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Union Editor

A resident from Golfview Apartments thanked the city Monday for stepping in and solving a month-long water and sewer problem at the Anoka apartment complex.

“Thank you to all of the workers, whoever they are,” said resident Kathy Barron. “They saved us – it was horrible.”

She referred to nearly a month of off-again on-again sewer and water service at the apartment building at 500A Greenhaven Road.

The result of failing equipment and frozen pipes, tenants reported not having water, being unable to flush the toilets and water and sewer back up on the lower level of the building, said Eric Hauge, a tenant advocate for HOME Line, a non-profit that provides legal guidance for renters.

The problems started in early December, but the day before Christmas Eve the city stepped in to solve the problem after the landlord had failed to meet a deadline from property maintenance inspectors to have the problem fixed.

According to Planning Director Carolyn Braun, city inspectors had visited the property several times throughout the month.

“We kept checking in with the property owner and the super and each time we heard they were having some problems but were getting them under control,” said City Manager Tim Cruikshank.

Braun said from reports from city inspectors that the problems were being fixed.

“The rental inspector did not get calls from tenants,” said Braun.

According to Braun and Cruikshank on Dec. 23 city staff found that sewage was being pumped onto property and Braun said it was clear the city had to get involved.

Cruikshank said the city steps in when it feels the situation has become an emergency.

With Christmas and a long holiday weekend ahead, it was decided that it was better to fix the problem than try to find emergency housing for the tenants.

“The building had been posted no occupancy – giving notice at some point the tenants would have to leave if it wasn’t cleaned up,” said Cruikshank.

Corriveau he felt there was no way he could have the vacant apartments in the basement where the sewer had previously backed up the 7 a.m. deadline on Dec. 23 set by the city.

While there were reports that the building had been condemned, Braun said that was never the case.

But building owner Jim Corriveau said he though the building had been condemned.

The no occupancy signs posted around the building left tenants with no idea whether or not they were allowed to stay, said the building owner.

Corriveau also said he started making hotel arrangements for tenants before the city decided they would be allowed to stay in their apartments.

According to Cruikshank, the city hired two separate contractors to come in. The first was responsible for cleaning up the lower level of the apartment building, including the removal of carpet and sheet rock.

The second was hired to fix the private lift station that provides service to the building. There had been problems with this station failing throughout the month, according to Braun, but Corriveau argues it was operational on Dec. 23 after he had worked all night to install a new pump.

Unhappy with the city, he feels they took unnecessary action.

“City workers do not have the authority to rip out walls and rip out carpet,” said Corriveau, who added that he has not received any documentation from the city for code violations.

“The water had been on, except for maybe an hour or so, for the last 10 days,” he said. According to Corriveau the water and sewer in the building was interrupted for six or seven days through the month while he was plagued with problems, which included frozen pumps and lines.

He also said that sewer was not being pumped onto the property – that the liquid running out of the hose was clean water. Corriveau also maintains that the pump at the lift station was operational when the city took action.

While the bills have not come in, Cruikshank said the cost will likely be several thousand dollars. This cost will be assessed back to the property.

At Monday’s meeting Councilmember Mark Freeburg said he felt the city fell short on serving its residents.

“The city took the initiative based on the fact that I felt the city didn’t do quite the job we should have,” said Freeburg. “We had some obligation to take care of people. Nobody is perfect – we did drop the ball to some degree.”

Hauge of HOME Line attended Monday’s meeting and said he was disappointed in the city’s initial response to the problems at Golfview Apartments. He also offered to provide input on strengthening the city’s rental licensing code to prevent this type of problem in the future.

Councilmember Steve Schmidt said that it had been a long and political battle to implement rental licensing in the city.

Other members of the council agreed the city had to get involved and thanked staff for getting the job done on Christmas Eve.

“The situation was deplorable,” said Councilmember Jeff Weaver. “I don’t know how anybody could live in that building.”

Resident Tina Frost told the council that Jim Corriveau had improved the property and made it a nice place to live. She had been planning to move into a first floor apartment but could not when she arrived and found the door had been kicked in.

Corriveau said he has invested $200,000 improving the building since he bought it four years ago.

“I am a member of the Landlord Managers Group,” said Corriveau. “I work with the city to help the city when they have problems.”

Mandy Moran Froemming is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it