02/21/77 Board of Public Works Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 21, 1977 A regular_ sleeting of the Board of Public Works was convened on February 21, 1977 at 9:30 a.m. by President Patrick McMahon x7ith Mr. McMahon, Mr. Brunner and Mr. Mullen present. Deputy City Attorney Georgia Luks way also present. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETI.1G APPROVED Mr. Brunner reported that he had reviewed the minutes of the February 14, 1977 meeting and he made a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted. Mr. McMahon seconded the motion and it carried. MASSAGE PARLOR APPLICATION OF CHANG KO DENIED This was'the date set for a public hearing on the application of Chang Ko to operate a massage parlor at 2614 S. Michigan Street. The Clerk, tendered proofs of publication of notice of,the public hearing in the South Bend Tribune and the Tri-County News which were found to be sufficient. Mr. McMahon"noted that, pursuant to the ordinance, the application Was sent to various City departments for review of the requirements for such an operation and for recommendations. The Fire Department submitted a report stating that they were unable to`inspect the premises because the owner had in.forried them that the property was not going to be rented to Mr. I:o. John DeLee, Building Commissioner, reported that his Department was unable to,siake an inspection of the structure because the owners stated they would not rent.to the applicant because of his poor credit rating and because the usage would require the installation of additional toilet facilities which the owner declined to make. The Police Department submitted their_ report noting that their investigation was incor_iplete because Mr_. Ko listed no local address and they were unable to contact hire to interview him. They recommended that the license be denied until such time as they were able to contact Mr. Ko. Mr. Charles Kalwitz, owner of the building, was present and advised the Board that he would not be renting the building; to Mr. Ko. Attorney Edward Olczak was present on behalf of the applicant, Chang Ko, who was also present. Mr. Oiczak said the application was filed with the City of South Bend because Mr. Ko thought he had an arrangement to rent the building. After publicity in the newspaper about the application and because of the ideas about massage parlors in South Bend the owners have decided not to rent the building. i1r. Olczak said Mr. Ko operates a massage parlor in Kalamazoo and he displayed to the Board a copy of a Grand Rapids newspaper which printed a story about the parlor operating in Kalamazoo. Mr. Oiczak said this is a reputable operation utilizing a Japanese method of massage. Mr. Olczak said he would ask the Board to take no action on the application and continue the hearing to allow Mr. I:o to make an arrangement with the prospective landlord or another landlord in South Bend. Ile said Mr. Ko plans to go into a business with a capital expenditure of seven to ten thousand dollars and this is not an operation that is going to get into trouble with the la-u. Mr. Olczak asked for a continuance of one r_lonth to give Mr. Ko a chance to see what can be done about a location. Ile said Mr. Ko was present to answer any questions the Board might have. Mr. Brunner said the ordinance indicates that any application that is not granted is denied and said the Board is at something of an impasse. The application was filed for a specific address and, based on the information submitted to the Board, there is no way the application could be granted at this point. Mr. Brunner said if the application were to be denied, it would in no way prejudice the applicant and he has the privilege of refiling for a license for premises where he has a lease or title. Mr. Olczak said he understood the Board's situation but he asked that no action be taken for one week to allow Mr. Ko to talk to the people he hoped to rent from. Mr. Brunner said it was his personal feeling that the application should be denied at this time. He said the applicant can refile when he has a location and a lease or title interest. Mr. Olczak asked that the denial be without prejudice and Mr. Brunner said there is no prejudice. The application is insufficient since the address listed on the application will not be