The first agency we involved in our struggles with Carole was the Dover Housing Inspector. A two person office, we've dealt with the plumbing inspector/health officer. Mr. Baker came here for a quick walkthrough, and sent a letter detailing violations fairly quickly. He agreed with most of the things we felt were code violations, but he didn't seem to take the unheated bathroom too seriously. His letter to Carole set a 30 day deadline for repairs.

After 50 days, he returned for a re-inspection. He noted that although she had fixed some plaster, the light in the third floor bathroom, and the steam relief valves on the radiators, that many problems remained untouched. Notable examples include the unsecured banister, the asbestos debris in the basement, the lack of insulation on the water pipes, and the leaking wall in the room adjacent to the garage.

It's unclear at this point what action is being taken, beyond a meeting that he had scheduled with Carole and the Fire Marshal.

The staircase of death, that requires an enclosure and fireproof doors or a sprinkler system.

The second agency to become involved was the City of Dover Fire & Rescue. Assistant Chief Clymer showed up for his inspection with a list of violations in hand. He'd dealt with Carole the previous summer, when she told him that she would be converting the house to a single-family residence. This would have eliminated all of the code violations resulting from the use of the building as a rooming house. As she rented the place to us just over a month after his first letter, she clearly knew what she was doing.

Assistant Chief Clymer had clearly reviewed his records and was ready to address all of the concerns from the previous year. He even asked us about the water damage on the third floor, something we'd neglected to tell the housing inspector about as it was fairly low on our list of repairs. He gave Carole 7 days to submit a plan for corrections, and 30 days beyond that to make the necessary repairs. Carole didn't submit anything. We talked to him again on the 8th day, and he told us that Carole was being served if she hadn't been already. There's something reassuring about a city official that writes "swift legal action" in a letter and follows through on it.

This is where the Dover City Attorney's office comes in. We've never talked to George Wattendorf, City Attorney, but he seems to be closing in rapidly on Carole. As of April 5, 2000, she's trying to sell the house so she can argue she's no longer in violation. We wish her luck in the sale, as she'll need the cash to pay her fines, and without a slum to call her own she'll no longer be a slumlord.

When Carole promised us she'd deal with the skunk problem and then failed to do so, we contacted Animal Control. They suggested that we "play loud music during the day, since skunks are nocturnal." Frankly, displacing a possibly rabid nocturnal carnivore in a relatively urban area doesn't seem like a solution to the problem. I'm sure that if the skunk does leave, the neighbors won't be very happy when he arrives. Of all the city agencies we've dealt with, this is by far the poorest service we've received.

The city records folks were prompt and courteous when we pulled a copy of Carole's property tax records. Now we know where her other Dover slum is and can contact the resident's there.

All text Copyright Brendan Impson 1999 unless otherwise noted. Images are copyrighted by either myself or Bill. If you want to use any of this junk, please contact me at brendan@bit-net.com