HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAG2024-431 - Original - Ruth Waller - 115 Naden Ave Abatement Agreement - 9/6/24 FOR CITY OF KENT OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Sup/Mgr:
Agreement Routing Form DirAsst:
• For Approvals,Signatures and Records Management Dir/Dep:
KENT This form combines&replaces the Request for Mayor's Signature and Contract Cover (optional)
WASHINGTON Sheet forms. (Print on pink or cherry colored paper)
Originator: Department:
Samantha Smith / Victoria Robben Law
Date Sent: Date Required:
> 09/06/2024 ASAP
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Q Mayor or Designee to Sign. Date of Council Approval:
Q Interlocal Agreement Uploaded to Website N/A
Budget Account Number: Grant? Yes No�✓
N/A
Budget? Yes E]No Type: N/A
Vendor Name: Category:
Ruth Waller Contract
Vendor Number: Sub-Category:
Original
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Project Name: 115 Naden Ave S Abatement Agreement
OProject Details:
C
40
C
(11.111 Basis for Selection of Contractor:
Agreement Amount: N/A Other
E *Memo to Mayor must be attached
i Start Date: Termination Date:
a Local Business? Yes WINo*If meets requirements per KCC 3.70.100,please complete"Vendor Purchase-Local Exceptions"form on Cityspace.
Business License Verification: ❑Yes In-Process F1 Exempt(KCC 5.01.045) Authorized Signer Verified
Notice required prior to disclosure? Contract Number:
Yes ✓❑No CAG2024-431
Comments:
Mayor has already signed agreement.
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Date Received:City Attorney: 9/6/24 Date Routed:Mayor's Office 9/10/24 City Clerk's Office 9/10/24
adccW22373_7_20 Visit Documents.KentWA.gov to obtain copies of all agreements
rev.20221201
�11T
KPD Case No. 24-11832
ABATEMENT AGREEMENT
This Abatement Agreement ("Agreement") is made between the CITY OF KENT, a
Washington municipal corporation ("City"), and RUTH WALLER, individually ("Responsible
Party"), in accordance with Chapter 14.02 of the Kent City Code and Chapter 35.80 RCW. The
Responsible Party is the Party responsible for the property referenced below, which is
presently in violation of the Kent City Code or other regulatory provisions as described in
Section 3 of this Agreement.
1. Name and Address of Responsible Party:
Ruth Waller
758 Norman Ave NE
Salem, OR 97301
2. Location of Violation:
Commonly known as: 115 Naden Ave S, Kent, Washington 98032
Legally described as:
THAT PORTION OF GOVERNMENT LOT 4 AND THE SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF
THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF SECTION 24, TOWNSHIP 22 NORTH, RANGE 4
EAST, W.M. IN KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON, DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS;
BEGINNING AT A POINT ON THE WEST LINE OF NADEN AVENUE IN THE CITY
OF KENT, DISTANT 120 FEET SOUTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF THE SOUTH
LINE OF WEST MEEKER STREET WITH THE SAID WEST LINE OF NADEN
AVENUE; THENCE CONTINUING SOUTH ALONG THE WEST LINE OF SAID
NADEN AVENUE A DISTANCE OF 60 FEET; THENCE WEST 85 FEET; THENCE
NORTHERLY ON A LINE PARALLEL WITH THE WEST LINE OF NADEN AVENUE A
DISTANCE OF 60 FEET; THENCE EAST TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING;
TOGETHER WITH AN EASEMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING,
OPERATING, MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING A SEWER OVER A STRIP OF LAND
5 FEET IN WIDTH, THE CENTERLINE OF WHICH BEGINS AT A POINT 120 FEET
SOUTH AND 82 1/2 FEET WEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF THE SOUTH LINE OF
WEST MEEKER STREET AND THE WEST LINE OF NADEN AVENUE AND RUNS
THENSE NORTHERLY PARALLEL WITH THE SAID WEST LINE OF NADEN AVENUE
120 FEET, MORE OR LESS, TO THE SAID SOUTH LINE OF WEST MEEKER
STREET; SITUATE IN THE CITY OF KENT, COUNTY OF KING, STATE OF
WASHINGTON.
Also identified as King County Tax Parcel No.: 242204-9120
The real property described in this Section 2 is referred to in this Agreement as "the
Property."
ABATEMENT AGREEMENT - Page 1 of 5
3. Descri tian of Violations and Nuisance Condition of Property:
The Property has been vacant for nearly one year and has been the subject of four
significant fires that occurred on February 2, 2024; June 16, 2024; August 12, 2024;
and August 29, 2024.
I On December 27, 2023, Kent Police officers responded to the report of a burglary at
the Property and were met there by the Responsible Party's daughter and son-in-law,
who informed police the Property had been vacant for a few months, and nobody had
permission to be inside. Officers arrested two individuals from inside the home and
then walked through the Property with the Responsible Party's daughter-in-law and
son. At that time, the property was heavily littered with trash and debris and in an
overall unsanitary condition.'
On January 31, 2024, the City's Code Enforcement Officer issued a notice to the
Responsible Party advising there were multiple code violations at the property, to
include: (1) abandoned structure, (2) accumulation of trash, litter, and refuse, (3)
inoperable vehicles, and (4) overgrown vegetation. The notice provided the
Responsible Party a deadline of March 6, 2024, to abate the violations or face civil
penalties. The Code Enforcement Officer also advised the Responsible Party of
increased vagrant activity at the property and requested they sign a Trespass
Authorization.z
The property first caught fire two days later, on February 2, 2024. Neighbors called to
report smoke from an unknown location south of Meeker Street and fire crews arrived
to find the home fully involved in fire. Due to access issues from overgrown vegetation,
a live power line down near the home, and the structure being vacant, fire crews did
not attempt to enter and instead commenced defensive operations until the fire was
extinguished. The on-scene Fire Investigator determined the house was unsafe to
enter once the fire was extinguished due to the structural damage to the roof and
loadbearing walls. The Fire Investigator contacted the daughter of the owner, who
advised the home had been vacant since October 31, 2023.3
On June 16, 2024, a Kent Police Officer was on routine patrol when he came upon the
Property engulfed in flames. The officer was familiar with the property and knew it to
be abandoned, vacant, and often used by transients. Fire engines arrived to find the
house fully involved in fire to include multiple outbuildings.4
On August 12, 2024, the Property caught fire again and several transients were seen
walking away from the structure. A Kent Police Officer contacted one woman who had
fresh ashes on her arm. She advised transients had been using the building to cook.
The on-scene Fire Investigator noted signs of a recent open fire on the west side of
the structure at the base of the wall where a large pot containing water and corn were
found within two feet of the wall. The Fire Investigator further noted obvious fire
damage to the east, north, and south exterior walls with the most mass loss to the
west wall. The roof had also collapsed into the structure and was thus unsafe to enter.5
1 See KID 411-11685
z See KPD 424-1460.
3 See Fire Incident Report#24-4590-K8.
'See KPD 424-8350,Fire Incident Report#24-21446.
s See KPD#24-11130, Fire Incident Report#24-29345-K103.
ABATEMENT AGREEMENT — Page 2 of 5
On August 29, 2024, the Property again caught fire. Officers were on an unrelated call
and observed a large plume of smoke coming from the area of Meeker and Washington.
Guardian One was flying over the area and observed the Property to be on fire again.
Nearby businesses were evacuated for their safety.6
No action has been taken by the Responsible Party or an authorized agent of the
Responsible Party to abate the ongoing violations at the Property and reduce the
frequency of transient activity that is the cause of the repeat fires. Firefighters are
responding to a dangerous scene repeatedly, and trespassers are at obvious risk of
significant injury or death due to the attractive nuisance. In addition, smoke and
chemicals are entering the air each time the property burns, and chemical-laden water
could be entering the storm systems each time the Fire Department responds to
extinguish the fires. Moreover, the business located to the north has been impacted
with each fire. Their building and personal safety will continue to be at risk so long as
any part of the building or fencing at the Property remains.
4. Responsible Partyl Acknowledgement:
By entering into this Agreement, the Responsible Party stipulates that the Property is
a nuisance and a dangerous building for purposes of KCC 14.02.200, unfit for human
habitation, requiring immediate corrective action, and acknowledges that the
Property's condition establishes probable cause of the crime of Maintaining a Public
Nuisance. The Responsible Party waives their right to contest the existence of the
violations or to appeal the City's determination of unfitness, as that term is defined in
KCC 14.02.020(K) and 14,02.080. The Responsible Party further waives their right to
be served with a Notice and Order pursuant to KCC 14.02.120 or appear before the
City's Improvement Officer to challenge the same pursuant to KCC 14.02.140.
The Property's condition creates significant public safety concerns, which necessitate
immediate corrective action. The Responsible Party understands that upon their failure
to abate the existing nuisance, RCW 35.80.030(1)(h) and KCC 14.02.200 authorize
the City to do so, providing that the costs of that abatement action may be assessed
against the Property as a lien which shall be of equal rank with state, county, and
municipal taxes, and shall be collected at the same time and with interest and penalties
at such rates, and enforced in such manner, as provided for in RCW 84,56.020,
Although the Responsible Party acknowledges and agrees that it is their legal
responsibility to abate the Property's code violations, they have sufficiently
demonstrated to the City that they lack the resources necessary to retain and pay for
a contractor to undertake the work to remove the remaining structures and fire debris
from the Property. As such, and in consideration of the Responsible Party entering into
this Agreement, the City agrees to abate the code violations by removing the
remaining structures and fire debris from the Property. In exchange, however, the
Responsible Party agrees the City is authorized under RCW 35.80.030(1)(h) and
KCC 14.02.200 to certify to the King County Treasurer a special assessment in an
amount yet to be determined, which shall equal the total costs incurred by the City to
abate the code violations occurring on the Property, including the costs associated with
removing the structures and all debris from the property. Once issued by the City's
Finance Director and filed with the King County Treasurer, the special assessment shall
become a lien against the Property, which shall be of equal rank with state, county,
and municipal taxes. Once the special assessment is certified and filed, it may not be
e See KPD#24-11880, Fire Incident Report#24-31642.
ABATEMENT AGREEMENT — Page 3 of 5
i
amended, rescinded, or subjected to a payment plan. The assessment will be final,
and interest, penalties, and enforcement will occur consistent with RCW 84.56.020.
5. Completion of Abatement:
The City and Responsible Party agree that abatement should occur as soon as
reasonably possible, By their signing of this Agreement, the Responsible Party
consents to the City and its officers, officials, employees, contractors, and authorized
agents, entering the Property as necessary, without prior notice, and to undertake all
action determined by the City, in its sole discretion, to be appropriate to abate the
existing code violations. The Responsible Party consents to the City applying for and
obtaining all permits necessary to carry out the work required under this Agreement.
The Responsible Party further agrees to coordinate with and assist the City in obtaining
any necessary permits for the abatement work contemplated by this Agreement.
6. Release and Indemnify:
The Responsible Party acknowledges that the City is undertaking abatement action
due to the Responsible Party's demonstrated inability to do the same. As such, by
signing this Agreement, the Responsible Party agrees to hold the City of Kent, and any
of its employees, officials, officers, contractors, or authorized agents harmless from
any and all injuries, death, damages, losses, claims, or other costs or conditions that
may arise as a direct or indirect result of the City's abatement action. The Responsible
Party further agrees to indemnify and defend the City of Kent and its employees,
officials, officers, contractors, and authorized agents from and against any and all
claims for injury or loss, directly or indirectly attributable to such abatement action,
including any claims of any creditor or lender, such that if any claim is filed against
the City of Kent concerning the City's abatement action after the date this Agreement
is signed, the Responsible Party will completely defend such claim and will pay any
and all judgments, damages, costs, fees, penalties, and attorneys' fees (including the
attorneys' fees of the City of Kent), which may be ordered or available to such
claimant.
To summarize this section; If any person makes any claim that in anyway relates to
the City of Kent's abatement action on the Property after I have signed this Agreement,
I will have no right to sue the City of Kent, and in the event any party who is damaged
as a result of the City's abatement action sues, including any lender or other lienholder,
I will pay any damages assessed against the City of Kent or its employees, officials,
officers, contractors, or authorized agents, and will also pay all costs and attorneys'
fees for defending such action such that the City of Kent and its employees, officials,
officers, contractors, or authorized agents are not financially responsible to any person
in any manner or under any circumstances.
7. Entire Agreement:
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the City and the
Responsible Party and supersedes all prior verbal statements, if any, by any
representative of the City. Further, the representative signing this Agreement on
behalf of each Responsible Party swears under penalty of perjury that he or she is
authorized to enter into this Agreement on behalf of the Responsible Party for which
he or she signs, and that action is binding on the respective Responsible Party.
ABATEMENT AGREEMENT - Page 4 of 5
8. Non-Waiver of Breach:
No waiver, alteration, or modification of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall
be binding unless in writing and signed by all parties.
9. Ktiowina avid Voluntary:
The Responsible Party is knowingly and voluntarily entering this Agreement of their
own free will. By signing this Agreement, they acknowledge they have read the
foregoing Agreement and Release and fully understand it, taking the opportunity to
seek legal counsel or ask questions if necessary.
IN WITNESS, the parties below execute this Agreement, which shall become effective
on the last date entered below.
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: CITY:
Ruth Waller City of Kent
CA-
Print Name: . (1 ` 4 ���� 1�- Print Name:_ Dana Ralph.
Its: Property Owner _ Its: Mayor
Date: Date: Sept. 6, 2024
Attest:
By: 6�VA
City Clerk
Approve to Form:
By
Ci ttorney
ABATEMENT AGREEMENT - Page 5 of 5