spoke to him this morning. I 20 took pictures from about an hour ago today and 21 those are pictures indicating the property is now 22 in compliance. 23 MS. JONES: The vehicles have been 24 moved? 25 MS. FORTSON: Have been moved. Next MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 37 1 property. 2 MS. JONES: Since that property is 3 closed, I would like to at least make a motion on 4 9739 Huffman Road that case has been closed. 5 MR. ELIJAH: I second it. Is there 6 a motion? 7 MR. SIMS: Yes. Ms. Jones? 8 MS. JONES: Yes. 9 MR. SIMS: Mr. Elijah? 10 MR. ELIJAH: Yes. 11 MR. SIMS: I vote yes. 12 MS. FORTSON: Next property, 5985 13 Dayton-Liberty Road. Are the property owners 14 here today, Mr. and Mrs. Wright? 15 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes. 16 MS. FORTSON: The property located 17 at 5985 Dayton-Liberty Road has been in violation 18 for several years. The property owner was 19 notified on numerous occasions to remove all junk 20 motor vehicles, junk and debris, lumber on the 21 side and rear of the yard. The property owner 22 was notified on several occasions. The owner has 23 failed to comply with the order. The property 24 has created a very negative effect on the 25 surrounding properties. The zoning department MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 38 1 has exhausted all violation procedures with this 2 property owner. There are no efforts being made 3 to correct the said violation, therefore this 4 nuisance hearing is our last effort to rid the 5 property and the neigbors of this nuisance 6 condition. 7 And now, if I may add, that we have 8 been to a nuisance hearing in 2001 and also in 9 2002 with Mr. Wright. We've been to court on two 10 occasions. We've spoken about this property on 11 numerous occasions. We seem to come here every 12 three months and at this time we've exhausted all 13 our means. Mr. Wright intends to do what he 14 says, but somewhere along the line he is not able 15 to, so we've had lots of promises and lots of 16 time and lots of extensions and at this time it 17 seems like it's fruitless so what we need to have 18 is an absolute compliance here. 19 MS. JONES: Mr. Wright, would you 20 speak to the board? Can you tell us -- 21 MR. SIMS: Give us your name and 22 address. 23 MR. WRIGHT: Charles Wright, 5985 24 Dayton-Liberty, and what she said about before, 25 I've cleaned up and straightened up before and MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 39 1 they agreed with me everything was all right. I 2 admit there's stuff there. There's a lot of 3 lumber because I intend to build a pole barn. 4 I've talked to her about the pole barn before. 5 We are right now in the process of refinancing 6 our house so we can get the money to do this. As 7 far as the stuff, we're cleaning it up. If she's 8 been by today, I'm sure she has, there's been a 9 lot of stuff removed. We need a little more time 10 to get it done. This weather has been kind of a 11 problem the last few days and we need to get it 12 done. 13 MS. JONES: So you cleaned the 14 property up and he wasn't in violation, then -- 15 MS. FORTSON: It happens every three 16 months. We've been doing it for ten years. 17 MS. JONES: Can you tell me, you 18 have been in compliance and then a couple of 19 months later you're out of compliance? 20 MR. WRIGHT: No, it's not that 21 quick. I do a lot of construction and I acquire 22 a lot of stuff from construction, getting stuff 23 here and there from different places, and if I 24 have stuff left over, I try to keep it for myself 25 so I can build this pole barn and I have a lot of MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 40 1 lumber and a lot of stuff, a lot of metal there 2 for a metal pole barn. And like I said, we're 3 refinancing the house right now so we can get a 4 little money and go ahead and do this. 5 MS. YOUNG: Sound like you get rid 6 of stuff and then you acquire more stuff. 7 MR. WRIGHT: Well, yeah, kind of. 8 My daughter had a car there and my brother had a 9 car. They're not there no more. 10 MR. ELIJAH: Would it be possible to 11 get those towed away? 12 MR. WRIGHT: They are gone, as of 13 yesterday. 14 MS. JONES: We need to get you to do 15 something about these violations. 16 MR. WRIGHT: Now, as far as the 17 lumber and stuff that you're talking about, 18 that's for my pole barn. If I get a tarp -- 19 MS. JONES: Is that neatly put 20 aside? 21 MR. WRIGHT: We've been doing that 22 all day today. I have two boys here helping me. 23 If it's all right, I'm going to get a tarp to 24 cover that up until I get this financing thing 25 straightened up. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 41 1 MS. FORTSON: Mr. Wright, take a 2 look at these pictures and tell me if they look 3 familiar. 4 MRS. WRIGHT: That's gone, that's 5 gone (indicating). 6 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We took a 7 trip to the dump too today. 8 (Thereupon, the Notary interrupted 9 the proceedings.) 10 MR. SALYER: Dwayne Salyer. I live 11 at 9364 Peters Pike. 12 MR. SIMS: Would you stand up? 13 MR. SALYER: Yeah. I'm witness to 14 the fact we spent about six hours today cleaning 15 up. We got a lot of things done. A lot of 16 things were arranged so they can be tarped in 17 nice neat stacks. All the trash and debris has 18 been removed. We moved our tools into the 19 garage. 20 MRS. WRIGHT: All this is just one 21 vehicle. She's taken pictures of one vehicle ten 22 times. 23 (Thereupon, the Notary interrupted 24 the proceedings.) 25 MS. JONES: I know this is the way MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 42 1 the meeting has been from beginning to end. I 2 apologize to you. The issue -- we have too many 3 things going on. The issue still at hand is 4 things have been removed and new things coming in 5 and not to say whether you need those things or 6 not, but those things can't lay outside and in 7 the area of the yard. If you need to replace 8 those things you need to have even your wood in 9 an orderly manner. Your tires, you need to keep 10 those in the garage. The point is the area still 11 needs to be in compliance and you keep getting 12 out of compliance. How many days do you need to 13 clean the property up? 14 MR. WRIGHT: I need a few because 15 it's muddy out there. It's been all filled out 16 there. And when it gets muddy like this you 17 can't drive on it. It just sinks up. If it 18 freezes or it warms up enough the ground dries, 19 it's no problem. 20 MS. JONES: I make a motion you have 21 thirty days to clean your property up. You need 22 to contact Mrs. Fortson. That's based on the 23 weather. What I'm also asking you, when you get 24 it cleaned up this time, you got to keep it 25 cleaned up. The next time you come before the MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 43 1 board, if I'm here, you're going to be abated. 2 If you just keep it in order, we'll work with 3 you. 4 MR. WRIGHT: I understand. That's 5 why I'm trying to understand. We will get a 6 little money so we can build this pole barn we've 7 been talking about the last year and a half, two 8 years. 9 MS. JONES: Keep the other stuff 10 contained and you will be okay. You can't have 11 the tires and all that stuff sitting in the front 12 of the yard and side of the yard. 13 MR. WRIGHT: Those trucks came over, 14 the truck I just sold. I don't need them. I'll 15 get rid of them. 16 MS. JONES: I'm also going to ask 17 you when she comes out, if you have questions, is 18 this okay or not okay, stuff that you can put in 19 your barn or shed, put it in there and ask her so 20 you guys will know what's expected and what's not 21 expected so you don't have to come back before 22 the board in thirty days. The motion on the 23 table is we give them thirty days to bring 24 property in compliance. 25 MR. ELIJAH: Second. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 44 1 MR. SIMS: Miss Jones? 2 MR. ELIJAH: How do you vote on the 3 motion? 4 MS. JONES: I'm sorry. Yes. 5 MR. SIMS: Mr. Elijah? 6 MR. ELIJAH: I vote yes. 7 MR. SIMS: Brice Sims, yes. 8 MS. FORTSON: Last case, property 9 5318 Dushore Drive, D U S H O R E. Any 10 representatives? 11 MR. LEWIS: My name is White Snake. 12 I'm a child and descendent of the last Lewis. 13 MS. LEWIS: I am Leanna White. My 14 shield and family name is Lewis. We both stand 15 before you to speak. He will speak first and 16 I'll speak last. 17 MS. JONES: Do you live at this 18 property? 19 MS. LEWIS: Yes. 20 MS. FORTSON: For the property 21 located at 5318 Dushore Drive has been in 22 violation for a lengthy period of time. Resident 23 was notified on numerous occasions to remove all 24 junk motor vehicles and junk and debris from the 25 front and rear of the property. The owner has MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 45 1 complied partially. The property has had a very 2 negative effect on the surrounding neighbors. 3 The zoning department has exhausted all violation 4 procedures with this property owner. There are 5 no efforts being made to correct the said 6 violation, therefore this nuisance hearing is our 7 last effort to rid the property and the 8 neighborhood of its nuisance condition. 9 Prior to that we had pictures sent 10 from residents depicting the backyard filled with 11 trash. Those pictures are enclosed. I wasn't 12 able to inspect the backyard so I'm not sure if 13 that condition still exists. The two motor 14 vehicles in the front, there's one on the street 15 that's not licensed and there's one in the 16 driveway that's not licensed, require licenses 17 for both motor vehicles. 18 MR. ELIJAH: Mrs. Fortson, what's a 19 lengthy period of time? 20 MS. FORTSON: Between six to eight 21 years. 22 MR. ELIJAH: Six to eight years? 23 MS. FORTSON: Yes. 24 MR. ELIJAH: Mr. Lewis. 25 MR. LEWIS: Thanks for letting me MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 46 1 speak. According to the laws of Sun Tzu what 2 should happen -- ura giri mono -- ura, U R A, 3 giri, G I R I, mono, M O N O, ura giri mono, duty 4 or influence. You have a duty to someone. It 5 has not been eight years. I live on and off that 6 property but I lived there for twenty-three 7 years. I also have an apartment elsewhere. 8 There is two cars there with licenses that are 9 valid. One car is an '87 Z28, three hundred and 10 fifty horsepower. That belongs to me and that 11 usually is parked at my house, but since I'm also 12 an automotive technician, I drive to and from 13 work and drive customers to and from that place 14 so I drive a four cylinder. There has been 15 another car there that is off and on there along 16 with others. That's because my mother constantly 17 buys cars from persons that owes her money and 18 owes her an obligation to get her a new car. 19 However, eight years is incorrect. 20 This is all deception. There is one car there 21 without a license. That's a '79 Trans Am that's 22 in that place that I plan to fix up and race at 23 Kil-Kare. It's been there for almost a year, but 24 the Z28 has been in the garage. 25 MR. ELIJAH: Is it license plated, MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 47 1 is it legal? 2 MR. LEWIS: The Z28 -- the Trans Am 3 is not license plated. I still have to go with 4 the owner that sold it to me through the legal 5 process. 6 MR. ELIJAH: How long have you had 7 that one? 8 MR. LEWIS: Half a year. 9 MR. ELIJAH: So the title hasn't 10 been transferred to you in six months? 11 MR. LEWIS: Yes, it has, but I 12 haven't gone to the person. 13 MS. JONES: Under the nuisance 14 abatement, when you talk about the vehicles, 15 under this particular nuisance abatement, are we 16 addressing the trash and debris in the backyard 17 and not the vehicles? 18 MS. FORTSON: We're addressing all. 19 We're addressing the trash which I'm not able to 20 take a look at in the back. And we're also 21 addressing the automobiles. 22 MR. LEWIS: Okay. For one, there is 23 no trash in the backyard. For two, if there was 24 trash any day when she happened to come there 25 which in the so-called eight years -- it hasn't MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 48 1 been eight years, that's an outright lie -- it 2 was for a day and the trash man always picks our 3 trash up. We pay our bills. 4 MS. JONES: So the backyard does not 5 look like that? 6 MR. LEWIS: No, ma'am, the backyard 7 is the clearest place on the whole lot. 8 MS. JONES: And the vehicle without 9 a license place? 10 MR. LEWIS: The vehicle without the 11 license place was going to be sold until I found 12 out it had a minor transmission problem. 13 MS. JONES: And you will be moving 14 that vehicle? 15 MR. LEWIS: I'll be moving that 16 vehicle within the next two weeks. I have a debt 17 to my shop to pay. Everything I do with those 18 cars comes out of my paycheck. And everybody 19 wants their money, don't they? 20 MS. JONES: How many days do they 21 have to move the vehicle? 22 MS. LEWIS: Before you make a 23 ruling, I would like to speak. 24 MR. LEWIS: I would like to say one 25 more thing before she speaks. Another falsehood MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 49 1 here, there has been one warning that I have seen 2 with my own eyes when I was there about some 3 trash there and then there has been another 4 warning that she has told me about and we have 5 both made inquiry to whatever this organization's 6 head is exactly what offense have we committed 7 and there has never been a reply. So the ten 8 days, that's a little unfair. That's really a 9 little unfair here. 10 One more thing before I sit down. I 11 can see the heads of the table are quite 12 civilized, but sometimes the rulers pick on the 13 common people. If a government gets on their 14 people or authorities get on their people and the 15 people aren't doing anything, they are going 16 to -- now, I'm a full-blooded American. My 17 ancestors are Native American, my ancestors are 18 African, died in the Civil War. My blood is in 19 this ground. I'm an American. I'm a patriot. 20 Those are just words. I'm a patriot. I'm 21 telling you this because if this stuff goes on 22 you're going to have more people like these 23 Columbine people and I don't want to be shot by 24 one of them, so I want to let you know this isn't 25 fair and the shot she took wasn't fair. And I MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 50 1 knew her for more than eight years so now I'm 2 shocked. 3 MS. LEWIS: I'm glad to address this 4 assembly because I have plenty to say. I've not 5 seen these pictures in question. I asked this 6 lady if she would mail them to me and she didn't 7 send them. I had a conversation with her last 8 week. I also asked her if she could send me 9 information concerning Vincent. It didn't 10 happen. I received a letter that I didn't know 11 was there, it was buried in the junk mail. My 12 son signed for it and I happened to go through 13 trash to throw out and I happened to come upon 14 this letter. And this letter was dated March 1st 15 and I have no idea when it came, I really don't, 16 but sometime last week I called and -- first I 17 walked to Mrs. Kimberlin. She's on the corner. 18 She's a school board lady. And I'm probably one 19 of the few people left in Jefferson. My neighbor 20 next door, any time he wants to, I can throw a 21 rock at his house, that's how close he is, he 22 will call one of you folks and somebody will come 23 and investigate me, or the city or the county or 24 somebody. And he says if you were in Dayton you 25 wouldn't get away with this so I know where these MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 51 1 things come from, but also there's a Dayton sign 2 in my yard and I'm in Jefferson and I've called 3 the Dayton people and they won't move the sign so 4 he has clipped my tree. He has cut my grass but 5 I've let it go. I want to put up a fence, but I 6 want to be in the right time and the right place 7 to put up this fence. My land is sacred. It is 8 very sacred. It is my sacred space. It is where 9 my animals live. It is where three generations 10 of us have grown up and we were the first people 11 to move in that neighborhood since 1964. 12 Everybody else is a johnnie-come-lately so the 13 fence in the back was put up, but the two in 14 front by the side were wooden and they came down 15 so everybody comes through our yard, invited or 16 not, they come and trespass on our land. 17 My cat has been shot and mutilated. 18 I've stood in my front yard and a cat was shot 19 right beside me. I took it to the sheriff's 20 office, the sheriff said have an autopsy. I 21 don't know if somebody had a long scope rifle, I 22 don't know if they shot it out the window. This 23 started in 1987. They also skinned one of the 24 kittens, brought him back, stuck him in a tree in 25 my yard. I don't know if they're Satan, MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 52 1 masochists, voodoo, witchcraft -- 2 (Thereupon, the Notary Public 3 interrupted the proceedings.) 4 MS. LEWIS: Everybody has had their 5 say and I need to finish what I have to say. My 6 neighbor next door when he came next from surgery 7 gave me -- 8 MS. JONES: That's okay. We don't 9 need all this. 10 MS. LEWIS: People complain on me, 11 but who do I get to complain to? As far as this 12 car she's speaking of, there was a Sundance, 13 there was a silver Honda or Toyota and there 14 was -- Caravel. Those three cars were towed away 15 a long time ago. A long time ago. He got this 16 car that was to be restored and then the black 17 car in front of the house, he was robbed because 18 he worked for Domino's and somebody threw a brick 19 through the window so I've been waiting for 20 someone to give me an estimate so we can get it 21 fixed. The car in question, I've never seen 22 these pictures. Can I see them? I've never seen 23 any of them. This car was towed away last 24 summer, this car was towed away, this was all 25 cleaned up (indicating). I don't know when this MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 53 1 was done. They are all gone, all three of those 2 cars are gone. 3 MR. SIMS: Is there any cars in 4 the -- 5 MS. LEWIS: One. One is in the 6 driveway. This car is the one that Mr. Edy 7 brought to my house and I didn't have time to go 8 get the paper. Did I give you the paper? Here's 9 the paper (indicating). 10 MR. SIMS: So you got one car in the 11 driveway now? 12 MS. LEWIS: Yes, his is licensed 13 that he drives and the one that you have, this 14 one has a thirty day tag on it, but I'm giving it 15 back to the guy. I've been harassed. I pay my 16 taxes. I'm tired of being harassed. If my grass 17 grows too high, somebody come and push a lawn 18 mower. I have had five surgeries. 19 (Thereupon, the Notary Public 20 interrupted the proceedings.) 21 MS. LEWIS: I walked to your house 22 because I wanted to know what was out of 23 compliance. There was no insert in this letter. 24 I called Mr. Bradley and Mr. Bradley couldn't 25 help me. I talked to you, you told me I had to MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 54 1 come to this meeting. 2 MS. JONES: Who? 3 MS. LEWIS: Mr. Sims. I called 4 finally today and the man who's called the 5 administrator, I said do you have a website and 6 he said yes and he helped me work through it so I 7 understand what a nuisance was. She said my 8 nuisance was a bag of garbage in the front yard 9 and a car with no license. I asked for a letter. 10 None came. I asked for those photos. None came. 11 If I had seen this photos, I could have easily 12 told you they were gone and you could come by 13 yourself and see these cars are not there. 14 As far as my backyard, it's cleaned 15 up, but it's my backyard, my backyard, my sacred 16 space, not yours, not nobody here. You don't pay 17 the taxes. I understand you want your -- our 18 township cleaned up, but if you look around your 19 neighborhood -- are the very people coming to you 20 to put the screws on me. Now, I don't have a 21 problem with anything being cleaned up, not a 22 problem. I don't have a problem with licenses 23 being put on cars, not a problem, but I have 24 problems with every time I sneeze somebody is on 25 me. I have a problem with people walking in my MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 55 1 yard. I have a problem with people cutting my 2 bushes. Don't ask me. Cutting my trees. Cut 3 flowers. I have a problem with people mutilating 4 my animals. 5 MR. SIMS: Your animals, do you 6 leave them out? 7 MS. LEWIS: Some are in, some are 8 out. I don't have that fence that goes on the 9 side. I have a fence around my yard, but I don't 10 have that fence on the side. 11 Another time the sheriff came, 12 somebody beat the cat up and brought it back and 13 put it in the driveway. The sheriff told me -- 14 not you sheriff -- said put the animal to sleep. 15 Creatures were put here in the world by creator, 16 we're put here by creator. We should allow 17 creatures that don't harm anybody, don't bite to 18 have life. That's not happening here. 19 MR. SIMS: Well, Mrs. Lewis, all 20 we're asking is this, I'm your neighbor and no 21 one has told me about -- 22 MS. LEWIS: I know you don't know, 23 but I'm here because now is the time to tell you. 24 MR. SIMS: The only thing we want 25 you to do is clean up. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 56 1 MS. JONES: You said the guy is 2 going to come for the car? 3 MS. LEWIS: The car is out there, we 4 drive it. The other cars were removed in the 5 summertime, a long time ago in the summertime. 6 They went to Stony Hollow. You know that place? 7 They went down to Stony Hollow, including my '95 8 Mercury Mystic when the engine blew. 9 MS. JONES: So there are no 10 vehicles -- 11 MS. LEWIS: There's one car in the 12 drive which has no license. That's the car he 13 bought. 14 MR. SIMS: He's going to take that 15 back to his shop. 16 MS. JONES: In two weeks you can 17 take care of that, right? 18 MR. LEWIS: Yes. 19 MS. LEWIS: And there's the car that 20 just needs a sticker. It has a license plate, 21 but it just needs a sticker. That's all it 22 needs. As far as my backyard, may I see those 23 pictures? 24 MS. JONES: And your backyard -- is 25 your backyard fenced in with a fence where you MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 57 1 can't see in the backyard? 2 MS. LEWIS: I have a fence around 3 the yard. 4 MS. JONES: A wooden fence? 5 MS. LEWIS: When did you take those 6 pictures? 7 MS. FORTSON: Actually, those were 8 sent to me. 9 MS. LEWIS: I'm going to put a real 10 fix on whoever sent them. My yard does not look 11 like this and they are trespassing in my yard and 12 they need not trespass in my yard and this is a 13 long time ago. They are gone. This is also not 14 this way (indicating). All around my yard is a 15 fence except for here where there was a gate, it 16 was wooden and here where it was wooden too, it 17 fell down so now you can just walk in my yard. 18 That's it. You can just walk in my yard. 19 MR. SIMS: All you got is one car in 20 the driveway and he's going to take that in two 21 weeks? 22 MS. LEWIS: One car in the driveway. 23 I want to know why no one sent me pictures, why 24 no one could help me. I talked to you but you 25 didn't know this statute thing. You couldn't MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 58 1 tell me, remember, so that man today on the 2 telephone from work he told me where to look and 3 I pulled it up because I didn't know what a 4 nuisance was and I'm still not clear on what the 5 nuisance is and I would like to know who's going 6 to take care of me with the nusiances of the 7 people being so hateful. I can be in the yard 8 and no one speaks but they can come in my yard 9 and they can come and violate my animals and they 10 can come and do what they want to my property and 11 me. I didn't do that to anybody in the 12 neighborhood. If you go down the street, there's 13 nine cars in front of one person's house. I 14 don't know if they are licensed or not. I'm not 15 so nosy, I don't go look. On your street there's 16 four or five car. 17 MR. SIMS: Not on Birdland. 18 MS. LEWIS: On your street. On your 19 street. Yes, on your street. I'm just saying 20 honor me, honor my house. 21 MS. JONES: If you have people 22 trespassing on your property, you need to call 23 the sheriff's department. 24 MS. LEWIS: It doesn't help to call 25 the sheriff. I'm not cracking on you. It MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 59 1 doesn't help. That person could have easily 2 killed me as killed the cat. 3 MS. JONES: I make a motion and what 4 we're going to do is Verne needs to check out the 5 backyard. 6 MS. LEWIS: Be my guest. I told her 7 last week, I said all my trash is in the pen, and 8 I keep it under the tree. 9 MS. JONES: I make a motion that we 10 allow three weeks to get the car tagged. Okay? 11 Mrs. Fortson will follow up on the backyard so in 12 three weeks somebody get ahold of her and say 13 we've taken care of this. 14 MS. LEWIS: No problem. I also 15 would like to have information on fencing. What 16 is the requirement for -- 17 MS. FORTSON: I can help you with 18 that. 19 MS. LEWIS: I would also like to 20 know how to get that sign moved out of my yard. 21 MR. SIMS: I'll take care of that. 22 MS. JONES: Could I have a second on 23 my motion? 24 MR. SIMS: I second. Mrs. Jones? 25 MS. JONES: Yes. MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 60 1 MR. SIMS: Mr. Elijah? 2 MR. ELIJAH: Yes. 3 MR. SIMS: Brice Sims, yes. 4 (Thereupon, the meeting was 5 adjourned at 7:14 o'clock p.m.) 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259 61 1 STATE OF OHIO ) 2 COUNTY OF MONTGOMERY ) SS: CERTIFICATE 3 I, Mary Jo Steven, a Notary Public within 4 and for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned and 5 qualified, 6 DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above-named 7 hearing was reduced to writing by me 8 stenographically in the presence of the parties 9 and thereafter reduced to typewriting. 10 I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am not a 11 relative or Attorney of either party nor in any 12 manner interested in the event of this action. 13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set 14 my hand and seal of office at Dayton, Ohio, on 15 this _ _ _ day of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, 2004. 16 17 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MARY JO STEVENS 18 NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF OHIO My commission expires 9-10-06 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 MIKE MOBLEY REPORTING 937-222-2259