Petition to Gov. Scott

 

TO:            The Honorable Rick Scott

                 Governor of Florida

                 The Capitol

 400 S. Monroe St.

 Tallahassee, Florida  32399-0001

FROM:        Carolyn A. Butcher

                 6005 North Otis

                 Tampa, Florida

 

Your Excellency:

I write to request that you suspend Jake Slater, Director of the Code Enforcement and Business Tax Department of the City of Tampa for malfeasance, misfeasance, and neglect of duty.

Code Enforcement first wrote up the owner of 6003 N. Otis in Tampa, James Alverson, for "Accumulations" (of trash) on March 30, 2009.  More recently they wrote him (the fifteenth time) for the same violation on July 5.  On July 26, they marked the "Accumulations" "complied;" the same day they sent him a 2d Notice (sixteenth writing) for the "Accumulations."  On August 15th they sent yet another 2d Notice (seventeenth writing).

Today, we still have those "Accumulations."

(The toilet and tire are particularly attractive.  As are the open containers that are breeding mosquitoes.)

Then we have some new accumulations.

Code first wrote Alverson for "Soundness" (in this case, paint and minor structural repairs) on September 22, 2009.  More recently they wrote him (for the seventh time) on July 5 and sent 2d Notices on July 26 (number eight) and August 15 (nine).  In contrast to some of the earlier accumulations, Alverson has corrected none of the “Soundness” violations.  As of September 9, the "Action File Recap" at the City's kiosk showed that they extended the deadline to "have time to get this homeowner into the diversionary program."  There is no notation as to why they did not do this two years ago.  For sure, the place remains an eyesore.

I would point out in passing that Code wrote Alverson this year for raw sewage on the ground on Feb 16 and April 18.  They did not bother to write the July sewage incident that brought out the Environmental Protection Commission, which got the sewage cleaned up and the plumbing fixed in less than a week.  That effective behavior poses a nice contrast to Code Enforcement, which has spent over two years preserving the nuisance at 6003.

Here is the pivot table by violation from my summary of the Action File Recap that goes back to March 22, 2006:

The entire summary is attached as Exhibit A.

Mr. Slater’s ongoing failure to do his job leaves the neighbors subject to this persistent assault upon their health and property values.  That failure certainly amounts to neglect of duty.  In light of comments from Mr. Slater’s underlings, I infer that the failure to remedy this nuisance is deliberate, and thus amounts to misfeasance and malfeasance. 

Governor, please suspend Mr. Slater from office and let us see whether his replacement can actually do the job Mr. Slater now is not doing.

Exhibit A

Completed	Violation	Action	Complied	Comments
3/22/2006	Accessory Building		4/13/2006
3/22/2006	Accessory Building		4/13/2006
3/22/2006	Structure		4/13/2006	Rusted roof; paint & mildew
3/30/2009	Accumulations		4/13/2009	junk, trash, debris
5/13/2009	Pool		5/14/2009	Unfenced
5/13/2009	Pool		5/14/2009	<5' from fence
6/19/2009	Accumulations	notice + civil citation warning letter	7/1/2009	apliances (sic), wood, junk, trash, debris
7/8/2009	Accumulations	Notice	7/16/2009	Junk,trash, debris (furniture)
7/8/2009	Overgrowth	Notice	7/16/2009
9/22/2009	Accessory Building	Initial Notice		Only one accessory structure allowed
9/22/2009	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail		fencing material, toilet, junk, trash, debris
9/22/2009	Sound w minor repairs	Initial Notice		Permit required
9/22/2009	Zoning	Initial Notice
10/6/2009	Accessory Building	Second Notice
10/6/2009	Sound w minor repairs	Second Notice
10/6/2009	Zoning	Second Notice
10/14/2009	Accumulations	Civil Citation	11/3/2009
11/2/2009	Accessory Building	Going to Hearing
11/2/2009	Sound w minor repairs	Going to Hearing
11/2/2009	Zoning	Going to Hearing
11/3/2009	Accessory Building	Field Visit
11/3/2009	Sound w minor repairs	Field Visit
11/3/2009	Zoning	Field Visit
11/6/2009	Accessory Building	Field Visit		Attempted hand delivery; not home
11/6/2009	Sound w minor repairs	Field Visit		Attempted hand delivery; not home
11/6/2009	Zoning	Field Visit		Attempted hand delivery; not home
11/19/2009	Accessory Building	Hand Delivery
11/19/2009	Sound w minor repairs	Hand Delivery	3/5/2010
11/19/2009	Zoning	Hand Delivery
12/28/2009	Accumulations		1/7/2010	Reclining chair in R/W
3/5/2010	Accessory Building	Field Visit		On Paint Your Heart Out list
3/5/2010	Zoning	Field Visit		Still needs to remove one building
3/22/2010	Accumulations	Initial Notice		two chairs behind shed
3/30/2010	Accessory Building	Field Visit
3/30/2010	Zoning	Field Visit
4/5/2010	Accumulations	Second Notice
4/26/2010	Accumulations	Going to Hearing	7/12/2010
5/10/2010	Accessory Building	Second Notice
5/10/2010	Zoning	Second Notice
5/12/2010	Accessory Building	Second Notice
5/12/2010	Zoning	Second Notice
8/26/2010	Accessory Building	Posted/Property
8/26/2010	Zoning	Posted/Property
9/7/2010	Accessory Building	Going to Hearing	9/22/2010
9/7/2010	Zoning	Going to Hearing	9/22/2010
11/16/2010	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	11/18/2010	Several full trash bags in front yard
12/10/2010	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	1/3/2011	Debris on R/W and behind shed
1/20/2011	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	1/24/2011	Washer in front yard and speakers in R/W
2/16/2011	Public Nuisance	Initial Notice	2/22/2011	Sewage
3/8/2011	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	3/23/2011	Toilet & Misc. junk in yard
4/18/2011	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	5/16/2011
4/18/2011	Overgrowth	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	5/16/2011
4/18/2011	Public Nuisance	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	5/16/2011	Raw sewage on ground
4/18/2011	Structure	Initial Notice		damaged & rotten wood
4/18/2011	Structure	Initial Notice		paint; hole in door
5/2/2011	Structure	Second Notice
5/2/2011	Structure	Second Notice
5/23/2011	Structure	Field Visit	6/28/2011
5/23/2011	Structure	Field Visit	6/28/2011
7/5/2011	Accumulations	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	7/26/2011
7/5/2011	Overgrowth	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail	7/26/2011
7/5/2011	Sound w minor repairs	Civil Warning by Cert. Mail		Paint
7/26/2011	Accumulations	Second Notice
7/26/2011	Sound w minor repairs	Second Notice
8/15/2011	Accumulations	Second Notice
8/15/2011	Sound w minor repairs	Second Notice