Versión en español a continuación. Regular Meeting of the Building and Standards Commission June 23, 2021 Building and Standards Commission Meeting to be held June 23, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers (property owners, representatives and/or interested parties) must register in advance (one day before the scheduled meeting, Tuesday, June 22, 2021 by Noon). To speak remotely at the June 23, 2021 Building and Standards Commission Meeting, you must: •Call or email Melanie Alley at 512-974-2679 or melanie.alley@austintexas.gov no later than June 22, 2021 by Noon, (one day before the meeting). The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, a telephone number and email address. •Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, speakers will be contacted with the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start in order to speak. Late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to melanie.alley@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •Residents may watch a live broadcast of the meeting here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. Reunión del Building and Standards Commission 23 de juno de 2021 La junta se llevará a cabo el 23 de juno de 2021 con modificaciones de distanciamiento social. Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores (propietarios, representantes y / o interesados) deben registrarse con anticipación (el martes 22 de juno de 2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunion el miercoles 23 de juno de 2021, los residentes deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de la junta en 512-974-2679 o melanie.alley@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). La información requerida es el nombre del orador, los Page 1 números de artículo sobre los que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutrales, y un número de teléfono o dirección de correo electrónico. • …
9500 Apartments Tenants Association 9500APTtenantsassociation@gmail.com (512)662-1386 “Silence of the Landlords” by the 9500 Apartments Tenants Association, April 10, 2021 9500 Apartments Tenants Association 9500APTtenantsassociation@gmail.com (512)662-1386 In the wake of Winter Storm Uri, many of the residents were without water for close to 4 weeks. Many of us went to the 9500 Apartments office that Monday, February 22, 2021 for answers. Our concerns went unanswered, with non-answers to our in-person questions, unanswered emails, no response to certified letters, no returned phone calls to messages left on voicemail, and a disconnected business line. Here are their accounts: Carlos: “There are so many things that can go through your head, when you are four days without electricity and 10 days without drinking water. There was no charcoal or wood to warm us, no way to get out through the ice. The hunger went away, we just tried to sleep wrapped in layers and layers of clothing, we lit up with candles and loaded our cell phones in the car. My 78-year-old mother fought for her life and we burned books and magazines to be warm, I felt terrible and was looking for hotels but they were full and how was I going to get there if everything was frozen .. one day the light came on at four in the morning , the emotion was so great that we bathed and prepared hot food, a noise of water interrupted us, I knew it was a water pipe but not where it would explode, the water began to flood the kitchen, we called 911 and nobody answered 311 and nobody He answered, to the fire brigade and they did not answer .... we were alone, I went out to the balcony and saw a figure shouting: "the laundry fell" .. it was maintenance, I told him I was flooding ... he ran and broke the wall and closed the pipe ... he told us you are not going to have hot water in the kitchen, but in the rest of the apartment, yes, but that was only the beginning, pipes everywhere burst and cut off our water. Without water, but with light, how long could this last? It lasted 2 weeks of uncertainty, of bathing with water from the pool, melting the ice, carrying water from the pool. Thanks to the neighbors who contacted Austin needing water and enough, we had drinking water in …
May 13th, 2021 Building and Standards Commission meeting testimony Hello my name is Alexis and I have been living at 9500 Apartments since 2018. I’m also a part of the 9500 Tenant Association. I am here on behalf of the many tenants that have experienced negligence from management in the form of; lack of communication and lack of repairs. Tenants need the following repairs or items have been removed from their unit with no definitive timeline of completion. Apartment conditions: ● Ripped out kitchen cabinets and kitchen and bathroom sinks ● Holes in walls and ceilings ● Exposed wiring and insulation (causing allergic skin reactions to the fiberglass) ● Hardware removed to prevent water usage in the kitchens and bathrooms ● Low or no water pressure ● Extensive water damage has caused mold to grow Communication and management behavior: Some of the behaviors management has taken against tenants have ranged from: ● Refusal to meet with the Tenant Association, after 4 written attempts requesting to meet ● Turning away Spanish speaking tenants and locking office doors in their faces ● Running away from tenants asking questions and threatening to contact lawyers ● Notices to evict tenants that have damages in their units ● Management sends the same blanket email stating that repairs are “underway” and asking us to be patient. Tenant displacement: Because of these conditions many tenants have taken it upon themselves to look for alternative housing. ● Many tenants have “unofficially” moved out because they canNOT live in their unit ● Some tenants have medical conditions that puts a strain on them financially and ● We are expected to pay full rent while living in substandard and dangerous emotionally conditions. Conclusion: We bring this to the Building and Standards Commission's attention: ● There are currently 16 active code cases ● at least 48 and counting code violations found We are actively supporting our neighbors and working with the Austin Code Department. We hope the commission will exhaust all enforcement mechanisms so that tenants get the repairs they deserve and can live in a safe and healthy environment. Thank you for your time
Date: June 23, 2021 BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION The Building and Standards Commission (BSC) convened remotely via video conference for a regular meeting on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The meeting was available for viewing live at http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn- live. Commission Members in Attendance: Vice Chair Pablo Avila; and, Commissioners: Sade Ogunbode, Wordy Thompson, John Green, Elizabeth Mueller, Timothy Stostad, and Edward Selig; and, Fire Chief Jeffery Kennedy (for Ex Officio Commissioner / Fire Marshal Chief Thomas Vocke). Chair Andrea Freiburger was absent. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Staff in Attendance: Melanie Alley, Code Review Analyst/BSC Coordinator; Robert Moore, Austin Code Division Manager; James Candelas, Program Specialist; Farah Presley, Investigator; Elaine Garrett, Assistant Director; Daniel Word, Assistant Director; Moses Rodriguez, Javier Salas, Inspector; Anthony Rainey, Inspector; Willis Adams Inspector; Patricia Link, Assistant City Attorney; and Adam Ellis, CTM A/V Technician. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Avila called the Commission Meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Meeting minutes from both the May 13, 2021 special called meeting and the May 26, 2021 regular meeting were approved on separate motions by Commissioner Mueller, which were both seconded by Commissioner Green. The motions carried on unanimous votes. Chair Freiburger was absent. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION One stakeholder spoke during Citizen Communication. Taniquewa Brewster provided an update to the Commission regarding the status of the residents being allowed to return to the Mount Carmel Village apartments. PUBLIC HEARINGS Street Address New Case(s): Case Number(s) 1. CL 2021-086007, et al. 9500 Dessau Road, (aka 9500 Apartments) Mar Single, LLC The property was represented by attorney Caroline McDonald, who spoke on behalf of the owner at the hearing. Two tenants, Jay Wilk and Carols Parada, and BASTA representative Jarymar Arana, also testified regarding conditions at the property. Additional tenant testimony was provided to the Commission in writing. Owner/Appellant 1 Ingeborg Dyke Wesley Seguin and Leo Seguin 9802 Cottle Drive 1046 Broadview Street Vice Chair Avila admitted Staff Exhibits 1 – 31H, as well as the tenant testimony. Commissioner Mueller moved to close the public hearing, followed by a motion to adopt staff’s findings of fact and conclusions of law in each case, and to shorten staff’s recommendations for repair per order from 30 days to 10 days, with penalties of $1,000 per day per violation to begin accruing on the 11th day if not in compliance, and accrue until compliance is achieved. Further, the motion stated that based on …
