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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

News Greek Cusina Owner Must Pay $80k Lien

Posted by Matt Davis on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 1:50 PM

Council this morning ordered Greek Cusina owner Ted Papas to pay a lien for almost $80,000—to cover the cost of a licensed city fire inspector sitting in his business since last May. Papas argued before council last week that he was the target of a "hit squad" organized by City Commissioner Randy Leonard and Old Town cop Jeff Myers.

de5a/1238013630-tedpapas2.jpg
PAPAS: Was intense in making his point to reporters after the hearing..."if we give power to the police without due process, then where are we?" he said...

But this morning, council unanimously voted to impose the lien, regardless.

Commissioner Nick Fish told Papas that "this has nothing to do with you, personally." "I've eaten at your restaurant personally and I love Greek food," he said. But on the issue of fire safety, Fish said he had to side with the fire bureau's board of appeals, which ruled last year that the inspector needed to be hired. Fish said Papas had the right to sue the city if he felt he'd been treated unfairly.

"But I have to tell you that in this issue I've been troubled by what appears to be an attempt to divert attention from the real issue," Fish said. "I don't think it's appropriate to refer to a professional team of law enforcement as a 'hit squad'."

Fish added that while Papas had accused him of rudeness for refusing a one-on-one meeting, that Papas had misrepresented a meeting with his staffer, Carmen Rubio, telling the public in an email that Rubio had "suggested" Papas lodge a complaint with the Independent Police Review about his treatment, when in fact, Rubio had simply outlined Papas' options, Fish said.

"All we have in this process is our integrity and our trust," said Fish.

Amanda Fritz said she was satisfied that due process had been followed over imposing the lien at the fire bureau, but that she was looking forward to Leonard bringing forward a council resolution to formalize his hit squad, in the interests of transparency.

Don't hold your breath.

Leonard said he had pursued Papas over fire safety, because he didn't want Papas to think, in the future, "what if I'd done that," after a major fire disaster. And Mayor Sam Adams told Papas "you had multiple opportunities to make your case," before voting in favor of the lien.

"Can I make just one point?" Papas asked, from the audience.

"You cannot," said Adams.

And that was that.

 

Comments (13) RSS

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1
do you think city council will get 86'd the next time they go down for after-meeting shots of ouzo?
Posted by miguelaron on March 25, 2009 at 2:00 PM · Report
2
Can someone explain to me why Papas didn't bring his restaurant up to code? Seems like a simpler plan than battling City Hall.
Posted by Graham on March 25, 2009 at 2:10 PM · Report
3
Related to Graham's question: why was there a fire inspector sitting in his property for a year? Seems like it's either up to code and safe, or you shut it down.

Why does an inspector have to sit on premises Also: most boring job ever?
Posted by Blabby on March 25, 2009 at 2:28 PM · Report
4
To me, the real scandal here is that it costs $80K for a full-time fire inspector to do his job for less than a year. What the hell is with the absurd salaries we're paying to those guys?
Posted by Dave J. on March 25, 2009 at 2:33 PM · Report
5
@Dave J. The cost for having an employee is not just in their wages. They're paying her health insurance, they're paying his pension, they're paying local, state and federal income taxes, et al. In my experience, the cost of an employee is only about 60% their wages.

If the city is looking to recoup all the expenses of the fire inspector, there's more than just their wages. The expected median salary for a fire inspector is around $50k. Hence the $80k.
Posted by Graham on March 25, 2009 at 2:48 PM · Report
6
@blabby

not boring if you got a plate of deep fried squid and a mikonos saminch.
Posted by miguelaron on March 25, 2009 at 2:53 PM · Report
7
Hey, I like a good saminch as much as the next guy, but not every day.

I wish the restaurant owners no harm, but if this whole thing could somehow lead to the dismantling of that stupid fucking purple octopus, I'd be a happy camper.
Posted by Blabby on March 25, 2009 at 3:06 PM · Report
8
yea, i was going to say something about purple octopus terrorism gripping the city of portland
Posted by miguelaron on March 25, 2009 at 3:15 PM · Report
9
The only question I have about this whole thing is, what exactly does a fire inspector do for a year at a restaurant, and, if he's just sitting there, why? Is he inspecting? Is he just supposed to be there in case the place burns down around him?
Posted by Will Radik on March 25, 2009 at 4:15 PM · Report
10
By the way. That last comment wasn't just snappy criticism in the form of a rhetorical question. I really would like someone to explain to me how these fire inspectors work.
Posted by Will Radik on March 25, 2009 at 4:20 PM · Report
11
Will: I'll ask Commissioner Leonard's office for a little more explanation.
Posted by Matt Davis on March 25, 2009 at 4:50 PM · Report
12
More info on the particulars would be nice. Why was the inspector required to be posted inside the building? I've heard, in the past, the Greek had been letting in more people than allowed but that wouldn't really explain it.
Also, ask Mr. Papas why his fried calamari is so damn tasty!
Posted by Mizzzzzzz on March 25, 2009 at 5:48 PM · Report
13
At least Fish voted without a bias toward Greek food.... OR SO HE SAYS. What about the others? I think this warrants further investigation.

BTW, where does one apply for that fire inspector gig?
Posted by Demondog on March 26, 2009 at 9:48 AM · Report

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