03/08/1943 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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On motion made, seconded, and carried, it was ordered that in future contracts this provision should be inciuded. I 'S1lil l~.,p The Recorder presented to the Council an application of Merle H. Short for a permit for the maintenance and operation of a rooming house known as the New York Rooms at 571 Willamette Street in-Eugene. The Council called for recornmendatiGlns as to the granting or withholding of the permit and Mr. Brownson, representing the Health Committee, stated that he had taken the Chief of Police, the Chief of the Fire Department and the Building Inspector and himself as pepresenting the Health Committee, and had examined the premises of the New York Rooms. As a result of their investigation, he stated that based on the reports of the various departments, it was an old wooden structure operating above a restaurant where fires were kept and was in a state of advanced disrepair and had no facilities for the escape of ! guests in case of fire and did not comply with either the State law or the City Ordinances with respect to fire hazards. He further said that the New York Rooms were being operated in violation of the Building Code in a variety of ways and I also of the Sanitary Code. He stated that it was in a filthy condition and unfit for habitation for anyone. That there were two inside toilets without ventilation and that they were in an indescribably filthy condition. That there was one sink serving the entire 17 rooms and this had completely rotted out and the metal lining no longer contained water and water from the tap ran trhough teh sink and dripped on the floor of into various recepticals that were placed for catching it. That i the applicant, llimself, had been operating beer joints in the City in an unsat- isfactory manner and it is the recommendation of the Health Committee by Mr. Brownson that no erpmit shall be granted to Mr. Short nor to anyone else until the rooms are brought up to the standard required by the Ordinances of the City of Eugene. Mr. Brownson further reporting, stated that the rooms themselves, irrespective of the present conduct of the rooming house, were a fire hazard and a I health health menace in that the stench from the toilets and from leaking plumbing was such as to render them unfit for use. Mr. Brownson stated further that the Building Inspector had served notice by Registered Mail on the owner as far back as December 22, 1942 after efforts made previous to that tiwe to have the conditions corrected had failed. That the December 22 notice was a ten day notice and thereafter on"'January 12, 1943 a further notice giving them 30 days in which to corredt the conditions had been served on the Frasier family, who are the owners of the New York Rooms. At this time Mr. Brownson moved that the Council shall deny the application for a permit and shall instruct the Chief of Police to close the New York Rooms as a rooming house and not permit it to be occupied for that purpose i until it shall have been made to conform to the ordinances of the City with respect to fire, buiiliding regulations, and sanitation, and further moved that the building as at present occupied and used is a nuisance'and should be declared and condemned as such. The motion. was sec~nd~d and carried by unanimous vote of the Council; Thereupon the followlng resolutlon was adopted: RES 0 L U T 1'0 N BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL of the City of Eugene that the New York Rooms are in an unsanitary condition and do not comply with the City Ordinances of the City of Eugene in that they are in a filthy condition, the plumbing is defective and runs upon the floor and the toilets are in a filthy condition and are not properly vent- ilated and the rooms have no proper protection against fire and constitute a death trap for guests and the rooming house as at present used is hereby declared to be a nuisance and shall be abated and the Chief of Police of the City of Eugene be and he is hereby authorized and directed and instructed to immediately abate the said nuisance by discontinuing the use of the rooms as a rooming house and not permitting such use until further order of the Council. Mr. Brownson thereupon moved the adoption of the resolution which motion was seconded and unanimously carried by the Council. I 11 12 I Councilman Brownson stated he felt there should be a change in the preseht rooming house ordinance requiring that permits should be renewed each year, or oftener if there was a change of ownership, and that in some way a more complete record of the'~ooming houses and hotels should be kept in the Recorderts Office. This matter was referred to the Police Committee to report back at the next Council meeting. . Councilman Pennington, reporting for the Parks Committee, stated that several people had contacted him in regard to cleaning up the fallen trees in Hendricks , Park for the wood. He stated it appeared it would not be possible for Mr. Lamb ~ and his helper to do the work of cleaning up the trees, and that the present con- ditions would create a fire hazard in the summer time. He stated that among the requests that he had had for going in and gathering wood was from some of the , employees of the City. Councilman Barette stated there was probably from 100 to I 150 cord of wood down in the park and if some provision was not made for removing it, it would lay there and rot. It was suggested that people wishing to go into the park and gather this wood should be working under the supervision of Mr. Lamb, Park Superintendent. Councilman Stewart stated he felt that if arrangements I of this kind were made that the City employees should have preference over out- 0' : siders. Councilman Hawn took exception to this and stated he did not like that I I ~