Jack Walsh Testifies Before Council
By: Libi Uremovic| Original Article at Patch.com
Beaumont City Council Meeting January 6, 2015
http://podcast.ci.beaumont.ca.us/CC_2015-01-06_agenda.htm
97:40 Walsh: From the time we purchased the property we’ve been forced to deal with drainage problems. The whole city block is coming into our yard. Right now there are sinkholes from the city coming in. They had drainage pipe they put it in our property after 20-some years of us dealing with the property. Maintaining the city on our own. Being taken in year after year. The City finally comes up and admits they have a drainage problem. They had a collapsed pipe running through our property. And they want to put a new pipe, which got them new business for the Dollar Tree and O’Riley’s. From the time the fence was down on one side of our property there was no problem.
All the cars that were in my yard were collector cars. They are not abandoned vehicles. They don’t have to be licensed if I’m restoring them. Until they’re ready to be used. I’ve lost so many cars you wouldn’t believe because of Code Enforcement. I had a business at one time. They blocked off the alley on me, which you can check and verify. And that’s right after I transferred the business license, so I couldn’t have access to my property.
So they pretty much made my property useless, so I can’t make a living off of it. I can’t sell it and I can’t use it to make a living. And now they’re going to saw that after tearing up three sides of my property that the mess that’s there that they created. For a year there was no problem as long as they were getting what they wanted. The minute they got what they wanted the fence came down on the other side on O Riley’s. I’ve got nine foot walls on both sides of my property. You can’t see my yard. Now it’s down to pointed of what?
Now they want to try and steal it? Is that what we’re doing now?
You’ve forced me out of business. You turn around and write me up for problems that aren’t mine in the first place. I’ve been forced to take care of this alley for years. I can prove it by the tickets. Now they’re going to come up and say that we’re a public nuisance after they get what they want. Three sides of my property have been torn up. I’ve moved everything from one side to the other side. Back and forth.
I’ve already been in the hospital once over these people with the stress. I had 10% use of my heart. They upped the ante on me. So that’s how much they care about Beaumont Residences. We tried to help out. We tried to get revenue for the City. And this is what we got out of it. Now we’re the nuisance. We’ve done everything we can to help these guys. We planted grass, we’ve done everything else.
A carport that’s covering a car that I’m restoring right now, that’s a tent. All of a sudden the material that I have made in there for a carport now that’s abandoned materials or something. They’re calling it anything they want to. But I had a business that I had. I had $40,000 of equipment, tore down three sheds to accommodate them. Where am I going to put my stuff? Now my tools and equipment are a public nuisance?
They had to get on top of a two-story building to look into my yard. Then we planted grass, we’ve done everything we can to help them out. There’s a washing machine sitting out there that I’m getting ready to take it to change because I haven’t got time to do it because I’m running in circles.
If you want to check into fraud or corruption in this town check into their abuses. I can go way back. Anyone that wants to contact me about that stuff that I’ve had to deal with over code enforcement. I can tell you a long big story. Me and my family have been abused for years. My kids have been cheated out of college, I’ve been cheated out of an income and my retirement. My wife has had to support our family for the last 20 years over these people and their abuses.
How much more can people take?
102:00 Walsh: We’ve done all we can. And we live right in that neighborhood that everyone else is talking about. And I shouldn’t have to be doing the City’s deal for them. There’s no restitution, there’s no 5th Amendment. One shouldn’t have to take care for everybody else. There should be just compensation. We haven’t seen anything, except for now we’re the problem. And that’s totally unfair to us. We tried to help the City in every way we could.
I had a business, and it was a good business. I shouldn’t be put out of business and forced to take this kind of stuff. We don’t deserve this.
So you can say yea, we’re the big nuisance. Everything’s there because we took it from one side and moved it to the other side. There were trees on both sides of our property. What they calling hazardous materials are the trees they cut down. Sheds that were moved when the drainage came in there has wrecked my property. I’ve lost over 6” of my property. They put 2 drains in there that are higher than the surrounding area.
Mr. Orozco; I notified you to get ahold of the Attorney because I plan on suing the City for what they’ve put me through. It’s no joke. I’m looking at 30 years worth of abuse that these guys have put me through. And my family doesn’t deserve this.
At one time my house is totally remodeled. We fixed it ups. I’ve had all code enforcement. Everything’s been checked off. They way they wrote up the consent to come search. It was like a search warrant. I had to open up the house. They had to check the electrical, they had to check the plumbing, they had to check what had nothing to do with the writing in the yard. I shouldn’t have to give up all my rights to let the City come in and run amuck in my yard.
Who else in this town had to do that over a code infraction? Especially when it can be written up for what can be seen from the street. Nothing can be seen from the street. They had to climb on top of the building to look. Totally out of hand. And nobody complained. It’s their own guys that complained.
I thank you for the time to listen to me, but we’re not the problem here.