Safe on Cape Cod?

[Guest guest]

The owner of this hotel is the biggest commercial developer on Cape Cod. The

Hyannis Fire Chief was our neighbor when we lived in the Toxic House from

hell. For over a decade he closed his eyes to our mold that he saw everyday.

Do I hear the word cover-up? Under State Law, they must cite the owners in

writing and fine and close the hotel. The health department should be there

too. Of course, it is the same building inspection department that let illegal

construction go for over 25 years.

Perhaps the story might have more meaning if you know that the State

Building Inspector that allowed the local inspectors to get and keep their

licenses

and jobs is . Mr. is currently under indictment for

giving license without them being tested to see if they qualify.

How many other hotels in Massachusetts are in the same kind of fire trap

situation? Maybe one of you will be staying in one while you cover the

Democratic National Convention in Boston? The Fleet Center, where the convention

will

be held, was also " inspected " and " approved " by inspectors that Mr.

was suppose to supervise.

Perhaps you don't know that Mr. use to work in the Boston Building

inspections Department until the State listed him as being unqualified to be a

building inspector. This didn't stop Bill Weld from appointing to be a

State inspector. How many other buildings, restaurants or homes was

involved with in Boston?

If you are in the media and are covering the convention I suggest you make

sure your insurance premiums are paid in full. You also might want to check

because many policies exclude illegal acts of the government and their

employees if you are injured. In Massachusetts, the Law says you have no rights

if

an inspector fails to or does an incompetent or illegal inspection.

See Ya all in Boston?

One must ask why would government officials look the other way for so long?

Why risk their jobs? If the incompetent and illegal inspections are so

numerous, does the word MONEY AND PAYOFFS sound like a possible excuse? You

decide.

Ken Moulton

HYANNIS - Public safety officials are laying plans that could shut down one

of Barnstable's biggest hotels indefinitely.

The Hyannis Fire Department is considering asking the town to suspend

business licenses held by the 160-room Radisson Inn Hyannis on Route 28 because

of

" long-standing and recurring " fire-code violations, Fire Inspector Lt.

Hubler said.

Fire and building officials do not think the code infractions pose an

immediate threat to the building's occupants and do not plan to order the

building

evacuated.

But hotel management has ignored nine or 10 " fairly serious " violations -

some since the mid-1990s - with " no indication of correcting them in the near

future, " according to Hubler.

Among the infractions he cited:

Ten to 12 doors do not swing in the proper direction, potentially slowing

exits.

An unfinished wall in the basement prevents the sprinkler system from

functioning properly.

Some furniture apparently does not meet flammability codes.

" None of these singular violations are so critical as to kick people out of

the building immediately, " Hubler said. " But if you put all of them together,

you can develop a serious issue very quickly. "

Violations noted June 25

Inspectors had noted the violations as recently as June 25, the date of the

last quarterly inspection, but said they believed the necessary repairs were

under way, he said.

Yesterday morning, an unnamed person who described himself as a former hotel

employee told the department the hotel did not intend to make the repairs,

Hubler said.

Later in the day, fire and building inspectors told hotel management to fix

all outstanding violations by July 9 or face review by the licensing

authority.

If the hotel continues to show noncompliance, town officials would request a

" show-cause " hearing before the town licensing authority.

Hotel management would then have to demonstrate why the authority should not

strip or suspend licenses to enforce compliance. The town could choose not

to suspend the licenses.

" If you're writing the same violations over and over with no attempt to (

repair), then you're not getting through to the owner as to the seriousness of

the violations, " Hubler said.

A fire inspector in Hyannis since 1987, Hubler said he could not recall the

last time the department sought a show-cause hearing to enforce fire safety

regulations.

" They're very receptive to getting things done very quickly now, " he said of

the Radisson.

Owner promises action

In an interview, hotel owner Stuart Bornstein said all current violations

would be addressed by next week.

" We expect that whatever the small problems are, that we'll have them fixed

by the beginning of the week, " he said.

Bornstein disputed the number of fire doors that swing the wrong way,

however, and said only two couches in an upstairs lounge lacked flammability

ratings. These have been requested from the manufacturer, he said.

" If they're not satisfied with the report the company gives us, we'll take

them out, " he said.

Bornstein also said he believed fire inspectors would find similar

infractions at most lodgings on the Cape, and that the Radisson was the victim

of a

disgruntled former employee's sour grapes.

" I think they came in with a list of items that a fired employee told them

about, " he said.

" I bet you go to any hotel on the Cape, you'll find the same issues. "

Hubler said it was not uncommon for fire inspectors to discover that

infractions cited during one inspection lingered through the next. To collect

fines

- $50 per infraction - fire departments must take violators to court, which

is expensive and time-consuming.

" They don't make it easy for us, " he said of the laws.

Given the small amount of the fines and the unlikely prospect of

enforcement, owners have little incentive to address any but the most serious

code

violations, Hubler said.

Fire officials may alert the licensing board to the Radisson's inspection

history even if the building meets code by July 9, but may not seek license

suspension.

Because some of the Radisson's infractions pertain to exits, the building

inspector could issue an " exit order " evacuating the building now.

Fire and building inspectors decided in conference yesterday that the

current circumstances did not warrant such action, however.

" It's not something you do lightly to somebody who's paying taxes in town, "

Hubler said. " You don't use a jackhammer to crack eggs. "

The total assessed value of the hotel and the 5.2 acres it sits on is $5.3

million.

(Published: July 2, 2004)

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