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Session 1699, Minutes June 23, 1997 inspection. It is unfair, because the Jefferson Plaza parking lot is in worse repair than his lot and it is still in the same condition, even though occupants are moving into the Little Caesar's building. He asked why his parking lot had to be redone when the Little Caesar's lot did not have to be done. Mr. Coffer said that there are no parking stripes in the parking lot next door to him; there are potholes in it, there's grass growing all over the lot. He could not understand why Mr. Kennedy would make him repave his parking lot and not these other businesses. Mr. Coffer is asking for a fair assessment when Mr. Kennedy comes out to inspect buildings. He does not believe it is asking too much for Council to look into this matter. Mr. Munkel asked about the beauty shop and whether or not the plumbing was installed by a contractor. Mr. Coffer said that it was. She put out bids for the plumber and hired a licensed plumber to come in to do what Mr. Kennedy had instructed her to do. She paid the plumber to put in eight sinks, two in the basement and Mr. Kennedy then came back two weeks later for the reinspection and, as mentioned earlier, told her to tear everything out. Mr. Munkel replied that it seemed to him that it was unclear to the business owner what the rules were and that possibly they had changed. Mr. Coffer said that it was not a question as to what the rules were. He and other business owners are just following what the City's inspector writes out and calls violations. He said he understood English very well. If the inspector tells them to fix the exit sign, they fix it. It costs money to obtain permits for licensed trades to come in and do this work. It costs more money, when the same trades have to come back in and do work over that Mr. Kennedy had already approved. Mr. Coffer has a problem with that. He says that he does not have money to throw around like that. He is in business to make money, not throw it away. Mrs. Thompson requested Council for a full investigation of Inspector Kennedy. She said that she gets many complaints on him. She explained that Mr. Coffer did not understand why Payless Shoes did not have to pave their lot or have to stripe. She wondered what happened between the time Payless Shoes was there and when Mr. Coffer took over. She asked what kind of violations did Payless have when they were in that particular store. She has received numerous complaints about Mr. Kennedy and how he harasses these people. She would like to ask for an investigation. Mayor Adams said he would take that request under advisement. Mayor Adams said that there were some changes in the Building Code, which were on the City Clerk's Docket which will definitely affect new businesses in older buildings. There are definitely changes. New businesses will have to meet these new standards. If there are deficiencies, they will be written up, even in an older location. Mayor Adams said that Mr. Coffer would receive either a written response or a phone call from the City Manager about his problem. Ms. Rebecca Willard, 6044 Kingsbury, said that she came this evening to show her support for Mrs. Thompson. She said that according to the minutes of June 9, 1997, the Council elected a Mayor Pro Tem for the evening and she noticed that Mrs. Thompson voted nay on the motion to elect Mr. Wagner. She stated that there were several members of the audience here today to light a battle that had already been fought and which should have been won according to all the rules. Mayor Adams broke in at this point to explain to Ms. Willard what exactly the rules were. Mayor Adams reported that the City Charter clearly states that the Council body will elect the Mayor Pro Tem, in the absence of the Mayor. There are no rules about seniority. He asked Ms. Willard to continue. Ms. Willard continued by saying that it seemed as if some disrespect had been shown to Mrs. Thompson. As a woman, she would like to see Mrs. Thompson given more respect. Mrs. Thompson is an elected official and deserves the opportunity to perform all duties. She said that anyone could see that the Council was all male and there had been a tradition set. Mayor Adams said that there had not been a tradition set. He explained that he could pull out minutes from past Council meetings, from years past, and show that there was no tradition. There may be a perception that there is a tradition, but there is none.