Good samaritan gets the boot!

Eric,

Thanks for the link, I sent a note.

This is sure not the way that former Mayor of Minneapolis Hubert Humphrey would run the shop.

Is Joe Soucheray still on KSTP AM1500? GEt the message to him. Even though he's a St. Paul Guy, this would not be the way the good mayor would run things in Garage Logic either! How about Garrison Keillor? The arborist would be the grand marshall in the next parade in Lake Wobegon!
 
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Those crazy business license thugs. They're like the mob collecting protection money and the inspector thinks she can break your kneecaps.

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they should hang that woman by the testicles!
 
how many ways will they think of ? hmmm ? how can we get in the working mans pockets . this stuff really pisses me off . the city should thank us for owning a business in there city and employing people not tax you unfairly . do they not realize the more business we do the more tax we pay . why do they have to still bend us over on other ways to steal our hard earned money . the more money we earn the more goes back into the economy . when will they learn !
 
I would send them a bill for services rendered focusing on your time to deal with the city. They will never pay but you can write-off the consulting fee of $275 or better yet a days wage at the end of the year as a loss.

Give and take right.
 
Slow down there guys. City licensing is intended to keep the hacks and gougers out of town, it could have once been misconstrued as a good idea.

Obviously the inspectors (and everyone else) were under the influence of enormous added stress and mass confusion. I bet they didn't have much briefing before they were in the field checking licenses and being overwhelmed by the destruction.

It's been my experience in the past that the inspectors actually have very little enforcement over most unlicensed hacks doing after hours jobs as a "favor to a friend", especially when the friend/client backs them up.

And getting the cops too? On that particular Monday I think everyone was just trying too hard to "do their job" in response to a disastrous situation, even the volunteers. Heck the state troopers had the place locked down that morning too, with three major freeway off/on ramps closed for no real good reason - almost like they finally found their chance to close down the hood - no wonder people were looting.

I don't know Haege, but I'm on his side. NO FINE!
 
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My guess is Haege went to the wrong sign up spot. He could have worked here...http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=924390 volunter and bring a chainsaw??

I have to say, this really, really, bothered me last week.
I wonder how many people got hurt? I'm gonna check it out.

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Last I heard, one person died from the storm and one died of a heart attack doing clean up.

No doubt the city is taking a major hit from this bonehead stunt.
 
Buzzers,

Mayors office already responded!

At the bottom, you will see my initial letter.

Above that, their response

Above that, my reply to their response.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Andy,

Thanks for your response. I will pass this reply on to other tree folk who have shared concern for what took place. I know that coordinating clean up both on the volunteer and professional side must have been a nightmare. I think most people that react to a story like this acknowledge that regulation needs to exist, but in light of the natural disaster and this man's volunteerism, want to see him rewarded for stepping up to help those who needed it-the citizens of your city. I think it may have been different if this man was not a certified arborist with liability insurance-but he was-and therefore qualified to preform the work safely.

The city as well however needs to protect all people within its boarders-especially if there were downed live power lines. I get that.

Thanks again for your prompt response.

Eric Johnson

-------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: Share your opinion or problem with Mayor R.T. Rybak
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2011 08:53:43 -0500
From: Andrew.Holmaas@ci.minneapolis.mn.us


Mr. Johnson -

Mayor Rybak received your email about a volunteer who received a fine during the tornado relief efforts in North Minneapolis and asked that I respond personally.

Thank you for emailing Mayor Rybak about your concerns around this issue.

While we appreciate your concerns about this situation, it is critically important that the City of Minneapolis make safety its number one priority when coordinating its volunteer efforts during tornado relief work. Minneapolis is a city that prides itself on volunteerism, and commends the work of the thousands of volunteers who are giving their time to their community following the tornado. But at the same time, it is also highly important that volunteer work is done in as safe a manner as possible to ensure it best helps the community.

As you can imagine, in the aftermath of the tornado, safety concerns were the number one priority. Police officers and firefighters were assessing the situation– block by block – to ensure that conditions were safe enough to bring in trained volunteer crews to begin light debris removal (for instance, there were live power lines on the ground in many areas). The volunteer coordination was managed by a nonprofit organization (called Urban Homeworks). This coordination was necessary to ensure the safety of volunteers.

Urban Homeworks cleared this individual/company to do debris removal and assigned him to a specific location that had been deemed safe. Each volunteer was required to stay with a crew lead. However, City inspectors who were in the area making sure that folks were in locations where it was deemed safe reported that this individual was working in an area that was not cleared for volunteers (because it was too dangerous at the time). Additionally, he was performing a job he had not been assigned.

For these two reasons, Urban Homeworks asked that this individual return to his assigned location and continue working from there, clearing light debris as he had been approved to do. One hour later, the same individual was reported performing the same activity, but in a different location that had not yet been cleared safe for volunteers. Once again out of safety concerns, he was again asked to return to his pre-approved location and continue the work he had been designated to do.

Additionally, the City of Minneapolis requires that certain construction work and tree removal services always be done by a licensed contractor. This is to ensure that the work is done properly and safely. The requirement that someone be licensed to complete these types of jobs exists whether it is a paid service or not. Because large equipment, including the boom truck this company had on site, can be dangerous if not used properly, tree contractors must be licensed in Minneapolis. This helps ensure companies are properly trained and insured to protect homeowners and the company’s employees. Because this company is not licensed in Minneapolis, the company was first warned, then later cited for operating in the city without a license. Because public safety is our top priority, the city has been diligent in making sure contractors operating with big equipment in the city are following the rules and operating safely.

The City absolutely appreciates all the hard work volunteers put into helping the folks on the north side recover. It is still our responsibility to ensure that safety remains our top priority.

Thank you again for emailing the Mayor. Please continue to do so with your ideas, suggestions, or concerns about the City of Minneapolis.

Have a great afternoon,
Andy


Andy Holmaas
Office of Mayor R.T. Rybak
Andrew.Holmaas@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
PS. To learn more about what Mayor Rybak is doing to address the issues affecting Minneapolis, sign up for his email update

-------------------------------------------------------------

Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 9:04 PM
To: Hottinger, Janna M.
Subject: Share your opinion or problem with Mayor R.T. Rybak

This is an email generated from the City of Minneapolis web site.
Name:
Eric Johnson

Topic
Regulatory Services
Opinion/Problem

Dear R.T. and Minneapolis Inspectors. I was watching the news regarding the North Minneapolis tornado and also happened to see the story about Mike Haege the tree trimmer from Custom Cut Tree Service. I am in the industry as well and thought the way he was treated was atrocious. Your inspectors sent him a fine for $275 according to a news article. Since I work in the industry I too thought that volunteering my services to residents in need would be a great way to help out. Unfortunately I was not as inspired as Mr. Haege. That man desrves a commondation for his inspired volunteering no a slap in the face fine. Unbelievable. That inspector needs to publicly apologize to Mr. Haege as well as give him an honorary free license to perform Tree Services within the city limits of Minneapolis. I hope my message reaches you, R.T. and the inspector who failed to follow up on that mans story. What kind of an immature power trip was that person on any way.

Thanks, Eric Johnson
 
Immediately following the recent tornado disaster in Springfield, Mass. an arborist friend contacted the regional FEMA office to sign up for tree and limb removal. He was unable to get through the red tape so he just went to West Springfield with his saw, ropes and come-along and got to work. He removed a fallen tree from the front of a house which allowed a trapped family to escape. He enlisted people from the neighborhood to help him work, never had anyone tell him to stop working.

Folks in official positions need to have the good judgement to know when to go by the letter of the law and when to bend the law as far as needed to get it done in emergency situations.
-AJ
 
Hearing the other side of the story from the Mayor's Office and Urban Homeworks is important, as opposed to just offering a knee-jerk reaction in response to the article linked to by the OP.

I understand that Haege wanted to help as many people as possible as quickly as possible, however he may have been making a confusing and dangerous situation worse by jumping around from block to block - downed power lines are nothing to mess around with.

Do I think he should have been fined? Of course not - I think the inspector certainly over-reacted and the fine should be dismissed. However, none of us were there and don't really know if he was making the situation worse in his frantic attempts to help. If nothing else, he obviously had good intentions.
 
Today I received the same boiler-plate letter from Andy.

Licensing, as we all know, has little bearing on safety or proper work practices. We wish that it was so easy...
 
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