After the Town of Athabasca circulated a letter to Barbara Bell’s neighbours last week about her Hees Estates property, Bell herself has something to say about not being on the mailing list.
“They did not even send me a copy of their undated, unsigned letter,” Bell said, “even though my present mailing address is Hees Estates.”
Bell said she found out about the letter after a Hees resident clued her in.
The letter to Hees Estates residents was the town’s first public statement about the situation concerning Bell’s property, and her lawsuit against the town and its contracted property inspectors.
After Bell moved into her Hees Estates home in 2009, the wall built on the hill behind it started collapsing. The house’s foundation cracked, and Bell decided it was unsafe for her and her family to live there any longer. She eventually moved her family, and filed a lawsuit against those involved in the construction of the home, the wall and her purchase of the property.
Since then, Bell has amended her lawsuit to include only the municipality and its contracted inspectors. “The Town of Athabasca and the Inspections Group Inc. — and they use the same lawyer out of Calgary,” Bell said.
Bell also rebutted several points made in the town’s letter to Hees residents.
The letter reads, “The judicial process is complicated and tends to move slowly. It is likely to take months before being brought to conclusion.”
Bell countered, “Even though my lawyers have repeatedly asked the solicitors for the Town of Athabasca to produce their documents, they have refused.”
The town’s letter states that Bell alleges the town was negligent in issuing building permits for the home.
“Who hired the accredited inspection agency?” Bell wants to know, and if they are still using the same agency that inspected her house.
Bell, who meanwhile has appealed her property taxes and declared her candidacy in the Feb. 9, 2012 town council byelection, also said she wants to know why the town’s letter was sent now, and not when the lawsuit started.
“Is it because (of) the Assessment Appeal Board decision on my property taxes, or is it because they heard I was running for councillor in the byelection?” Bell wondered.
