MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – At 87 years old, Peter Clark still knows his way around 88 keys, and he was gracious enough to take a seat at his piano and play a tune for the "Leave it to Layron" team.
What recently showed up in the mail, though, struck a bad chord with Clark.
The Miami-Dade County Regulatory and Economic Resources Department sent him a "final notice of intent" to place a $10,000 lien against his property.
"I don't deserve that," Clark said.
That's when he decided to reach out to the LITL team to figure out why the county was coming after him.
Our search for the answer took us outside of Clark's southwest Miami-Dade home, into his backyard and over to his generator.
"When you get old, you figure I've got to protect myself somehow, and I thought the generator would be a good thing," he said.
Clark hired Total Power and Gas Contractors to install his generator last year. He said it kicked right on after Hurricane Irma knocked out his power, and hummed beautifully until he ran out of fuel.
The bad chord wasn't struck until the electrical permit for Clark's generator expired in August.
The county said an enforcement case was opened in November, and a notice was issued to Novoa Electrical Contractors Inc. for failing to obtain a required inspection. The citation required a $510 payment and correction of the violation within 30 days.
The fee was paid in January, when the county received an application from the contractor to reissue the expired permit. But the county said the permit was not yet reissued because of a contractor hold. The contractor's license with the county that was associated with the permit had also expired.
"Since the violation was not corrected within the time frame specified in the citation, an affidavit of noncompliance was submitted to clerk of courts" in March, ultimately triggering the "notice of intent to lien," according to the county.
The LITL team reached out to Total Power and Gas Contractors. It's owner, Jorge De Guzman, explained that the electrical contractor's license changed from a county license to a state license.
The county has to have a new permit application on file with the new state license.
Since the electrical contractor will now do business under the same name, but with the state license, the county said it also needed a change of contractor request and reissuance to replace the original permit application. Once the permit is reissued, the violation will be corrected.
As for the notice of intent to lien Clark received, the county said he should "disregard it." But, he will need to ensure the expired permit is renewed.
De Guzman said a representative was scheduled to drop by to get Clark's signature on the paperwork and that everything would be taken care of next week.
It's important that residents are aware that, ultimately, the property owner is responsible for all permits obtained on their properties.
The county said you can always contact their County Contractor Licensing Section at 786-315-2880, or online at http://www.miamidade.gov/building/contractor-inquiry-search.asp.
You can contact the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation at 850-487-1395, to determine if your contractor is licensed, insured or has complaints/violations on record.
If a permit was obtained by a licensed contractor, the county said the contractor is required to obtain all mandatory inspections as required by county code.
Residents in unincorporated Miami-Dade County can view the status of their permit and inspections at www.miamidade.gov/building/.
If a property owner wants to know if there are any open permits on their property, they may search for open permits by visiting the county's website at http://egvsys.miamidade.gov:1608/WWWSERV/ggvt/bnzaw960.dia.
You can also contact the Permit Records Section at 786-315-2100, Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. and request an open permit records search. The fee for this service is $46.50.
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