[Vision2020] Contractors

[J Ford]

Geez!  Thanks for making my point and then some!

And Chas - it is not MY remedy for irresponsible homeowner/property owners - all I did was propose that we look at doing something similar to what other communities have done to resolve this issue.  You don't like it, talk to your representatives IF this were ever to come up before the City Council.  I still don't hear anyone complaining about laws already on the books that requires noxious weeds and dangerous debris be cleaned up off the property - why is there such a bru-ha-ha when we are talking about snow?  Did you know that if you have a meter-reader come onto your property to read the meter and they fall, breaking something - YOU get to foot the bill for their getting better....no matter how long that takes?  And yes, your homeowners insurance is likely to go WAY up if not in fact canceled.

Like Kit says - your property, your problem, YOU FIX IT!!!

J  :]


> Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:47:02 -0800
> From: kcraine at verizon.net
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Contractors
> 
> Imagine this alternative to Chasuk's loss-of-home scenario: The widow  
> of a soldier killed in Iraq has two pre-school children. She is going  
> to the university to earn a degree so she can get a job that will  
> support her family (rather than remaining on welfare). She can't  
> afford a car so she walks everywhere. While traversing a scofflaw's  
> stretch of icy sidewalk, she slips, falls, strikes her head, and ends  
> up in a permanent vegetative state. The scofflaw is sued. His  
> homeowner's insurance pays the bill, then declines to renew his  
> policy. Other companies refuse to touch him. Because his mortgage  
> included a requirement that he have insurance, he violates his  
> contract with the bank. The bank forecloses. He looses the house that  
> was his lifetime goal.
> 
> Perhaps everyone would have been better off if the Scofflaw accepted  
> his responsibility and made arrangements for someone to do his walk  
> while he was gone. On my block, that is often a quid-quo-pro  
> arrangement. For many of the on-fixed-income retirees I know, they  
> find the money to pay someone--even if it means they need to give  
> something up.
> 
> PCEI has a great program for those who truly need help. I thank  
> everyone who is lending their back to this effort. That includes  
> responsible property owners, all those who quietly clear their  
> neighbors' walks, and those who volunteer for PCEI's Snow Patrol.  
> Working as a community, we can make Moscow's sidewalks safe in winter.
> 
> For those who can do their sidewalks but don't (especially  
> landlords), it is actually very simple: your property, your problem,  
> you solve it.
> 
> Kit Craine
> 
> On Jan 29, 2008, at 2:47 PM, Chasuk wrote:
> 
> > Everyone talks about this as if it were such a simple issue.  First,
> > there are many of us whom are not property owners, and probably never
> > will be.  I belong to that demographic.  Am I responsible for
> > shoveling snow outside my domicile, if it isn't specified in my lease
> > or rental agreement?
> >
> > Now let's pretend that I do own the property.  Being a property owner
> > doesn't automatically mean I'm rich, right?  Let's say I'm
> > able-bodied, and not infirm, but I can't be there to shovel within the
> > prescribed time for other, legitimate reasons.  Maybe I'm attending a
> > wedding, or a funeral, or I work out of town for the majority of every
> > month.  I'm gainfully employed, but I can't afford to pay someone to
> > reliably keep my sidewalk snow-free during my absence.
> >
> > I return and, under J's regime, I might have $500 in fines.  I get
> > behind on my mortgage.  I lose the house that has been a lifetime
> > goal.
> >
> > Why do I lose my house?  Because one of my neighbors likes to traverse
> > my stretch of sidewalk with Fido in tow, and I have denied her that
> > pleasure.    Never mind that she has a treadmill and a big backyard
> > where Fido actually prefers to romp.  She is incensed that I have been
> > a scofflaw, and have interfered with the free exercise of her
> > perambulatory zeal.
> >
> > Later, homeless, I push my shopping cart past her house, grateful that
> > she has kept her sidewalk clear of snow, not knowing that it is this
> > harridan who was responsible for my homelessness, but also for the
> > amputation of three toes off my left foot due to frostbite.
> >
> > Yes, I painted a parodic, extremist picture, but I'm just trying to
> > show that it isn't that simple, folks.
> >
> > =======================================================
> >  List services made available by First Step Internet,
> >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> >                http://www.fsr.net
> >           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> > =======================================================
> 
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet, 
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
>                http://www.fsr.net                       
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================

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