Dayzie DeLane speaks to the Wells Council during the public comment time, as home owner Tristan Grant stands by her side.

The house located at 203 First Avenue SE in Wells was back in the forefront at the Wells City Council meeting on Monday, Sept 9.

With mayor David Braun absent due to illness, council member John Herman called the meeting to order. It was when he opened the meeting for public comment that things got interesting.

A woman, who identified herself as Dayzie DeLane, came to the podium and said she was there to speak on behalf of the owner of the house, Tristan Grant, as a legal rights and discrimination advocate. Grant stood beside DeLane but did not speak while she read a six-page document outlining Grant’s grievances with the city followed by another three-page document which called for accountability and transparency for the council through training programs.

The house in question came to the attention of the Wells City Council in early 2023.

According to a story in the April 3, 2023 edition of the Faribault County Register, the city had been trying to reach Grant for weeks but had been unsuccessful until Grant contacted them on March 27, the day of a City Council meeting.

City attorney Pamela Whitmore was not in attendance at that meeting but had provided council members with a copy of an email her office had sent to Grant earlier in the day which outlined seven steps Grant would be expected to take in order for the city not to proceed with pursuing abatement.

The steps included having a structural engineer evaluate the structure to see what needed to be replaced and having a professional designer involved in making any changes. The walls were to be gutted and checked for mold and a licensed electrician was to inspect all electrical for code violations. A licensed plumber would also have to inspect the plumbing for code compliance and the rehab of the structure would also have to meet requirements for egress and energy. Lastly, it was stated that the city public utilities would not be turned on until the other items were completed.

It was also stated at the meeting that the city attorney had provided Grant with a list of some of the things the inspector had found.

The city administrator at the time, Connor LaPointe, shared some of that list, “You can see the sky through the kitchen and bathroom ceilings and water has leaked through the first floor and into the basement. There is black mold visible on the walls and ceilings throughout the house and mushrooms are growing out of the floors in several rooms. There is at least one structural support post in the basement which is not supported by a footing which has caused settlement due to the concrete floor breaking under it.”

DeLane explained that initially, Grant was required to attend the council meeting to discuss potential demolition actions against his property. This was to be done at the discretion of the city staff if he did not comply with what DeLane termed ‘selective enforcement.'”

DeLane went on to claim that Grant has received unjust treatment and public shaming.

She continued, saying, “He has filed ethics complaints, requested records of complaints against his property, sought a council member’s recusal and issued four cease-and-desist letters highlighting conflicts of interest and procedural misconduct impacting his property rights.”

DeLane also raised the issue of racial exclusion in the council’s treatment of Grant. She claimed it was under the threat of losing his house that Grant was pressured into signing an abatement agreement – a process she also deemed as not being transparent or equitable.

“My concern is that the council is not treating Mr. Grant equally as they have treated other people,” DeLane continued. “He has only owned the property for six months. There are other houses in worse shape which are not having action taken against them.”

When DeLane finished speaking, Herman asked for a copy of the writings before closing the public comment portion of the meeting and moving on to the business part of the meeting.