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96-205 Resolution No . 96-205 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A RELEASE AND SATISFACTION OF JUDGMENT FOR CASE NO. 94 OV 4845, ENTITLED CITY OF ELGIN V. JANET MCKEEVER WHEREAS, Janet McKeever is the owner of the property commonly referred to as 494 N. Commonwealth Avenue, Elgin; and WHEREAS, violations of the Property Maintenance Code are currently existing on the property; and WHEREAS, the City has obtained judgments against Ms . McKeever in one housing court case because she failed to maintain the property in compliance with the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Elgin; and WHEREAS, economic rehabilitation of the property is not feasible unless the city' s judgment liens on the property are reduced; and WHEREAS, Ms . McKeever has secured purchasers for the property who have agreed to deposit rehabilitation funds with the city to ensure the Property Maintenance Code violations are corrected before 28 June 1996 ; and WHEREAS, the public interest will best be served if the Property Maintenance Code violations are corrected as quickly as possible to eliminate the property' s blight and its detrimental effect on surrounding properties . NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, that Corporation Counsel Erwin W. Jentsch be and is hereby authorized and directed to execute a Release and Satisfaction of Judgment on behalf of the City of Elgin for Case No. 94 OV 4845 (City of Elgin v. Janet McKeever) on the condition that ( 1 ) Ms . McKeever tenders payment to the City of Elgin in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1 , 000 . 00) before 28 June 1996 , and ( 2) the property' s purchasers, John McErlean and Bernadine McErlean, execute a Code Violation Escrow Agreement with the City, and deposit the sum of three thousand dollars ( $3 , 000 . 00) with the city in accordance with that agreement, before 28 June 1996 . s/ Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly, Mayor IMIWOR Presented: June 26, 1996 Adopted: June 26 , 1996 Omnibus Vote: Yeas 6 Nays 0 Attest : s/ Dolonna Mecum Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk C(fir` • , `1,J ho 111 O Agenda Item No. 4drb Ag74-7 qA 0 June 24, 1996 TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: Richard B. Helwig, City Manager SUBJECT: Release of Judgement - 494 North Commonwealth Avenue PURPOSE The purpose of this memorandum is to present to the Mayor and members of the City Council a request for a reduction in a judgement due to the City for property maintenance violation cases at 494 North Commonwealth Avenue. BACKGROUND A property maintenance case was initiated at 494 North Common- "''' wealth Avenue, a single family house, in June, 1994 . Viola- tions cited included garbage in the garage, tuckpointing the chimney, gutters and downspouts , painting of window, door, and roof trim, tuckpointing of foundation and masonry siding, and damage to the roof of a room addition which was allowing raccoon to enter the building. The property owner had died and his widow, Janet McKeever, had assumed responsibility of the property. The' case was taken to court in September, 1994 . Mrs . McKeever appeared and pled guilty to the charges . On subse- quent court dates on October 17, November 21, and January 1, 1995, no one appeared in court. A judgement was entered by the court in January, 1995 for $16, 800 . A dispute over the ownership of the property arose between Mrs . McKeever and Mr. McKeever' s ex-wife. Since the violations continued, a new case was opened and is now in court. The next court date is July 1, 1996 . The City has been contacted by a prospective buyer who is interested in purchasing this property. It is the buyer's intention to occupy the property once he has corrected the code violations . Mrs . McKeever has indicated that she is unable to satisfy the outstanding judgement and therefore the property sale will not take place unless an agreement can be reached to reduce it. A closing on the property, originally scheduled for June 21, has been continued to June 27 so the City Council can consider the issue. a . Release of Judgment - 494 North Commonwealth Avenue June 24, 1996 Page 2 f ' It is recommended that the Judgement be reduced to $1, 000 on the condition that the purchaser enter into a "code violation escrow agreement" with the City. Under the terms of the agreement, the purchaser will be required to place $4 , 000 into an escrow account to ensure that the property mainte- nance violations are corrected. ' Once the corrections have been made, $1, 000 will be disbursed to the City as payment on the judgement and $3, 000 will be returned to Mrs . McKeever so long as work is completed by December 31, 1996 and an occupan- cy permit is issued. • This is a viable property that will continue to deteriorate the longer it remains vacant. With this agreement, the City will benefit with the addition of a new family and the code violations being repaired. The code violation escrow account will provide insurance so court action will not be necessary if the purchaser should not be able to complete the repairs . COMMUNITY GROUPS/ INTERESTED PERSONS CONTACTED None. FINANCIAL IMPACT The City would be relinquishing a claim to the judgement. However, the City' s claim is subordinate to the mortgage lien and, therefore, is not likely to be satisfied in any event. The establishment of the $4,000 escrow account will ensure code compliance. LEGAL IMPACT None. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended the City Council adopt the resolution au- thorizing a reduction in the judgement and execute a code compliance escrow agreement. Respectfully submitted, Clay Pearson, Director Code Amin. and Neighborhood Affairs Erwi(Jen sch ,,, CorpQAt:ion Counsel 1 t-.k, Richard B. Helwig 1 City Manager Resolution No. 96-205 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A RELEASE AND SATISFACTION OF JUDGMENT FOR CASE NO. 94 OV 4845, ENTITLED CITY OF ELGIN V. JANET MCKEEVER WHEREAS, Janet McKeever is the owner of the property commonly referred to as 494 N. Commonwealth Avenue, Elgin; and WHEREAS, violations of the Property Maintenance Code are currently existing on the property; and WHEREAS, the City has obtained judgments against Ms . McKeever in one housing court case because she failed to maintain the property in compliance with the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Elgin; and WHEREAS, economic rehabilitation of the property is not feasible unless the city' s judgment liens on the property are reduced; and WHEREAS, Ms . McKeever has secured purchasers for the property who have agreed to deposit rehabilitation funds with the city to ensure the Property Maintenance Code violations rft are corrected before 28 June 1996; and WHEREAS, the public interest will best be served if the Property Maintenance Code violations are corrected as quickly as possible to eliminate the property' s blight and its detrimental effect on surrounding properties . NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, that Corporation Counsel Erwin W. Jentsch be and is hereby authorized and directed to execute a Release and Satisfaction of Judgment on behalf of the City of Elgin for Case No. 94 OV 4845 (City of Elgin v. Janet McKeever) on the condition that ( 1) Ms . McKeever tenders payment to the City of Elgin in the amount of one thousand dollars ( $1,000 . 00) before 28 June 1996 , and (2) the property' s purchasers, John McErlean and Bernadine McErlean, execute a Code Violation Escrow Agreement with the City, and deposit the sum of three thousand dollars ($3,000. 00) with the city in accordance with that agreement, before 28 June 1996 . Kevin Kelly, Mayor elk Presented: June 26, 1996 Adopted: Vote: Yeas Nays Recorded: Attest: Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk r