City of Milwaukee - File #: 081018

• File #: 081018
• Version: 1
• Type: Motion
• Status: Passed
• File created: 11/7/2008
• In control: LICENSES COMMITTEE
• Final action: 10/11/2011
• Title: Substitute motion to approve the recommendation of the Licenses Committee relative to the revocation of the Dwelling Facility license of Damon Honegger for the premises at 1001 S. 4th St. in the 12th aldermanic district.
• Sponsors: THE CHAIR
• Indexes: LICENSED DWELLINGS, ROOMING HOUSES

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
10/11/2011	1	COMMON COUNCIL	APPROVED; Minutes note: The question was put: Have the members of the Common Council read the Report and Recommendations of the Licenses Committee in this matter? All members present indicated they had done so.	Pass	15:0
9/27/2011	1	CITY CLERK	DRAFT SUBMITTED
9/26/2011	0	LICENSES COMMITTEE	SUBSTITUTED; Minutes note: Licensee appearing: Damon Honegger, Agt., represented by counsels, Atty. Michael Whitcomb and Atty. Michael Whitcomb 2435 N. 57th St., Milwaukee, WI 53210 Meeting recessed at 4:18 p.m. Meeting reconvened at 4:37 p.m. The Chair, Ald. Bohl, called a contested hearing. Complainants appearing: Whitney Teska, 1005 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Julie Lawrence, 1005 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Mr. Teska testified to witnessing the following negative behavior from the tenants of the rooming house: being ex-convicts and drug dealers, threats, loud yelling and noise, trespassing on his property, cussing, drinking of alcohol, selling of illegal DVDs, fights, violence, tenants being beaten and robbed, and drug use. Also, Mr. Teska added that he is concerned with his family's safety and that there is a lack of timely eviction of problematic tenants. Ald. Hamilton moved to make the sworn complaint by Mr. Teska and Ms. Lawrence as part of the record. There were no objections. In response to Atty. Stephens, Mr. Teska acknowledged that the items within his sworn complaint that he personally had witnessed firsthand and asserted are true. Ms. Lawrence testified to witnessing the following negative behavior from the tenants of the rooming house: drinking of alcohol, smoking pot, drug use, cars pulling up to the house, marijuana use on the porch, throwing of beer bottles and dumping of beer from the house, and loitering on the side of the house. She added that the building manager told her that he could not control the tenants, and she said that she fears for her and her family's safety. Atty. Whitcomb objected to the submission of CAD reports, provided by Ms. Lawrence, to be part of the record. The Chair concurred. There were no objections. In response to Atty. Stephens, Ms. Lawrence acknowledged that the items within her sworn complaint that she personally had witnessed firsthand and asserted are true. Individuals appearing in opposition: Victor Ray, President of Walker's Point Association, 1137 S. 3rd St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Juan Hernandez, 337 W. Mineral St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Elizabeth Miller, 931 S. 3rd St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 William Siebert, 900 S. 5th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Kelsey Cartwright, 1012 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Tiffany Krihwan, 1012 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Aryn Zahnow, 1137 S. 3rd St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Sven Carlson, 309 W. Mineral St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Heidi Hoffeditz, 1016 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Christina Morales, 314 W. Mineral St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Lisa Molinaro Casarez, 1007 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI 53204 Mr. Ray, on behalf of the Walker's Point Association, testified that management is absent and that the property is a nuisance property. Ald. Zielinski moved to make a map, provided by Mr. Ray, as part of the record. Mr. Hernandez testified to witnessing public drunkenness and fights by tenants. He also said he had seen police responding to the house several times. Ms. Miller testified to witnessing public drunkenness, being yelled and whistled at, and glass windows being thrown from a window of the property. Mr. Siebert testified to witnessing public drunkenness, being scoffed at, glass windows being thrown, and being asked for cigarettes by tenants when walking past the house. Ms. Cartwright testified to seeing glass windows being thrown from a window of the house. Ms. Krihwan testified to seeing public drinking of alcohol and harassment by tenants of the house of school girls while they walked passed the house. Mr. Zahnow testified to seeing public drinking of alcohol. Ron Roberts, Department of Neighborhood Services, appeared at the table. He said DNS conducted an inspection on August 25, 2011 and discovered thirty-nine violations. A reinspection was done, and six violations were found corrected. Mr. Carlson testified to witnessing public drinking of alcohol and piles of debris and garbage at the side of house. Ald. Coggs moved to make the picture, provided by Mr. Carlson, as part of the record. There were no objections. Ms. Hoffeditz testified to witnessing fighting, drinking of alcohol, use of knives, loud music, and yelling of obscenities at the house. Ms. Morales testified that her daughter told her a tenant followed her daughter to the bus stop and asked for her daughter's phone number. Individuals appearing in favor: Terese Hall, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 510, Milwaukee, WI 53233 David Lemieus, 1001 S. 4th St., Apt. 1, Milwaukee, WI 53204 Daniel Charles Crowley, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 510, Milwaukee, WI 53233 Ms. Hall testified that she and Mr. Honegger have helped with housing tenants with disabilities and have made renovations. She said that Mr. Honegger has a disability affecting his speech. She stated that some of the allegations of those who testified in opposition were true while some were inaccurate. She added that several of the neighborhood's issues occurred from other areas and rooming houses in the community, especially the incident where a woman was found beaten on the yard of the house. Ald. Kovac moved to make photos, submitted by Ms. Hall, as part of the record. There were no objections. Ald. Hamilton moved to make a new manager memo, provided by Atty. Whitcomb, as part of the record. There were no objections. Mr. Lemieus testified as being a tenant at the house and experiencing no problems. He said that he that did witnessed the drinking of alcohol at the house. Mr. Crowley testified as being a friend to Mr. Honegger. He requested for the committee to give Mr. Honegger time to make improvements. Ald. Witkowiak was present to testify in opposition to the license and in favor of revocation of the license based upon neighborhood testimony and his firsthand witness of public drinking of alcohol at the house. Ald. Kovac moved revocation based upon neighborhood testimony and aldermanic testimony. (Prevailed 3-0)	Pass	3:0
9/26/2011	1	LICENSES COMMITTEE	RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL	Pass	3:0
9/26/2011	0		SUBSTITUTED; Minutes note: Licensee appearing: Damon Honegger, Agt., represented by counsels, Atty. Michael Whitcomb and Atty. Michael Whitcomb 2435 N. 57th St., Milwaukee, WI 53210 The Chair, Ald. Bohl, called a contested hearing. Complainants appearing: Whitney Teska, 1005 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI Julie Lawrence, 1005 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI Mr. Teska testified to witnessing the following negative behavior from the tenants of the rooming house: being exconvicts and drug dealers, threats, loud yelling and noise, trespassing on his property, cussing, drinking of alcohol, selling of illegal dvds, fights, violence, tenants being beaten and robbed, and drug use. Also, Mr. Teska added that he is concerned with his family's safety and that there is a lack of timely eviction of problematic tenants. Ald. Hamilton moved to make the sworn complaint by Mr. Teska and Ms. Lawrence as part of the record. There were no objections. In response to Atty. Stephens, Mr. Teska acknowledged that the items within his sworn complaint that he personally had witnessed firshand and asserted are true. Ms. Lawrence testified to witnessing the following negative behavior from the tenants of the rooming house: drinking, smoking pot, drug use, cars pulling up to the house, marijuana use on the porch, throwing of beer bottles and dumping of beer from the house, and hanging out on the side of the house. She added that the building manager told her that he could not control the tenants, and she said that she fears for her and her family's safety. Atty. Whitcomb objected to submission of the CAD reports, provided by Ms. Lawrence, as part of the record. The Chair concurred. There were no objections. In response to Atty. Stephens, Ms. Lawrence acknowledged that the items within her sworn complaint that she personally had witnessed firshand and asserted are true. Individuals appearing in opposition: Victor Ray, Walker's Point Association, 1137 S. 3rd St., Milwaukee, WI Juan Hernandez, 337 W. Mineral St., Milwaukee, WI Elizabeth Miller, 931 S. 3rd St., Milwaukee, WI William Siebert, 900 S. 5th St., Milwaukee, WI Kelsey Cartwright, 1012 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI Melissa Keyhorn, Aaron Zahnow, 1137 S. 3rd St., Milwaukee, WI Sven Carlson, 309 W. Mineral St., Milwaukee, WI Heidi Hoffeditz, 1016 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI Christina Morales, 314 W. Mineral St., Milwaukee, WI Lisa Motenado Casarez, 1007 S. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI Mr. Ray, on behalf of the Walker's Point Association, testified that management is absent and that the property is a nuisance property. Ald. Zielinski moved to make a map, provided by Mr. Ray, as part of the record. Mr. Hernandez testified to witnessing public drunkenness and fights by tenants. He also said he had seen police responding to the house several times. Ms. Miller testified to witnessing public drunkeness, being yelled and whistled at, and glass windows being thrown from a window of the property by tenants. Mr. Siebert testified to witnessing public drunkeness, being scolfed at, glass windows being thrown, and being asked for cigarettes by tenants when walking past the house. Ms. Cartwright testified to seeing glass windows being thrown from a window of the house. Ms. Keyhorn testified to seeing drinking and harassment of school girls, while they walked passed the house, by the tenants. Mr. Zahnow testisfied to seeing public drinking. Ron Roberts, Department of Neighborhood Services, appeared at the table. He said DNS conducted an inspection on August 25, 2011 and discovered thirty-nine violations. A respection was done, and six violations were corrected. Mr. Carlson testified to seeing public drinking and piles of debris and garbage at the house. Ald. Coggs moved to make the picture, provided by Mr. Carlson, as part of the record. There were no objections. Ms. Hoff testified to witnessing fighting, drinking, use of knives, loud music, and yelling of obsenities at the house. Ms. Morales testified to her daughter telling her that a tenant followed her to the bus stop and asked her for her phone number. Individuals appearing in favor: Terese Hall, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 510, Milwaukee, WI David Lemieus, 1001 S. 4th St., Apt. 1, Milwaukee, WI Daniel Charles Crowley, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 510, Milwaukee, WI Ms. Hall testified that she and Mr. Honegger has helped with housing tenants with disabilities. She said that some of the allegations of those who testified in opposition were inaccurate and did not occur at the house but rather other areas in the neighborhood. Ald. Kovac moved to make photos, submitted by Ms. Hall, as part of the record. There were no objections. Ald. Hamilton moved to make a new manager memo, provided by Atty. Whitcomb, as part of the record. There were no objections. Mr. Lemieus testified as being a tenant at the house and experiencing no problems. He added that he does see drinking of alcohol at the house. Ald. Witkowiak was present to testify in favor of revocation to the license based upon neighborhood testimony and his firsthand testimony of public drinking at the house. Ald. Kovac moved revocation based upon neighborhood testimony and aldermanic testimony. (Prevailed 3-0)		3:0
9/22/2011	0	LICENSES COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
9/22/2011	0	LICENSES COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
11/7/2008	0	COMMON COUNCIL	ASSIGNED TO

Number

081018            

Version

SUBSTITUTE 1

Reference

Sponsor

THE CHAIR

Title

Substitute motion to approve the recommendation of the Licenses Committee relative to the revocation of the Dwelling Facility license of Damon Honegger for the premises at 1001 S. 4th St. in the 12th aldermanic district.

Analysis

This substitute motion approves the recommendation of the Licenses Committee for the revocation of the Dwelling Facility license of Damon Honegger for the premises at 1001 S. 4th St. in the 12th aldermanic district in the City of Milwaukee.

Body

Whereas, The Licenses Committee received notarized complaints from Michael McGuire, Whitney Teska, and Julie Lawrence requesting the revocation of the Dwelling Facility license of Damon Honegger for the premises at 1001 S. 4th St.; and

Whereas, The Licenses Committee held a hearing on September 26, 2011; and

Whereas, After considering the complaints, neighborhood testimony, and aldermanic testimony, the committee found that enough evidence existed to support revocation of the license; and

Whereas, The Licenses Committee approved the revocation of the license on September 26, 2011 by a vote of three (3) ayes, zero (0) noes, one (1) excused, and one (1) abstain; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee hereby accepts the recommendation of the Licenses Committee for revocation of the Dwelling Facility license of Damon Honegger for the premises at 1001 S. 4th St.

Requestor

Drafter

cvl

09/26/11-sub

081018