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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 12, 2007 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ PAGE 19 (#06-3238 Vogue ICF Homes, Continued) Murphy stated from his review of the property, it appears there is pratically nothing left of the old house and inquired what Mr. Vogstrom is planning to build on this site. Vogstrom stated he plans to construct what was approved by the City Council. Vogstrom stated he has dealt with the City of Orono for a number of years and that he does attempt to do the right thing up front. Vogstrom stated in his opinion his obligation is to construct a house as good as he possibly can. Murphy stated he did review some photographs depicting the corner of the garage and the step up/step down in the old residence where it looked like there was at least a half an inch to an inch of separation in the mortar between the brick that had apparently been there for some time. Murphy inquired why that did not raise a red flag to the applicant prior to the work commencing. Vogstrom stated that is one area where there were some bad soils located. Turner stated it is a retaining wall that has the separation. Vogstrom stated the retaining wall does have a separation but that the house is set back probably about eight feet from that. Vogstrom stated the retaining walls also needed to be replaced because they were deteriorating. Vogstrom stated the brick veneer was held on by some metal drilled into the concrete and it had not reached the point where it was pushing out. Vogstrom stated it was not until the brick veneer was removed that they were able to see the extent of the problem. Vogstrom stated in 1995, a claim was filed with State Farm Insurance Company due to the cracking, and that the insurance company indicated in a letter to the homeowner they did not investigate the extent of the problem. Vogstrom stated the cement blocks did not go down the six feet as one would normally expect, which resulted in no frost protection and consequently caused the foundation to deteriorate over the years. Murphy inquired whether the applicant knew about the insurance claim prior to starting the project. Vogstrom stated he did not and that the cracking in the retaining wall was not that unusual and did not raise any concerns with the foundation. White noted the City Council approved a second story back in November but that there appears to be very little remaining of the existing structure. Vogstrom illustrated on the overhead the portions of the foundation that were left intact on the house and the portions that were rebuilt in the garage. White stated the report that is before the Council states that a large portion of the house foundation has been replaced. Turner stated the walkout wall was a wood-framed wall and the old wall has been removed and replaced. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 03/26/07 Approval of Council Minutes 03/12/07 [Page 3 of 19]