And the code board for the City of Tarpon Springs is now in session. Bobby, would you please call the roll? Mr. Dubose's here. Doctor. Mateo
here. Mr. Ogul here. Mr. Stephan here. Mr. Excuse me, Mr. Paul. Mr. Miss. Curren here.
Mrs. Merricks here, miss Lambert is here. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I could you all please stand for the invocation and
the Pledge of Allegiance? Dear Lord, please give us both the insight and the empathy required for us to make the
best decisions. On behalf of the citizens of Tarpon Springs. Amen. And now for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance
to the flag. The United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice. Justice for all. Okay. Be seated please.
That those old knees. Mike, you got. You got your old knees. You have a little trouble. Okay, we're going to go over the hearing procedures for today.
The procedures for this code board are as follows. It is the intention of this board to promote, protect and improve the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Tarpon
Springs by providing an equitable, effective, and inexpensive method of enforcing various codes within the city of Tarpon Springs. Any aggrieved party may appeal a
final administrative order of this board to the Circuit Court. Such appeals should be filed within 30 days of the execution of the order to be appealed.
Florida Statute 286.0105 requires any party appealing a decision of this board to have a record of the proceedings to support such an appeal. The
procedure of this board is as follows. First, the city presents its witnesses and exhibits, after which the alleged violator is able to ask
the city's witnesses any specific questions regarding their testimony. Secondly, the alleged violator is allowed to make a presentation and present his or her witnesses and
exhibits. Then the city will question them. The city will question them and the alleged.
And the alleged violators. Witnesses. Excuse me. After both rounds of testimony, both on the part of the city and on the part of the alleged violator, each party is asked
to give a closing statement, first by the city and then by the alleged violator. After those three steps are taken, this board will close the public hearing portion of the
case to discuss it and take appropriate action. Before we begin the public hearings, we will have all potential
witnesses stand up and be sworn in. Is she going to testify? No. Then no. Okay. Do you swear the
testimony you're about to give is the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I do, thank you. And be seated. And please turn off all cell phones to silence
or off. Okay. Let me turn to the inspector, sir. Are you ready to present your first case? Yes, sir. My name is Mike Ralston. I'm the code enforcement officer for the
City of Tarpon Springs. And I will be presenting this code board for Officer Tony Boone, who was not able to be here
today. So this case is 26-80000861 for Linda M Allen of 399 Dixie highway. This case
was initiated when police responded on June 16th for a call for service because of a generator running. So it was a noise complaint report was taken that evening. The
generator was turned off. Code enforcement was then notified by the police officers who responded out that night. A case was opened on June 17th.
The initial inspection took place on June 17th. Officer Boone took several pictures. There was a RV in the front yard. That's what the generator
was originally hooked up to and running. There was various trash and debris located throughout the yard. You can
see here there's a gas can, bag of trash, various debris. It was just generally unkempt. The you can see the generator up
there by the door. It had was disconnected at this point, not running. These are just more
photos. What happened next was Officer Boone explained that the RV. You could not be living in the RV and that the property
would need to be cleaned up. Here is his posting. On 622. Was the inspection the kind of follow up date? But he was not
able to get to it due to work load. So they got two extra days really out of the deal. On the 24th I was back from vacation, so I went with
Officer Boone and we inspected the property again to see what kind of progress had been made. You can see by the photo the RV had been removed by that point,
but there's still debris and trash. Kind of just all over the place. The front porch was is is currently just chock full
of that's of different furniture. There's like a, like a storage cabinet for kind of, I think they used to sell goods like a little market. There's a
broken window on the side of the house that is just kind of taped up. There's a pallet laying around and just general overgrowth. It was at this time
that a neighbor then brought to our attention that there was also a pool in the back that was not being maintained. The neighbor gave us permission to
go down the side of the house on their property, where we kind of observed more in the back overgrowth, and the back patio is just again full of
stuff, kind of just junk and debris everywhere. And the pool is green. This was not listed on the original case because it
came up in the middle of the initial investigation. On the 29th, there was a phone call. The property owner contacted
code enforcement and asked if Officer Boone would speak with her grandson, Noah, and to kind of give him what needed to be
done. Noah, we explained to him what needed to happen, and really, no, there had been no improvement at all. Then we
were led to we were put in contact with another member of the family, the. The daughter, Lee, is the daughter of the property owner, and she sort of
explained that she would like to kind of come in and be the, the point person and is going to be the one that's looking to get all this now cleaned up. Her mother is incapable of it.
And Noah is just, I guess, decided he didn't want to do anything. This was in done yesterday at 7 a.m. there was
still really no change at all. Everything is still exactly as it was. The pool. I guess Noah did pull a solar cover over it,
thinking that would kind of solve the problem, but it really is only going to exacerbate it and just make the pool even warmer. And then this
morning we inspected again or inspected again just to see if there had been any change, even anything. The grass had been cut, anything, nothing had been
done. So at this juncture, this we're seeking kind of two separate dates, one for the initial call. That was the trash and junk and debris. And
then, in the interest of fairness, a second motion or a second date, same motion, but a second date, giving them additional time for the things that were discovered in the
back, the pool, and that kind of clutter, because we really didn't bring that to their attention until later in the case. And that concludes the
city's presentation. You have exhibits to present. Do you have any objection to us
submitting evidence? Ma'am, are you ready to present your side of the situation? Sir, I believe you, doctor has a question. Yes, sir. Oh, I'm
sorry, I apologize. Does the swimming pool have water in it? It does have water in it. And the only thing they've changed was they pulled one of those blue solar covers just on top
of the water. That's not really what we consider covering the pool. It's. Is it fully enclosed? Yes, it is secured. Yes, it is secured. Right now
it's only a sanitation issue. We're not considering this a life safety issue because the pool is secured. Before I
proceed any further, anybody else have any questions? No, ma'am. Then if you're ready, you may present. I mean, I don't really have anything to
say about it except for we didn't know about the actual code enforcement violation. So my sister and I, we take care of my, well, my mom now, like,
take her to appointments and come over and check on her and stuff. And we always tell them like, you've got to get this cleaned up mainly. And I'll be honest, from our standpoint,
it's a safety issue for our mom. She's 76. She uses a walker to get around. Like we know, emergency services has to be able to get in to her if needed. We had been taking care of my
dad, and my parents have lived there for 20 something years, 20, 21 years, probably longer than that. We moved in in 2000. I think our dad had Alzheimer's
and passed away in December, where my sister and I had been over there at the time for the last 2 or 3 years, like on a daily basis. And then in
January, my lovely niece and her significant other moved in. And this is how fast it has turned. Not that it was perfect for a while before, but it was
maintainable. And so we picked up my mom on Monday to take her into the hospital for a procedure she's having done this week, and happened to stumble upon the letter about the hearing today. Otherwise,
we knew nothing about any of this because we've always gotten their house taken care of. My sister and my husband and her husband. And so we
already have plans tomorrow, like, especially with my mom being in the hospital and us all working full time, we have all taken off tomorrow to go over and get as much done as we
can. Obviously, the pool, we're going to end up draining it and getting like an actual official cover for it because we just, my sister and I just replaced their whole pool pump last
summer, which was like a $3,000 pump. We got all the screen replaced last summer, especially after all the storms that, you know, they live right by those woods. So we had had
the screen and enclosure and pool all up and running again, and there's just no way that we could go through that process again. So we'll just end up draining and covering it. I just have never done any
research on that. So I need time to know, like, how do you make it safe? How do you we have grandbabies and kids and stuff, so we need to make sure it's like right now they're just not nobody's allowed to go
out there, you know, and then, you know, as far as the inhabitants of the house, it is, they can either keep it clean or they can find somebody else to go mooch off instead of my
mom. So like that is pretty much where my sister and I are at today. We just need time to get it to where it really should be, you know? Yes. Do you have any estimate yourself
of how long it might take? I mean, with all of us there tomorrow, I obviously the front will get to where it is, you know, a livable space. And I've
been talking to the the code enforcement guys this week and told them like, if I was a neighbor, I would have been complaining. Like we kind of were waiting for somebody to make it where we can officially
tell them, like you either have to keep it in compliance or get out because like, we don't have any rights to kicking the granddaughter out, you know,
and so it will like the front will look livable by probably the end of the weekend. But as far as like the backyard, I would, I just don't know because I need to just have
time to like, I just talked to them about the pool. So just finding out, like, how do we safely cover it? Like how do you drain it without a pump? Because I don't know anything. I'm a teacher. I don't know
anything about pools, so I just need time for that. So whatever you think is reasonable will make work as long as my mom doesn't get like, fined or. I was talking to her last night at the hospital about like
keeping her commissary stocked if she. I'm just kidding. I use humor to deal with stuff. That's. That's it. Anything you want to add? I don't have any.
I'm ready too long as it is. Any members have any questions? Would you state your name for the record to. Li LEIGH, and my last name is Smith, SMITH. And
Linda Allen is my mom. Okay, so you're obviously the daughter, right? Just for your name, we want to make sure you it's on the record. Questions? Anybody
else? No. Okay. Mike, did you talk about the time periods on the proposed order? Yeah. I explained to her that we want to we wanted to give two different deadlines. And that's
in our our requested motion. That's before the board. Well, Inspector, you're much more an expert than than at least I am. Can can you give us an idea how
long you would in your professional capacity, think it might take to. I believe I was made to clean it up. Yeah. I believe we gave down there three. I think it's three weeks
for the initial violation and double that. It was 5 or 6 weeks for them to get the pool cleaned up is in the motion we put in there. Okay, so we're
talking three weeks and six weeks. Yes, sir. Okay. Does anybody care to make a motion in this case? I can make a motion if you want. Go ahead
sir. So I move that in case number 26-800000861. To find the respondent, Linda Allen, in violation of the City of Tarpon
Springs Code ordinances 8-48-418-52 and IPMC30 3.1212.00 for the property located at 399 Dixie highway,
and to assess a fine of $25 per day beginning on August 6th and the fine of $50 per day beginning August 27th, 2026, until compliance is achieved
and in order to respond, respondent to contact the Code Enforcement Division to arrange for Reinspection of the property to verify compliance with the board's order, I'll
second. All right. We've got a motion and a second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Say nay. And the
motion passes. So, ma'am, you have an understanding of how much time you have. Yes, absolutely. And we're counting on you to get it done so that we can. And I made sure that
they know anything. Just always come to me first, because we didn't know the people that are living there were hiding the notices from us. And, you know, we certainly can understand
that. And hopefully the situation will be resolved. Otherwise, I'll just move my mom to my house and we'll let that house go. So, okay, well, we're counting on you. Thank
you, thank you. And we're free to go. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. And, Inspector, you have a contact number? No thank you ladies. Thank you,
thank you. Okay. That brings us to our next case, sir. All right. These next two cases are going to be affidavits of noncompliance. So this is just giving you guys a quick update
and then an affidavit that your board order was not complied with. The first one is case
26-80000753 for 120 Athens Street. And it was inspected today. There's been absolutely no change. Nothing's been cleaned up. Nothing's been cut. So I have an affidavit of
noncompliance to submit to the board. Thank you. And you guys
should have the motion for accepting non noncompliance affidavits in your book there. Does anyone have any questions
for the inspector. Before I ask if anyone cares to make a motion. Apparently there's no questions. Does anyone. I'm sorry. I have a question. Have the people been in contact with
you at all? No. We've never received contact from the from the owners since this began. I'm looking at this non compliant. This is a month old.
Has anything been done since June? Nothing's been done since the initial investigation. The that was signed last month. I
do not know why Officer Boone did not submit it at that code board. It's. But it's retroactive, so it really doesn't matter. Once the board
accepts it, the order takes effect.
What was the issue there? Just remind what was on Athens was a house on Athens Street was a little dupe or I think it was like a triplex and it was just abandoned. The
mailboxes are were just like spilling out with mail. There was junk and debris on the front patio. There was grass and trees growing all over the the. It's a paved lot and it's
got overgrowth, if you can believe that. And there's just. Nothing has been touched from the. The very beginning when we started sending courtesy letters to posting the property, it's like nobody has ever set
foot on the property are. Our notices are still taped to the building. Nobody's ever come and touched it. Nobody's ever responded, responded to any of
our correspondence. So at this point, we're just going to begin the fine and leaning process. Understood. And this
would be the first step then? Well, this yes, this would be your order as a board was not complied with. So the fines will begin running, and then
the city would lean from that point. Does anybody care to make a motion in this case? I'll make the motion. Go ahead
please. I move in case number (268) 000-0753 to find the respondent. Luis Colas did not correct the violations on or
before June 9th, 2026 for the property located at 120 Athens Street, and to accept the affidavit of noncompliance. Anyone care to second this
motion? I'll second that. All right. Motion's been made and seconded. We'll have a vote. All those in favor of accepting
this affidavit of noncompliance say yay! Yay! Any opposed? Say nay. There's no opposition. So
the recommended motion passes. Just one more question is does this person live locally in town? Of course. But do you know where he lives? We've never we've sent everything to
the property appraiser of record, and we've just never gotten anything back from them. Okay. Just curious. Thank you.
Okay. All right. And our next case. Yes, this next case is 26-80000773. Very similar situation. This was before the board. The property is located
at 1019 South Florida Avenue. It was a a pool and that was that's completely fallen into disrepair and is a sanitation
issue. It is secured. The property is fenced. But this is another one that we've we've sent correspondence to the property appraiser. We've tried
to track down through neighbors and reach out to this person in California. And we've just gotten no response. And so this is another affidavit of noncompliance that the property
was inspected and it was not met by the due date. And so this is just another affidavit we're looking for you to accept.
And the fine process will begin. I remember this one.
So at the present time, a fine of $75 per day is in effect. Thank you. Once you. Is that right? Yes. Once you accept your order, it
will the fines retroactively. Yes. Go back to June. So automatically from June 10th to today, $75 a day instantly
accrues and then it's $75 per day going forward. Yes, ma'am. Is this residence occupied? No.
Any other questions? Has it been occupied? Does anyone care to make a motion? I'll make that motion. Go ahead, sir, I
move in case number (268) 000-0773. To find the respondent. Michael and Michelle Marlow did not correct the violations on or before
June 9th, 2026 for the property located at 1019 South Florida Avenue, and to accept the affidavit of noncompliance.
Anyone care to second that motion? I'll second. A motion has been made and seconded. Any discussion? Apparently not. We'll have a voice vote. All
those in favor, say aye. Yay! All those opposed say nay. There's no opposition. And the motion passes. All right. For this next set, Attorney
Saltzman, if you have no issue with it, I'm going to list you off several cases back to back. These are all going to be affidavits of compliance with no fines due. So I'll kind of
give you the quick of each one, and then I'll give them all to you in one. And you can accept them all in one motion. So our first affidavit of compliance is going to be for case
25-80000727. And this is for the property located at 1217 East Lemon Street. That property has come into compliance before their deadline. It was inspected and
is good. The next case is 1309 Cromwell Drive. And that was case number to go two 3-255.
There you go. I apologize, I've got it here Inspector 258000687. That is the one. So that has
been inspected and is now in compliance. This next case is
going to be 26-80000788. For Dra is in Our
Drive. Thatpedavit is for2 f 130 inspected exto be
case27 for Red inspd one is from a long ago. It's bee a very
long ongoing case that came into compliance several y ago. But the foreclosure and a whole bunch of stuff hasfinallye
. And this is case 21-8000002 for 603 Cypress Street. And that property has been inspected and is in compliance. So I'm asking
the board to accept all of these affidavits of compliance in one motion. We accept all the affidavits of compliance as presented by the Code
Enforcement Officer and listed in our addendum. I'll second, a motion has been made and seconded. Anybody? Have any
questions before we vote? Apparently not. Take a voice vote on all of these cases. Cases four, five, six, seven,
eight and nine. All those in favor of accepting the compliance information. Say yay,
yay, yay. Any opposed? There's no opposition. The motion passes. Inspector. Any other cases on your agenda today? No,
sir. That is it. That's it. All right, let's see. We need an approval of the minutes for the
June 11th, 2026 meeting. So moved. All right, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? No opposition. Now we
get to the board and staff comments. Anybody on the board? Care to make any comment? Remember I sent an email. I was the one that said that group
went out to everybody on how that law will pertain to us, because I figured it kind of directly impacts this stuff to do with us. That's the only comment I have. We had an official follow up on that, and
the only thing I'll comment on is, I know I learned today, I got to look both ways because I'm getting too quick and I overlook one side and then I overlook the other side. So I'm glad everybody calls my
attention to it. And I apologize to anybody who wasn't disrespect. It's just I didn't turn my neck fast enough. So all right, the next code
enforcement meeting will be August 13th, 2026 at 2 p.m. And I thank all the members of the board for keeping me straight today. Let the record indicate
that the time is 230. And this meeting is closed.