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| Huge construction signs on Dumpster and windows of building all while the owner of the co stares at the Levoy and takes pictures. |
Monday, March 07, 2011
Report on the Levoy
Here is the latest report from the Levoy:
The facts are this. The Alley is clear, there has been a construction company sign posted on the fath bldg since the week of Jan 3rd and the owner of that const company Thunderbolt construction. William Opperman has been standing on High Street and walking around with a ladder taking pictures continuously of what? The Fath building? No, the Levoy. While the Fath building tenants are being supported by Levoy supporters the owner of the Fath building doesn’t even start the repair of their home. It’s a disgrace. The rumor is the Fath building was insured and has the ability to fix the situation but hasn’t acted with any urgency. Even the tenants were rejected when they tried to get their belongings from the building in the early weeks. The owner told them the building was unsafe all the while he let numerous people into the building for hours at a time. He even has this “Contractor” allegedly on site who could have easily gathered the tenants belongings, if he chose to.
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5 comments:
The facts are this. The alley was cleared on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Photographs of the Fath Building's North wall were forwarded to the engineer and building consultant that were hired by Traveler's Insurance. A repair scheme which invloves the removal of most of the North wall in the front of the Fath Building and replacement of same is being developed. This plan could not even be started until the debris of the alley was removed. The plan includes bracing and shoring on both the interior and exterior of the building. The interior of the building has already had non-bearing walls cut back to prepare for bracing. A professional moving company has moved all belongings from the units that are directly affected or will be affected by the repairs. ALL tenants have been contacted and have had/still have the opportunity to make arrangements to move belongings. The decision was made by management of Fath Department Store Inc., the building's owner, that it was not safe to have nine residential tenants trying to move their belongings at the same time down the stairs during a two hour window. The corporation instead allowed the tenants to make individual arrangements with the building's contractor feeling that this was safer and more convenient for the tenants. In the early days, when the tenants were prohibited by city officials from entering the building, the contractor was available to move specific belongings at the request of the tenants for them to pick up. Traveler's Insurance has requested that photos of all work at the Levoy be forwarded to them. This is to allow the engineers to evaluate the stability of the remaining portion of the South wall of the Levoy to determine the stability of the alley since bracing must be installed for the North wall of the Fath Building to be repaired. Also, it would be irresponsible to begin repairs at this point before the winter weather breaks due to the fact that doing so would open the building to freezing temperatures thus creating more damage to systems such as fire suppression. Traveler's insurance has been in contact with the insurance company for the Levoy to coordinate any cooperation that would be required. Fath Department Store, Inc., Thunderbolt General Contractor Corp., and Traveler's insurance have been taking every reasonable step as quickly as possible to assist the tenants in relocating and to expedite repairs. I welcome Mark Krull as well as anyone else to contact me by email at andrewvanhook@gmail.com to learn the facts before making false posts.
Andrew P. Van Hook, President
Fath Department Store, Inc.
Licensed property manager # 0674127
Thanks for the FULL explanation Andrew!
I can be reached at info@tbolthomes.com, or 609 226 2298 if you have any questions. My company number is also posted on the side of the building.
I understand it is everyone's right to have and express an opinion. But posting partial or misleading facts and attempting to shed people in poor light to further a private agenda is rather irresponsible.
This is your blog you may do as you wish. But if you wish to inform others with facts (which is the point of having a blog), again, feel free to contact me.
William S. Opperman
President, Thunderbolt General Contractor Corporation
Thanks for your response. Its always interesting to hear all sides. I have a couple thoughts. Do you or Mr. Opperman have photos of the inside work that has been done so far? Why is Mr. Opperman taking photos of the Levoy? Also, Andrew did you gave the section 8 money back to your tenants when your building was deemed uninhabitable? You said “It would be irresponsible to begin repairs at this point before the winter weather breaks due to the fact that doing so would open the building to freezing temperatures thus creating more damage to systems such as fire suppression.”
Don't you think that waiting for 2 months was a good idea? This, while your tenants were being cared for by others. Maybe you could have used electricity to keep the building warm You could have easily close off spaces if necessary while the repair work was being completed.
You admit it was your decision to keep the tenants out.
It would be nice if all of use could work together rather than criticizing others for trying to improve the city. Its not going to be easy but working in a cooperative manner would be helpful to all concerned. Thank you
Yes, we have photos of interior work. My earlier post explains why photos are being taken of the Levoy. I am not now nor have I ever been a landlord and therefore did not have tenants. Fath Department Store Inc. has not had Section 8 tenants since I have served as the property manager. This does not mean that Fath Department Store, Inc. would break the law by discriminating against potential tenants based on a legal method of payment. Fath Department Store, Inc. has not waited 2 months therefore I cannot comment on it being a good idea or not. As indicated in my previous post, the development of a repair scheme could only be started last week once the debris was removed from the alley. The debris was to be removed by Ogren by the end of the week of January 3 according to city officials and this took almost 2 months longer. I am not sure if you are aware, but insurance companies do not release funds to begin repair work in a project of this magnitude until an acceptable repair scheme is developed by an engineer and/or architect. I have been in contact with the adjuster from Traveler's Insurance frequently and as recently as yesterday afternoon and have been informed that they are in the final stages of development of a preliminary repair scheme. Once developed, the engineers will visit the site again to review the plan and discuss same with the architect. It was the decision of management of Fath Department Store, Inc. to prevent nine tenants from being in the building at the same time, not to keep the tenants out. This was done for safety issues. Can you imagine how dangerous it would have been for nine families to be rushing to carry belongings down the stairs at the same time in a short window of time? I do not believe that it is the responsibility of anyone to care for the tenants. I can say that it was a responsible gesture of goodwill for Levoy/Ogren officials to temporarily place them in a hotel and that a reasonable amount of notice should have been given to them about when the payments for a hotel would stop. I believe that if they had been told that they had 30 days from the beginning of January to find alternate housing that would have been sufficiant. Instead, they were led by Levoy/Ogren officials that they would be permitted to stay there indefinitely. I had conversations with the proper representatives about this in the early days and was given the same impression. At that time, I stressed that it should not be their responsibility to do so but adequate notice should be given. I stand by that position today. You are not familiar with the zones of the fire suppression system or the design of the building so I am confused how you can say how easy it would be to close off spaces. I am working together and do not criticize others for trying to improve the city. I have not and will not engage personal attacks. I have been very involved and interested in trying to improve the city.
I will no longer engage in a debate in this way as it takes away from the time I have available to work on this project as well as ensure the survival of my other businesses which have been displaced as a result of this unfortunate incident. I do, however, wish you would take the time to contact me or Mr. Opperman by email or by telephone if you have questions regarding the progress. This would be responsible to be sure that you have your facts straight before posting.
Andrew P. Van Hook
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