Woolson Block storefronts boarded by owner

Springfield landlord E.J. Cully took his dispute public with the Vermont Division of Fire Safety over inspections of the Woolson Block by boarding the vacant storefronts and spray-painting pointed messages targeting state regulators.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20151117/NEWS02/151119572

PHOTO BY LEN EMERY The display windows of the Woolson Block in Springfield remain boarded up with graffiti spray-painted on them in a dispute with the Vermont state fire marshal. Published November 17, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Woolson Block storefronts boarded by owner By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — Springfield landlord E.J. Cully took his dispute public with the Vermont Division of Fire Safety over inspections of the Woolson Block by boarding the vacant storefronts and spray-painting pointed messages targeting state regulators. Cully said Monday he was upset with Bruce Martin, the regional manager for the Vermont Division of Fire Safety. Martin had inspected the Woolson Block earlier this year and found violations, Cully said. But Martin was slow in responding to Cully’s requests that he come back and reinspect the building since he had fixed the violations. He said the dispute had to do with an old couch and books left behind by a former tenant, which created an unsafe “fireload,” Cully said. Cully said as a result of Martin’s alleged laxness, some of Cully’s tenants could lose their Section 8 housing subsidy certificates and might have to move out of his Main Street building by the end of November. “The state has screwed me and the Section 8 tenants,” he said. There are six apartments in the buildings, but not all tenants have Section 8 certificates. If that happens, Cully said, he would board up the entire building, and evict the one storefront business, the Jennywren Café, to show the town and state he is being discriminated against. Jennywren was closed Monday, according to a posting on its Facebook page, because of a lack of heat and other issues associated with Cully’s boarding of the building. But owner Jenn Johnson said she would reopen today. Martin was off Monday and couldn’t be reached for comment, But another Vermont state fire safety official, Bob Sponable, said Martin would be back at work today. Meanwhile, Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell, who had posted a notice about the boarded-up windows on the town’s and police department’s Facebook page, said the town was looking into its options to have the spray-painted boards removed. “We’re still researching viable avenues of response. Billboards? They might be illegal signs, yes,” Yennerell said. The Woolson Block has been the object of long-standing complaints by many in town, largely because of Cully’s tenants and drug dealing on the sidewalk in front of the building. “I know that there are old inspections and code improvements haven’t been met,” Yennerell said. “I think that’s really the crux of the argument. Fire Safety is simply doing its job,” he said. “Fire Safety is out doing thousands of inspections a year and they usually are very cooperative and work with people. I think they’ve been working with EJ for years and he still hasn’t come into compliance,” Yennerell said. The Woolson Block was sold at tax sale this summer to the Springfield Housing Authority, and Cully has a year to redeem his building and pay back the housing authority the $28,000 it paid. If Cully doesn’t redeem the historic block, the building becomes the property of the housing authority. The housing authority has been trying to buy the building outright from Cully for the past year, but Cully said the offer was too low. Cully, who lives in Woodstock and has a couple of businesses in Killington, is also a landlord in Rutland. He said he has every intention of paying the back taxes. One of Cully’s businesses is Maya Papaya CSA, he said. He sells community-supported agriculture shares to people in Boston and trucks Vermont food, and on his return trip brings Boston seafood to Killington area restaurants. “I have more than enough money to pay the taxes,” Cully said, noting he had been putting his money into paying off an equity loan on the property, rather than pay the taxes. Yennerell questioned the wisdom of that financial strategy, since delinquent taxes carry a 1 percent per month penalty, which is compounded.