City begged not to buy Dutton Avenue house

A family feud may get in the way of city plans to purchase an old stone house next door to Rockwell Park.
“There is a huge family feud going on right now and unfortunately the city has ended up right smack in the middle of it,” said resident Jan Bevivino.
Bevivino, who lives in the house with her elderly father, said there is a “real family tragedy that has developed over money and the evils that it brings.”
Mayor Art Ward said that councilors won’t take up the proposed deal at the December 11 meeting as the Real Estate Committee recommended.
The real estate panel urged the city to pay $281,000 for the 15 Dutton Ave. house and a lot next door, but to let the elderly man remain in the home until he dies or moves away.Though Bevivino signed a court order in May that called for the sale, she said she was “kind of coerced into offering the adjoining lot” to the city but never agreed to sell the house.
Park Director Ed Swicklas said he would like to see the property added to the park.
But Bevivino said she intends to buy the house in about six months and hopes to avoid getting into a tussle over it with the city.
In an address to the Park Board, Bevivino said she moved from Massachusetts to Bristol in 2004 to help care for her ailing mother, losing her own home and savings as she shelled out for health care for her mother, who died last year.
She said other members of her family, who “live in Burlington in their beautiful homes” didn’t lend a hand.
Bevivino said that other family members, who must “be starving and unable to feed their families,” want to sell the house rather than keep up with the property taxes on it.
Three other members of her family, she said, hired attorney Sal Vitrano, to work out a way to sell the house. The lawyer “doesn’t speak for me,” Bevivino added.
She said that she wants the city to buy the lot, but not the house, so there will be money to pay the taxes.
Bevivino said she wants the city to refuse to buy the house so she will have time to arrange to buy it.
“My family has abandoned us for money,” she told park commissioners. “I can only hope that you will see the light.”

Excerpts from Bevivino's address to the Park Board:
* "The deal is far from signed, sealed and delivered. This property has been in our family since it was built 85 years ago, and I have no intention of letting go easily. Especially when I have no plans to live anywhere else."
* "It is with a heavy heart that I appear before you today to unveil the real family tragedy that has developed over money and the evils that it brings. The other parties in this property live in Burlington in their beautiful homes, and have completely cut themselves off from the responsibility that comes with elderly parents. My brother, who wanted nothing to do with his ailing mother or father, has to pay for his 150-foot yacht for the winter. He must need the cash to pay for the boat. What else could it be?"
* "I can only surmise that my family members are starving and unable to feed their families under the weight of these [property] taxes. My dad and I are the ones who pay for the upkeep and all the expenses of this property."
* "I do not want to sell the house to the park at this time. I would like to buy the house from my family members and remain there even after my dad is gone."
* "I guess the only way to break that court order is for the city to refuse to get involved."

*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com