When this blog pointed out no permits were found online for the installation of baseboard electrical heaters at 2818 Colfax Ave. N., site of a fire that claimed the life of five children, a commenter told me that electrical permits are issued by the State of Minnesota and not by the City of Minneapolis.
Very well, so I went to the website for the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industries to search out what I could of 2818 Colfax Ave. N. and any permits pulled for electrical matters...
What an awkward website. And I am not sure it pulls permits back for more than a couple of years. But here's what turns up.
On August 22, 2013, about two months before Troy Lewis and his family moved into 2818 Colfax Ave. N., a permit was pulled for some kind of electrical "repair." Here are the details as these appear online:
Details - Permit# ELE1308-07605 Permit Info Site Info Contacts (3) Fees $40.00 Inspections Reviews Chronology Permit#: ELE1308-07605 Type: ELE EXST 1 OR 2 FAM Subtype: RESIDENTIAL EXST Description: Additional Info:: Repair service Status: FINALED Applied Date: 8/22/2013 Issued Date: 8/22/2013 Approved Date: 8/22/2013 Finaled Date: 8/21/2013 Expiration Date: 8/22/2014
This information is consistent with a recent story in the Star Tribune which mentions electric problems in the summer of 2013 reported by a tenant who actually moved out because of the electrical problems.
Another portion of the permit for 2818 Colfax Ave. N. lists the name of the company which performed the work, which (also based on the Star Tribune story) had NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with any baseboard electrical heaters inside, and may have involved some kind of electrical "mast" on the outside of the building.
Details - Permit# ELE1308-07605 Permit Info Site Info Contacts (3) Fees $40.00 Inspections Reviews Chronology Permit#: ELE1308-07605 Type: ELE EXST 1 OR 2 FAM Subtype: RESIDENTIAL EXST Description: Additional Info:: Repair service Status: FINALED Applied Date: 8/22/2013 Issued Date: 8/22/2013 Approved Date: 8/22/2013 Finaled Date: 8/21/2013 Expiration Date: 8/22/2014 Address: 2818 Colfax Ave N Map View City, State, Zip: MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 55411 Assessor PIN: WEB00091808 County: Hennepin Delegation: Township: Sec-T-R: State Owned: Footage (sq): 0 OWNER Paul Bertelson Address: City: State: Zip: APPLICANT R T S ELECTRIC Address: 8720 257TH AVE NW City: ZIMMERMAN State: MN Zip: 55398 CONTRACTOR R T S ELECTRIC Address: 8720 257TH AVE NW City: ZIMMERMAN State: MN Zip: 55398 Total Fees: $40.00 Balance Due: $0.00 Description Amount Paid Date ELE SURCHARGE FEE $5.00 8/22/2013 Amount Paid: $5.00 Comments: ELE PERMIT INSPECTION FEE $35.00 8/22/2013 Amount Paid: $35.00 Comments:
There is no indication anything was wrong with this work performed by RTS Electric or that it was involved in any way with the fire at the duplex. What is shown, however, is that a search for electrical permits at 2818 Colfax Ave. N. of the kind one would expect for the installation of baseboard electrical heaters turns up...
Another permit which doesn't involve baseboard electrical heaters and happened way, way after the installation of the heaters.
So where is a proper, lawful, i's dotted and t's crossed state-issued permit for the installation of the baseboard electrical heaters? JNS blog continues to ask the question and invites Paul Bertelson (or rather his lawyer, mentioned in the most recent Star Tribune article) to send all the sparky details to this blog.
And if indeed those baseboard electrical heaters were installed under a valid State of Minnesota permit, (on bond paper and everything, with a golden seal) this blog will be happy to shout it from the virtual rooftops and cite, specifically, to the date and the permit number and the greasy fistful of however many slumlord dollars was paid for its routine and lawful issuance.
Something tells me I might be waiting a long, long time on that cold metaphorical rooftop for my opportunity to shout any such news.
Visit Paul's Facebook page to let him know what you think of his scumbag practices:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/paul.bertelson
Figure 1-21 is an example of a service mast.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.free-ed.net/sweethaven/BldgConst/Electrical01/ConElec02_Main.asp?iNum=0103
Service mast=OUTSIDE WORK and on the utility side of the meter (shutoff).
ReplyDeleteDLI on line permit infromation is a new deal, There are many thousands and thousands of older electrical permits that do not show up on the DLI website.
ReplyDeleteDefine "new deal." When did the permits that are online start going online? What is the cutoff date, specifically or approximately?
ReplyDelete"Bertelson, whose company owns about 20 rental properties in Minneapolis, says a licensed electrician installed the heaters in 2009. A city inspection last year found no problems with the apartment's heating system."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/03/11/daily-circuit-landlords-rental-property
Name the electrician and produce the permit. What I have found and what I have not found are outlined on this blog. If truth is still "out there," well, bring it forth for the public to examine.
ReplyDeleteI love his address. Zimmerman has a lot of gated communities but I guess that might be good for his safety if someone decides to go off.
ReplyDeleteMCullen NE
ReplyDeleteAfter fire, Minneapolis landlord criticized for rundown properties
NEW DEAL=
ReplyDeleteHave been in the buisness from 1967. The oldest permit that my company shows on line is Oct 2010. A licensed electrician MAY NOT pull permits. To install electric heaters a licensed electrician must be employed by a electrical contractor, and he must be supervised by a master electrician who is also employed by the electrical contractor. The permit # would be found on the inspection sticker that the electrical inspector attaches to the circuitbreaker panel after the final inspection.
regarding the article
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/03/10/paul-bertelson
got news for you guys on mpr, their soft talking very highly paid staff does not conduct even the basic investigative journalism here
shes on section 8, which means her section 8 vendor inspects the property annually which is required by federal law
if the inspection fails, this would clearly fail, the owner doesn't receive rent until the problems are repaired
she has lived there 4 years!
the cabinets and windows don't break magically and if you look closely the tenant lives like a pig and is smiling about her poor decision to make this her 5 minutes of fame
if the owner has any brains he would use the previous passed inspection notes as evidence she is responsible for the damages and make her pay the damages (which sadly the county will probably do for her) and make her move for the disgusting way she lives.
we would have better neighborhoods if section 8 programs would remove people like her from the program for living as carelessly as she is portrayed as luving in the photo
if people want a place to live they need to not be too lazy to keep their home clean and not rough on the home they are allowed to rent with these ever expanding government subsidies that the city counsel loves to allows upon north minneapolis.
many tenants dont have to pay enough out of their own pockets to rent a home which discourages them to respect the neighborhood. many of the drug dealers and felons live with these subsidized people illegally and the section 8 program doesn't cancel subsidies anywhere near often enough to help our community make these people move nor do the housing court system does allow easy evictions based on illegal tenancy or criminal activity
section 8 programs need to be fined by the city or county for each type of tenant that keeps the home in disrepair, a mess, allows felons and other crimals to move in with the tenants
we also need the courts to speed up the eviction process, right now democrats are pushing to increase the amount of time it takes to evict people yet again this session!
the city should also force potential renters to apply to get a license to rent in the tenant. if the tenant is evicted or commits a drug related crime or felony, then license for the tenant should be revolked.
any other ideas to stop these misfit tenants from ruining our neighborhood are welcome
JOHNNYNORFSIDE SAYS:
ReplyDeleteHey Johnnyboy! in checking the Hennepin jail roster that YOU! COPY & EDIT? Which YOU neglected to inform your readers[fools] that POLICE CHIEF STEVEN SMITH
didn’t disclose his prostitution arrest. Which happened in the norfside of town
So let me get this straight POLICE DO NOT MAKE THE LIST only the people you think your above.
First of all, Robbinsdale is not really my turf that I write about unless, for example, some high speed car chase starts in North Minneapolis and ends up there, or somebody dies at North Memorial medical center.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, the mainstream media have this guy's unfortunate arrest covered well enough. I have no new information to add and I do not bother to duplicate the mainstream media's coverage. I only write a story if I have anything to add which nobody else has published.
Third, and you're well aware of this even though you're feigning ignorance, which can't be too hard for you...I publish the jail roster once a month. If you're on it, you're on it, unless I just FEEL like upsetting the trolls by deleting a name, which I reserve the right to do but I've only done once.
Best of luck on all your future endeavors, troll. Oh, listen! Here come some little billy goats. Maybe if you lurk under your bridge you can pop up and give them a good scare.