By Jay Young
The city plans to pay $49,400 on behalf of the owner of the old Pearl Cleaners site to clean the property from debris left by a fire and partial demolition.
The Board of Public Safety agreed Aug. 14 to hire Stemaly Excavating to complete the job after the owner ignored City orders to clear the property.
The City started a process to target the company after an investigation by the City County Observer identified Eric N. Morgan as the owner of the entity that holds the property.. https://city-countyobserver.com/breaking-news-owner-of-the-burnt-down-former-peal-clearners-site/
The Pearl Development LLC., no relation to the former dry cleaning business, hasn’t paid property taxes since it purchased 428 NW Third St. in 2022. County records show about $46,000 in taxes and fines are due.
City officials say the company hasn’t responded to their inquiries, which were sent to an Evansville residence that public records show is not associated with the business.. Even after Morgan was evicted from that address, his attorney this year told the Indiana Department of State that the business still operates there.
https://city-countyobserver.com/445901-2/
Under current procedure, the City will send the cleanup invoice to that address and then pay the contractor if nobody responds. If the City isn’t reimbursed, it will place a lien on the property. These liens are rarely paid.
City officials haven’t said if they will pursue legal action to force payment from the owner.
This property is scheduled for tax sale this fall, which starts a years-long process that could result in Vanderburgh County taking the property.
I WANT MY TAX PAYER MONEY BACK……….
Could you run an article on what needs to be done to hold owners accountable? Is it a change to local laws? State laws? What is our recourse as tax payers? This happens time and time again. Such a waste of money that the city does not have… But still no one addresses this problem. Thanks for considering.
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