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Town of Southborough Board of Health to pursue housing-court action over heating, safety concerns at 88 Turnpike Road
Summary
Following staff findings of heating problems and other housing-code concerns, the Town of Southborough Board of Health voted to support filing a civil complaint in housing court to compel repairs at 88 Turnpike Road. Health department staff said they had not seen good-faith repair efforts and emphasized that any corrections must be permitted by the
The Town of Southborough Board of Health voted to support filing a civil complaint in housing court to force repairs at 88 Turnpike Road after health department staff said the property has a heating problem and other conditions they described as potentially endangering residents.
Chris, a health department staff member, recommended the action, saying, "I believe we should file a civil complaint in the housing court, mostly because of the heating issue, but there's a few conditions deemed to endanger." He added that he had not seen documentation of good-faith repair efforts, such as contractor invoices or receipts, that would show attempts to correct the violations.
The board discussed procedural limits and next steps. Chris told members, "So we would file in, central housing court, and, basically, Mister Geevee would be summoned. Basically, we would be the plaintiffs. He would be the defendant, and we'd basically make a complaint ... that we ordered the correction of these violations, and we didn't see any action." He characterized the filing as a way for a judge to decide how to compel necessary corrections and as part of the board's legal responsibilities.
Board members and staff also emphasized that any physical repairs must go through the building department. Chris said permits must be pulled and a building-department determination is required for items such as the property steps, which had been a point of concern raised by "Mr. Heavey" in earlier conversations.
Chair (Board of Health) moved that the board "support going to housing court for '88, Turnpike Road in Southborough." A member seconded the motion. The Chair recorded votes by saying, "Zillak, I. And Malinowski's I." The motion was recorded as approved in the meeting transcript; the transcript does not record a full roll call of every member.
The board concluded the brief special meeting with thanks to staff and adjourned at about 7:36 p.m.
The board did not specify a timetable for filing the complaint, and no court filings or dates were read into the record during the meeting.
