Dear Mr Witkowiak:

I am at my wits ends.  I have been trying really hard to keep the rooming house in good shape and keep police problems to a minimum.  I understand I have a few calls in one month but rectified the situation with new management.

In June 2011, the DNS came in and investigated.  Found a couple of violations and that is it.  I fixed them immediately and they came out again and said I was good to go except the refrigerator still needed cleaning behind..

Each week someone is calling with complaints to the police or the DNS.   The police department has come on more than 3 occassions to check to see if I am selling beer in a vending machine that has been there but does not even work properly.  I filled it one winter with candy and snacks because it saved the tenants braving the cold for food.  They came on different and numerous occassions and found nothing.  It is still there but does not work.  You put your money in it, you lose it.  They said they got complaints from people in the neighborhood because someone I evicted said I was doing it.  Well they found nothing.

Next, the police have come on occassion when needed but they said they are also getting reports of things and find nothing when they get there.

They have also came in two's because of prostitution and drugs.  Found nothing.

The DNS said they are getting bombarded with calls about cockroaches and bed bugs.  They came until June 2011 and found nothing.  The neighbor told the DNS they have witnessed cockroaches running between the buildings but the inspectors have found nothing.  Maybe they have the roaches not me.  The DNS Person, Kathey I believe her name was indicated all but a few things wrong, the house was clean and bug free.  I let her look around the whole house.  She also indicated people calling non stop about bugs.  There are none.  Most of the tenants have new beds, carpet etc,...

The other day, Ron a supervisor from the DNS came with a new girl he was training.  I told him they were just there and he said everytime they get a complaint, they come out and people keep calling regarding bugs.  SO he came out with a new girl to train her.  He went through the whole house and found no bugs or mice.

He said because of the constant complaints, they were going through the complete inside and outside of the house and checking everyroom , the attic and the basement.  They found a old hole but found no mice but said to get rid of the mice anyway.  In her report the new girl said get rid of mice.  Yet Ron stood in front of me and my manager, Mike, and said he found no mice or bugs anywhere so that should not have been put in the report. 

They gave me 32 violations.  In June, 2011 they everything was ok, now I have to have a carbon minoxide alarm within 15 ft of each room and I am already doing it..  I have to have smoke alarms in all other places than what they told me in June, 2011.  I have had inspectors in my rooming house non stop each month and until Ron, the supervisor, came in, none of them asked that I do the amount of things he had by training this new girl.  They gave me 32 violations and I have almost all of them completed now.  They are almost all done already because they were minimal repairs.

The police told me when I evicted Frank and one other tenant, I could not just dispose of their things.  I had to give them notice which I did and store them for up to 60 days.  Now the inspector told me to throw out everything in the attic. SO now the police said I should not but I have to because the DNS said I need to.  So it is hard.

Now someone complained again to the DNS and police and contacted Channel 58 news and they are across the street filming because they said they hear there are nothing but complaints and are watching me and filming me emptying the attic.  I asked them to go away but they say they have the right because now people are calling them because of sex offenders yet there is one next door who runs that rooming house.  They have a right to live there if they served their time and the neighbors have to take it up with the city not me.  Jeanne has referred numerous of the people to me because she says her rooming house is full and I have 2 tenants that went to her first right now in my rooming and one of them she took a security deposit and had to refund it when he moved in my rooming house instead.  In the zip code 53204, my zip code, there are 571 sex offenders.  Not just at my address but at 532 W National, 1971 S 5th St, 722 W Mitchell, 500 W Maple and 413 W mineral, why are these people not being harrassed.  Because someone has made it their personal business to constantly report all these situations and bring attention to my rooming house.

Why can't these people in the neighborhood stop.  It is there constant bug complaining and calling that are causing all the problems. There I have had a few police calls, I will not deny that but so has the bar in the neighborhood, so has the school and no one is trying their best to close them down.  

Please help me.  The guy next door runs his business all hours of the day and night out of his house.  No one follows up on that.  The garage next door to my rooming house is in such poor shape. I explained to Ron, no one wanted to go back there to fix because they are concerned of the condition of the garage and trying to get up there to fix my house..  At the last meeting, I asked why  no one does anything about the garage and Ron said just fix your gutters so he can't sue you.  I finally got a repair person to fix the gutters and he asked why I don't report the garage.  It is a hazard but no one cares....Only about my house.    

This is absolutely an all out effort to cause my rooming house to be closed.  I get people in the neighborhood driving by yelling that it will be closed.  I get constant complaints filed against me, well the person who says they see the roaches and bed bugs should be fined for filing false reports since the DNS has been here so many times in the last 6 months and find no bugs.

The bottom line is someone wants the rooming house closed.  They want my house restored to what their neighborhood should look like and are getting the neighbors to tell lies to get it closed.  You knew about the bed bugs last Dec in the meeting and can check, they are no longer there and the DNS has found no bugs.

Please help me.  I am trying so hard to save my lively hood.  One neighbor said, Oh we don't want your house taken away from you, we just want the rooming house closed.  The house should go back to a 2 family unit to fit in the neighborhood and that is what it is all about.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Damon