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07/11/2018 Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 City of Clearwater City Hall 112 S. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33756 m ap ® e Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 11, 2018 3:00 PM Council Chambers Nuisance Abatement Page 1 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 Rollcall Present 6 - Chair Jack Geller, Vice Chair Leanne Grayston, Board Member Charles Johnston, Board Member Bruce Miller, Board Member Susan Oliveto, and Board Member MaryAnn Lane Absent 1 - Board Member Nancy O'Neill Also Present: Matthew Smith —Assistant City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, Thomas Trask— Board Attorney, and Stephanie Stutz - Paralegal To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 1. Call to Order— Chair Geller The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. at City Hall. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda — None. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Elect Chair and Vice Chair. Per the Board's Rules of Procedure, the Board must elect a Chair and Vice Chair annually. The Chair may not serve more than two consecutive terms as Chair. Attorney Trask said the Board's Rules of Procedure require nominations of officers be made at the annual organizational meeting. Since the Board has not met in a couple of years, nominations from the floor will be accepted. Mr. Geller has the opportunity to serve as Chair again. Board Member Oliveto moved to elect Jack Geller as Chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Board Member Johnston moved to elect Leanne Grayston as Vice Chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Page 2 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 4.2 Case No. 2018-01 - City of Clearwater v. Eric Volinski Attorney Trask reviewed the quasi-judicial hearing process. Witnesses were sworn in prior to their testimony. Assistant City Attorney Smith called forward Julie Phillips. Ms. Phillips said she is a Code Inspection Specialist with the City of Clearwater and confirmed that she completed the Affidavit of Posting on June 18. She posted the notice on the property since the certified mail receipt was not received. Ms. Phillips confirmed that she took a photograph of the notice posted on the door of the subject property. She said the notice and the Affidavit of Posting were also posted on the Jupiter site. Chair Geller accepted Exhibit 1 into evidence. Mr. Smith called Undercover Officer#1 forward. The Officer reviewed his training and professional background. After determining illegal activity is present, pursuant to city ordinance and state statute for nuisance abatement, the narcotics units will consult with the Legal Department while the activity continues. If Legal determines the activity falls within the ordinance and statute criteria, the Police Chief sends a letter to the property owner requesting he/she meet with a Clearwater Police Department (CPD) District Commander to mitigate the nuisance issues identified at the property. The Officer said he is familiar with the property located at 407 South Jupiter Avenue, the property has been the subject of numerous complaints regarding drug activity since 2017. He said an anonymous citizen placed the original complaint. He was aware that Mr. Volinski became the property owner on September 15, 2017. The drug activity continued under the property's new ownership. Since 2017, the narcotics unit has conducted 13 drug related investigations. Of the 13 investigations, 5 were conducted since April 2018. The drug activity identified was the sale and possession of a controlled substance, as defined by FS 893.13, which are felonies. On June 29, approximately 80 grams of synthetic marijuana was seized from Florence Luna who was living at 407 S Jupiter, Apartment#7. He said a list of costs related to the investigations totaled $2,342.22. Costs include the undercover personnel, evidence submission for laboratory testing and the purchase cost for the illegal substance. In response to questions, the Officer said there have been continuous investigations from 2017 through April 2018. Members of the narcotics unit have continuously purchased illegal substances from the location. The Officer said the total costs compiled were related to the five investigations since Mr. Volinski came into ownership of the property. Page 3 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 Mr. Smith called forward Lt. Natalia Illich-Hailey. Lt. Illich-Hailey reviewed her professional experience. She is currently assigned to District 2 (area encompasses the water all the way to Keene) and is responsible for the patrol operations, as well as addressing nuisance properties within her district. When the property owner receives a letter from the Police Chief regarding nuisance issues, the property owner has 10 days to contact the District Commander, she meets with the property owner to discuss how to mitigate the nuisance issues and maintains contact to receive progress updates. She confirmed that the Police Chief sent a letter to the property owner asking him to meet with Lt. John Connor, who was the District 2 Commander at the time, to discuss the nuisance issues. She became the District 2 Commander in December 2017 and met with Lt. Connor to discuss the case. On December 4, 2017, Lt. Connor forwarded an email that included the Police Chiefs letter and the suggestions made to Mr. Volinski to mitigate the nuisance issues. Chair Geller accepted Exhibit 2 into evidence. In response to questions, Lt. Illich-Hailey said Mr. Volinski met with Lt. Connor on November 21. She confirmed that Lt. Connor emailed notes of his meeting with Mr. Volinski to officers assigned to the Nuisance Property Board email distribution. She said Lt. Connor suggested certain criteria to Mr. Volinski, including evicting tenants engaged in criminal activity and modifying rental agreements for all future tenants, stating illegal activity leads to immediate eviction process. It was suggested Mr. Volinski transition from weekly rentals to monthly rentals, hire a security officer, install surveillance cameras, renovate the property and improve the exterior lighting. Chair Geller accepted Exhibit 3 into evidence. In response to questions, Lt. Illich-Hailey said she called Mr. Volinski on February 1, 2018 to introduce herself and explain that she was taking over for Lt. Connor. She shared that Lt. Connor expressed that Mr. Volinski was cooperative and very concerned with fixing the property. She reviewed Lt. Connor's suggested criteria and inquired about the progress on the steps taken since he met with Lt. Connor. She said Mr. Volinski stated he had evicted a tenant from Apartment#7, whom he suspected was involved with drug sales, and he evicted a tenant from Apartment#5, who was involved with prostitution. Mr. Volinski told her that Marquis Cheeks, the tenant identified in the Police Chiefs letter, was still residing in Apartment#6 and recalled instances of increased foot traffic at Mr. Cheeks apartment. She said Mr. Volinski stated he believed Mr. Cheeks was involved with drug sales and expressed concerns with violent crimes occurring in his apartment. Lt. Illich-Hailey said Mr. Volinski also confirmed that he still had tenants with weekly rents but that he was in the process of changing the rental agreement for new tenants to include language Lt. Connor suggested. Mr. Volinski Page 4 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 stated he installed motion-activated lighting in the parking lot, repainted the building and trimmed the shrubs around the property to increase visibility. He said Joseph Ward, who was also listed in the Police Chiefs letter, was no longer a tenant. Mr. Volinski did request a blanket No Trespass for the property since his two no trespass signs were removed, she told him that she would follow-up with the Sgt. She said Mr. Volinski did not complete all of the suggestions made by Lt. Connor. She sent an email to the Nuisance Property Board group on February 1, 2018 detailing her conversation with Mr. Volinski. Chair Geller accepted Exhibit 4 into evidence. In response to questions, Lt. Illich-Hailey said she called Mr. Volinski on February 8 to discuss the eviction progress of Mr. Cheeks. She said Mr. Cheeks was arrested on the property for something not drug related. Mr. Volinski was aware of the arrest and she confirmed that Mr. Cheeks was still in jail. Mr. Volinski was aware that most of the problems would reoccur once Mr. Cheeks returned from jail since his girlfriend resides at the apartment and understood he should evict Mr. Cheeks. She said Mr. Volinski hesitated with evicting Mr. Cheeks since his girlfriend resided in the apartment and did not want to place the girlfriend in a bad position. Lt. Illich-Hailey confirmed she sent an email on February 8 to the police group detailing her conversation with Mr. Volinski. She believed Mr. Volinski was making a concerted effort to address nuisances on the property, he was considering installing "dummy"cameras on the property to give the impression they were recording. Lt. Illich-Hailey said Mr. Cheeks was the problem, it did not matter what was being done, the activity would continue if Mr. Cheeks was not handled correctly. She said they had also discussed how Mr. Volinski was still working on revising the lease agreements to include the language Lt. Connor suggested. Chair Geller accepted Exhibit 5 into evidence. In response to questions, Lt. Illich Hailey confirmed there has been drug activity since Mr. Volinski purchased the property through February 2018. On February 29, 2018, she was advised by the community response team of their drug investigation at the property. She said, at that point, the nuisance case was re-evaluated by the Crime Analysis Unit, if the drug activity continues, the drug vice unit confers with legal counsel to determine if the nuisance case may go before the Nuisance Abatement Board. She said on April 27 Vice and Narcotics had a case on the property that involved Mr. Cheeks. Lt. Illich-Hailey said she did not recall the status of the blanket trespass follow-up. She said she has not had any contact with Mr. Volinski since her second telephone conversation. Page 5 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 Mr. Smith called forward Undercover Detective #1. The detective reviewed his training and professional background. He said he was familiar with the cited property since the narcotics division was assigned a case related to a drug activity and prostitution. He confirmed that he conducted an operation on April 10, 2018 and engaged a confidential informant (CI) to conduct a controlled purchase of illegal narcotics at 407 S. Jupiter, Apartment 6. He reviewed the controlled purchase process and confirmed that the Cl was under constant surveillance during the entire process. The suspected narcotics purchased at the property were sent to the Pinellas County Forensics Laboratory for identification and later identified as Fluoro-ADB, a synthetic marijuana known as spice. He confirmed that the lab results were attached to the police report. The Detective said the investigation identified possession to sell with controlled substance and sale of a controlled substance, which are felonies. The case will be referred to the State Attorney once the investigation has concluded. He reviewed the execution of a search warrant by the Clearwater Police Department on April 26, 2018 at 407 S. Jupiter, Apartment 7. The Detective said the marijuana found during the search warrant tested positive at the Main Police Station, the suspected narcotics found during the search warrant was sent to the County forensics lab for testing and later identified as Fluoro-ADB. The Detective confirmed that the lab report was attached to the police report. The investigation identified possession of narcotics and intent to sell illegal narcotics. He said the case will be referred to the State Attorney once the investigation has concluded. In response to questions, the Detective said Florence Luna agreed to cooperate with the Clearwater Police Department on April 26, 2018. Charges of possession and distribution have been brought against Ms. Luna. There was a narcotics investigation into Florence Luna at the same location on June 29, 2018. Ms. Luna cooperated with the search warrant but is not working with the Clearwater Police Department as a Cl. Mr. Smith called forward Undercover Detective #2. The Detective reviewed his training and professional background. He reviewed a controlled purchase operation with a Cl that was conducted on April 12, 2018 at 407 S. Jupiter, Apartment 6. He said the Cl was not known to him prior to this investigation and confirmed that the Cl was under constant surveillance throughout the entire process. The suspected narcotics purchased by the Cl was sent to the County forensics lab for testing and later identified as Fluoro-ADB. The Detective said the lab report was attached to the police report. The investigation identified the sale of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and attempt to sell. The case will be referred to the State Attorney once the investigation has concluded. The Detective reviewed the service of a search warrant in which he participated on April 26, 2018 at the subject property. The suspected synthetic marijuana collected Page 6 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 during the warrant was sent to the County forensics lab and later identified as Fluoro-ADB. The Detective said the case will be referred to the State Attorney one the investigation has concluded. In response to questions, the Detective said no one was in the apartment when the warrant was served. The apartment was accessed through forced entry. Mr. Volinski said he purchased the property in September 2017 and was not aware of the incidents. He researched the property's history after he was informed of the fines and violations. When he took over the property, he became aware that tenants did not have leases. He became aware of the drug activity and prostitution after the first week of ownership and tried to address the matter by evicting tenants in Apartments 5 and 3. Through an attorney, he has been able to evict 3 tenants. Three of the 11 units have been vacated. He said he has informed Ms. Luna that she will be evicted, he is waiting for his attorney to provide him the 3-day notice. Mr. Volinski said he installed exterior lighting and trimmed landscaping to improve visibility. He requested the Board consider providing him three months to address the matter. In response to questions, Mr. Volinski said he inspected the property prior to purchase and witnessed some odd activity but was told tenants were down on their luck, he suspected illegal activity. He addressed the prostitution activity. He said he was aware in November 2017 that the Police Chiefs 2017 letter indicated Marquis Cheeks sold synthetic marijuana to an agent of the Clearwater Police Department. He said Mr. Cheeks remained on the property for six months, he asked Mr. Cheeks to leave earlier but would always return after a few weeks. Mr. Volinski said he did not bring any receipts or pictures documenting the exterior lighting that was installed. He said Lt. Connor never visited the property to confirm the mitigation efforts undertaken. He has not installed surveillance cameras or dummy cameras. Of the current 3 tenants, one tenant is under a monthly lease, with an option to pay in installments. Mr. Volinski said he wants to evict the other two tenants. He did not use an attorney to evict Mr. Cheeks because he and his girlfriend vacated after he provided him with a 3-day notice. He is renovating the apartment units and improving the property's curb appeal, he is 55% complete. He said the eviction process takes three weeks. Mr. Volinski said he has been living in Pinellas County for three years and this was the first time he has managed properties. The current weekly rent is $350, it was previously$200. Attorney Smith provided a PowerPoint presentation of the recommended remediation efforts. Board Member Oliveto moved to find Case No. 2018-01, City of Page 7 City of Clearwater Nuisance Abatement 5. Adjourn Attest City Clerk City of Clearwater Meeting Minutes July 11, 2018 Clearwater v. Eric Volinski, is a public nuisance. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. There was consensus to continue the decision on the remedy portion of the case to Wednesday, August 1. The City Clerk was directed to confirm with Board Members their availability. The meeting adjourned at 5:07 p.m. Page 8