Lawsuit threatened over boarded home
During the Washington City Council meeting Thursday, attorney Charles Kurowski relayed the plight of a tax-paying couple who went to work one day and came home to find their house boarded up.
But Washington officials had a different story to tell.
According to Kurowski, the home of Reed and Mary Gallick at 29 Laurel Ave. was illegally boarded up by code enforcement officer Ron McIntyre. But McIntyre said the home was “inhabitable,” “unsecured” and “full of animal feces.”
Kurowski, who represents a resident suing the city in a separate code enforcement case, said he wants to try to avoid a lawsuit and asked the city solicitor to meet with him.
Calling the move “a violation of civil rights,” Kurowski said the couple were not aware of any code violations until they found a notice tacked to the front of the home. He said he’s ready to take the case to federal court.
City solicitor Jack Cambest said council met in executive session after the meeting to discuss the potential litigation.
McIntyre followed procedure, Cambest said.
“If you’re living in your house, they’re not going to go board it up,” he said. “This was apparently an emergency-type situation with cats, vermin and people going in and out.”
McIntyre said he mailed notices of code violations to the Gallicks. When they were returned through the mail, McIntyre said he followed procedure by posting a notice on the structure. Cambest said some windows were already boarded up before McIntyre took action.
Councilman Ken Westcott said neighbors of the home called him to complain about doors being left open and a large amount of cats going in and out of the building. He also said there were reports that homeless people were entering the house.
Councilwoman Monda Williams, who is head of public safety, said she was not made aware of the problem.
“I feel somewhere in this process, someone should have informed me about this,” Williams said. “I can’t run my department if I’m not informed.”
Cambest said Williams was informed of the situation during executive session and that she plans to view the property. He said he will try to facilitate a meeting with Kurowski.
“They’ll have to see what they need to do to get it up to code … if they really want to get it straightened up,” Cambest said.