Saugus landlords denied I and I relief

SAUGUS – The landlords of the defunct Subway on Route 1 sought relief from an Inflow and Infiltration fee that just won’t go away, but the Board of Selectmen have declined to give any.Dante Rizzo of Two Amici Realty told the board he and his partner have been left with $12,000 in unpaid rent and $13,390 due in I and I fees since Aymen Rajeh, the former owner of Subway, left them in the lurch.Rizzo said he initially thought Rajeh had resolved the sewer fees, but recently learned he had not.The fee would cause a hardship for Amici, therefore Rizzo said, “We’re asking you to reduce the ratio from 10-1 to the current 4-1.”The fee stems from a state mandate that requires anyone seeking to hook into the town’s sewer system to pay for the privilege. When Rajeh initially hooked up to the system in 2005, the payment was based on a 10-1 ratio, meaning developers were being asked to pay to remove 10 gallons of inflow and infiltration for every gallon it planned to add to the system. The ratio has since been dropped to 4-1, which would lower Amici’s fee substantially.Selectman Peter Rossetti said he empathized with Rizzo, but the board’s answer was still no.”We’ve had numerous people ask for reductions,” he said. “On advice from counsel we’re not allowed to grant them. We have a pending lawsuit that deals with this same issue.”The mention of the lawsuit sparked some interest from Rizzo’s partner, who asked if a settlement in favor of the developers would impact everyone who has had to pay a fee.”Yes, it would,” Rossetti said.The lawsuit includes Developers Paul Dibiase, Kevin Procopio, Denver Street LLC and Central Street Saugus Realty. Each paid over $100,000 in sewer tie-in fees, which they contend constitutes an unfair tax and they want their money back.Selectman Michael Kelleher said he, too, would like very much to help the young realtors, but he agreed with Rossetti.”No one fought harder to reduce the rate than me but if we went back on it now we’d have to go back and lower the fee for all businesses and the board is not in the position to do that,” he said.Rossetti did, however, offer to set up a payment schedule for Amici similar to the one the board set up for Rajeh.”If you want to enter into an agreement similar to his just have your attorney check it over,” he said.Rizzo said they would take the board up on the offer, but said the fee would remain a hardship.