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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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Carriage Town resident Tim Monahan sues Hurley Medical Center for costs of maintaining property
by Joe Lawlor | The Flint Journal
Tuesday January 27, 2009, 8:00 PM
FLINT, Michigan -- Tim Monahan said he is fed up with cleaning up Hurley Medical Center's mess.
So he's suing the hospital for $4,100 to cover costs he said he incurred by taking care of a Hurley-owned empty lot next to his house on Begole Street and the abandoned Heartland Manor across the street.
Flint Journal extras Caretaker sues
• What's happening: Carriage Town resident Tim Monahan is suing Hurley Medical Center for $4,100, claiming the hospital owes him money for maintenance work he did on their property for four years.
• What's next: Monahan's next court hearing will be before 68th District Judge Herman Marable in April.
"It was absolute, pure frustration. Nothing ever got done," Monahan said of the reasons for the suit.
The Carriage Town resident said he's owed for work he did on Hurley properties dating back to 2005. Monahan and Hurley representatives appeared before Flint District Judge Herman Marable Jr. on Tuesday, and the case was continued until April.
"This is a lot of fun," Monahan said of the court case. He's not a lawyer, but he's serving as his own attorney. "I didn't get laughed out of court."
Hurley Medical Center officials did not comment on Tuesday, but Hurley attorney Lolanda Johnson wrote in a court briefing that Monahan "was a trespasser on (Hurley's) property with no authority to perform maintenance thereon."
Jack Belzer, a longtime local government attorney who does not work for Flint, said he doesn't see how Monahan's case could be successful.
"He may be able to force Hurley to clean it up. But could he clean up their property and then give them a bill for all the work he did? Probably not," Belzer said.
Still, if he did win he could set a precedent for the hundreds of residents who take care of abandoned properties throughout Flint.
Monahan has certainly done a lot of research. In a several-page legal brief that he wrote, he quoted the Michigan legal code and included 27 exhibits for a case originally filed in small claims court. He claims he has a dozen witnesses lined up to testify on his behalf.
Among his accusations:
• The lot next to his house is covered with debris that he often has to remove.
"I take out a big cart and fill it up with litter," Monahan said.
• An abandoned wire that lies next to a rotting telephone pole sits on the lot.
• An "invasive," "noxious smelling" and "aggressive" plant is all over the Hurley property and is starting to encroach on his yard.
• He has boarded up and cleaned the trash and debris at the Heartland Manor since 2005. Heartland Manor, which used to be owned by Hurley but now is owned by the Genesee County Land Bank, is set to be demolished this spring.
Monahan said over the years he's tried to persuade Hurley to sell him the lot next to his house but to no avail. He said he's also asked Hurley numerous times to clean up the property.
He said he's just protecting his own property value by cleaning up the mess.
Angie Van Slyke, who lives on the city's east side, said she's sympathetic to Monahan because she lives next to an abandoned land bank house. The county land bank collects property that reverts to the county due to unpaid taxes.
"You can't get through the red tape to get anything done," Van Slyke said.
She said her family has taken care of the abandoned property, and at one point she was paying someone $15 every other week to mow the grass. But she said she got frustrated paying to maintain property that wasn't hers so she stopped the mowing service.
She said if the land bank would just pay a small amount of money to residents who maintain land bank properties, a lot of people would be happy.
Dan Kildee, the county treasurer who heads up the land bank, said it wouldn't be practical for the land bank to pay individuals to clean up property. He said they do at times award money to neighborhood groups for property maintenance.
Kildee said they try to sell the properties to neighbors as much as they can.
"When people call to complain, our response is, 'Would you like to own the property?'" Kildee said.
But it can't happen in all cases, he said.
Many times the land bank has to wait for homes to be demolished before transferring property to neighbors. The land bank doesn't have enough money to immediately demolish all the homes it owns in Flint, he said.
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:33 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
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Congrats to Tim Monahan for giving people in Flint Michigan a voice. I also live near Hurley and Land Bank properties, I am fed up also. Anything I can do to help please let me know.
"Lets just hope Hurley Medical Center takes better care of their patients than they do the historic properties they own"
Ryan M Eashoo
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:35 pm |
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andi03
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| Personally, I think that he has gonads the size of Texas....Jack was right when they quoted him. |
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Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:50 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
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If I as an individual is expected to maintain my property in a safe, clean and respectable manner so should non profits. Slum lords, The Land Bank, and Hurley Hosptial should all be held to the same standards. My grandma use to always say "whats good for the goose is good for the gander".
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:20 pm |
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andi03
F L I N T O I D
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My Grandma always said, "Oh, sh*t". 
I understand his dilemma, but, it ain't gonna happen. He can have fun playing lawyer, I guess.
Just one of the myriad of symptoms dealing with the Land Bank. |
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Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:00 pm |
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LakeWoman50
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| I give him credit for living down in that place he live in, cause its a rough area down there |
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Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:31 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| You gotta be tough to live in the 'hoods of Flint. |
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I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:52 pm |
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seek4truth
F L I N T O I D
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| It would be nice if he did win. How can the city expect me to maintain my house, when others aren't required too? This would be HUGE win for the City of Flint. Didn't Hurley make money this year? You would think with showing a profit, they might want to clean up the area around them. I would start with all of the crack houses they own. |
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No job, no income, no motivation, no problem Obama has your back. |
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Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:22 pm |
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rapunzel11
F L I N T O I D
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I don't think a lawsuit is helpful???
I believe that area will be the focus of grant funding from more than one source.
Community groups have worked together to receive Weed and Seed funding for that area. A grant was submitted and I think won for a five year grant.
I am not sure what programs the ( ? )Weed and Seed has promised to complete.
On the Eastside we had funding to mow and maintain empty properties and funding for more police presence among other programs.
Peace,
RAP |
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The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.
John F. Kennedy, speech at Vanderbilt University, May 18, 1963 |
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Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:17 pm |
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