409 Burch St purchase property J. White
06/21/05 TUE 16:35 FAX 3195880103
BITTER LAW
[4J 002
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BITTER LAW OFFICES
485 LOCUST STREET
DUBUQUE, IOWA 52001-6940
Joseph J. Bitter-
Thomas A. Bitter
Oflice: 56~5BB460a
Fax: 563-588-0f03
Residence
Joe: 563-582-1768
Tom: 563-582-7545
'Also 6censed in Illinois
Cllenr parking i/1 rear
J line 21, 2005
Office of the City Manager
Dubuque City Hall
50 W uti, Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
The Honorabl~ Terry Duggan
Members of (he City Council
REi: 409 Burch Street (John White Property)
Mr. White and! toured the propcny on Tuesday, June 21,2005. I know that this property has
been the subject of on-goi ng diScussions With The City and That the City futhers have made a strong
argument to the eiTect that the restoration of this prop~rty h,L" takell far longer than it ~h()uld.
Mr. White gave me a. rollr of the house. He has done quite a bil of' work to the house.
Nat.lIraHy, much !nore work is necessary. I examined the work that he did, 3rld beingn~l11iktr with
the construct.ion business, I can see that what he has done is clone extremely well and fa/' above Code
requirements. He has a detailed plan which is extremely well thought out, and should result in a
beautiful residence. He has purchased all the windows for the house, they are siuing inside Ihe house
and they are top quality windows. .He tells me that he has all the kitchen cabinets purchased and paid
for. He tells me that he has purchased siding, he has paid foJ' the si.ding and taken delivery.
I understand that there are questions aboUT rhe constitutionality of the pending litigation, and
that the City has decided to pursue a nuisance remedy against MI'. While He lells me that starting
Friday, June 24, 2005, he intends to be working On the house every single clay, all day, with two
helpers. Ile tells me that he willno1 take on any other work lII\lil he has the house conlpletely
finished. He tcllsmc that he Intends ro stan by installing the windows and purring the siding on the
house. This will be ~. major step in the right direction.
The Cily can make a. point that cvcn iflVlr Whltc has had rhe best intcntlons in thc past, they
havc not come to fruition. I have visited wlrh him fh11l1 TIme ro time and each Tllnc I have
encouraged him to move ahcil.d with due speed TO get this job finished, He tells me rhat he has had
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06/21/05 TUE 16:36 FAX 3195880103
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some health problems which are now over, and that he intends lO devote his undivided attention to
the completion of the house. I don 't think anyun\:l di.spllles the glH\Jlty of his work, only the progress
that he makes over a long period of time .
This is the suggestion that 1 make to the City ofDllbuque. We know that the City is not
interested in taking over Mr. White's property. The actions to declare his house a nuisance are
deemed to be a last gasp effort to get something accomplished. My suggestion is that if the City will
proceed slowly wj.th the nuisance procedure, the City might see significant and rapid change in the
property. If Mr. White truly intends to have three people working on [he house full-time
commencing Friday, June 24, 2005, by the end of one week, the City should be able to see significant
progress. This might be an incentive for t.he City authorities to hold ofr another week. At the end of
the second week, the City might see significant progress again. The City could delay for another
wl::lel~ hoping that each week will show rapid progress towar'd completion of this projeCT
Ml::la.nwbilc, the City's representatives are welcome to come on the property and inspect it at any time
wil.holll obtaining prior permission. Enuy to rhe inside of the residence will be somewhat difficult
because the doors are kept locked Huwever, dUllrlg IhE: day when Mr. White is working there, he
will show the City's agents The property su they Crln see what is happenll1g.
Mr. White has absolutely promised me that he will Collow through. I have eJicouraged this
and I wiJJ continue to encourage it I would request that the City delay any further action for about a
week, and if Mr. White has made signific.ant progress, the Cily could delay action for another week
Mr, White can be rea.ched by any of the City's agents during the day, without the necessity of
contacting our office in advance. His home phone nLlmber is 583-J 586. lIe tells me that he can be
reached on his cell phunl::l between 7:00 a.m. and J 0',00 p. m. at 580-0057.
Thank you for YUllI consideration.
JJB/1ap
cc: Barry Lindahl, Corporal.ion CounseL 583-l040
Cindy St.einhauser, Assistanl Cily Manager; 589-41.49
David Harris, I-lousing and Community Developmenr Department Director, 589-4244
Jerelyn O'Connor, Neighborhood Development Director: 589-4149
City Manager; 589-4149
Preparer: Barry A. Lindahl. ESQ.
Telephone: (563) 583-4113
Address: Suite 330 300 Main Street DubuQue. IA 52001
,
RESOLUTION NO.
AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION BY EMINENT DOMAIN OF CERTAIN REAL
PROPERTY AT 409 BURCH STREET, DUBUQUE, IOWA, OWNED BY JOHN WHITE
WHEREAS, John White (Owner) is the owner of the real property at 409
Burch Street legally described as follows (the Property):
lot 4 in Geo. B. Burch's Subdivision in the City of Dubuque, Iowa,
according to the recorded plat thereof;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council has found that the Property constitutes a
public nuisance; and
WHEREAS, the City of Dubuque (City) intends to acquire the Property for
the purpose of abating the public nuisance as authorized by Iowa Code ~
364.12A; and
WHEREAS, Iowa law requires that City must make a good faith effort to
negotiate with Owner to purchase the Property before proceeding with
condemnation; and
WHEREAS, City may not make an offer to purchase the Property which is
less than the fair market value City has established for the Property; and
WHEREAS, City has caused an appraisal of the Property to be made and
the appraised value of the Property is $21,000.00; and
WHEREAS, City has made make a good faith effort to negotiate with the
Owner to purchase the Property for its appraised value.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCil OF THE CITY
OF DUBUQUE, IOWA AS FOllOWS:
The City Manager and the Corporation Counsel are hereby authorized to
commence proceedings for the acquisition of the Property by eminent domain.
Passed, approved and adopted this
day of July, 2005.
Terrance M. Duggan, Mayor
Attest:
Jeanne F. Schneider, City Clerk
Tracey Stecklein
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Tracey Stecklein [tsteckle@cityofdubuque.org]
Monday, July 11, 2005 9:21 AM
SCHNEIDER, JEANNE (jschneid@cityofdubuque.org)
BARRY LINDAHL
FW: John White
Authorizing ResolutionAuthorizi
ondemnation.doc (. ngAcquisiti...
Jeanne:
I am forwarding Barry's original email including the White resolution he prepared
("Authorizing Condemnation"), just to refresh your memory. I've also attached the revised
resolution ("Resolution Authorizing Acquisition.. .") in which I made some formatting
changes and inserted Barry's info at the top, and is the version that you'll want to use
for the agenda. I'll bring a hard copy up today. Call me if you have any questions.
Hope you had a nice day off!
-----Original Message-----
From: Barry Lindahl [mailto:balesq@cityofdubuque.org]
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 8:58 AM
To: 'Jeanne Schneider'
Cc: 'Tracey Stecklein'
Subject: John White
1