Developer threatens to remove St. John well
BY VANESSA RENDERMAN
vrenderman@nwitimes.com219.933.3241 | Sunday, December 07, 2008 | No comments posted.
ST. JOHN | The developer of the largest neighborhood in St. John is threatening to disassemble a well on his property if the town continues to withhold building permits for the project.
John Lotton, developer of The Gates of St. John, filed a lawsuit last week against the town of St. John as well as its waterworks and sanitary districts.
The suit was filed in response to action the town's Water and Sanitary Utility Board took in November. The board accused Lotton of not making good on all of the improvements he said he would, per an annexation agreement. So, they voted to disallow new commercial or residential buildings in The Gates to tap into the town's water and sanitary systems. The move means building permits cannot be issued, essentially freezing the project.
Lotton said if the town wants to play hardball, he's game. If permits are not allowed to be issued in The Gates by Wednesday, he'll take apart the well.
"If I don't have a judge stopping me, that pump will be gone a week from today," Lotton said Friday.
St. John is trying to stop that from happening.
"We filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against Mr. Lotton, based upon oral and written threats he's made to forcibly remove the existing well site on his development," said Randy Wyllie, attorney for the town's Utility Board.
Lotton said it's his property, so he can do what he wants. He also sent a letter to NIPSCO, asking them to shut off power to the well, and to the company that owns the pump inside the well, asking it to be removed.
"NIPSCO owns the electricity, and I own the well, and I own the real estate," Lotton said. "The hole that's in the ground, I paid for. Everything is on my property."
The well serves as a secondary well that was functional in the summer but isn't being used right now, he said.
Lotton said he has until the spring to fulfill all of his obligations under the annexation agreement and the town is wrongfully withholding building permits for his project.
"I'm not in breach of anything," he said.
But Wyllie said the time frame won't allow for all the work that needs to be done.
"He's in breach of the contract on several fronts," Wyllie said.
One piece of infrastructure at issue is a water treatment plant. Lotton agreed to pay for a plant that processes 1,000 gallons per minute. When the well was drilled, the town learned it could pump more than twice that amount, so officials asked Lotton to increase the size of the plant with the town would cover part of the cost.
Lotton said he never agreed to build a larger plant.
"They put forth a set of plans that have nothing to do with the agreement," he said.
Representatives for Lotton and the town planned to meet last Wednesday to discuss the matter, but Lotton filed the lawsuit the day before, so St. John canceled the meeting.
St. John also filed a motion for a change of venue for the case, Wyllie said.
The Gates is bordered by 101st Avenue on the north, Cline Avenue on the east, U.S. 231 on the south and Parrish Avenue on the west.
Here we go. Our tax dollars being wasted on a he said she said agreement. Hasn't St. John learned yet, "Get it in writing".