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Councilmember John Voorde asked if Code Enforcement was claiming the house was unsafe <br />Ms. Brazer responded it's not that it was unsafe but that when the people that donated the house <br />gave it to us they had stripped the house so we had to start completely over. We were getting <br />help from various organizations and discounts on materials needed to renovate the house, the <br />problem was the schedule set by Code Enforcement did not give us enough time. <br />Council Attorney Kathleen Cekasnki- Farrand asked who set the timeline at Code Enforcement. <br />Ms. Brazer stated they would get letters just from Code Enforcement. <br />Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston asked what eventually happened to the house. <br />Ms. Brazer responded initially they tried to give it to the City and then they tried to give to the <br />Near North West but it was not in the right area so eventually the house just went to another non- <br />profit. <br />Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston asked how much money they probably put in the <br />property. <br />Ms. Brazer estimated approximately $8,000.00. <br />Penny Hughes, 1918 Southern View Dr., stated she served on the Mayor's Vacant and <br />Abandoned Task Force. She stated when you have so many people living below the poverty level <br />it is very hard to pay these fees. She stated she has been a landlord for about forty (40) years and <br />had never got a fee but then all of a sudden she got this violation for a property. They are <br />harassing and nasty letters and insinuating that these violations are being done deliberately which <br />isn't the case. She hears landlords say that South Bend's Code Enforcement does things much <br />different from Mishawaka's who call before the letters and try to work with the owner and not <br />getting threatening letters. She stated landlords won't invest in South Bend anymore they have <br />just had it. We need the funds from the rental income just to keep the house and neighborhood <br />up. She stated it is not just landlords its also home occupants as well. South Bend needs a kinder <br />and gentler Code Enforcement not one that treats the taxpaying citizens like they're cheaters. <br />Marty Wolfson, 809 Park Ave, asked why Code Enforcement wants to withdraw these bills and <br />is it because they have decided they don't need these fees after all or is it that they don't actually <br />need Council approval. Also why did Code not answer the questions from the Council and what <br />is the Council going to do about that. There seems to be all these aggressive actions by Code <br />Enforcement to try to get people out of their houses and are they getting kicked out of their home <br />in a discriminatory fashion. <br />Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston questioned how the "Thousand Houses in a Thousand <br />Days" initiative affected the demolition prospect and if there were conflicts of interest and some <br />houses could have been saved but were demolished because it made some people more money. <br />Drew Duncan, 424 S Street, stated since the start of the year the Council has seen a variety of <br />issues and if you piece them together it is clearly linked with gentrification. It is no shocker that <br />most of these programs target the West Side which is the low income part of South Bend and it <br />0 <br />