City responds to controversy

August 20, 2014 City responds to controversy

By TESA GLASS tesa.glass@register-news.com The Register-News The Mt. Vernon Register-News Wed Aug 20, 2014, 06:14 AM CDT

MT. VERNON The city has issued a response to concerns cited by residents about a retaining wall on South 42nd Street which has fallen and who is responsible for its repair.

As stewards of taxpayers dollars, the City of Mt. Vernon has a responsibility to fairly and accurately assess all situations regarding claims against the City in various situations, information from the city states. It is the Councils obligation to make sure that these precious resources are utilized judiciously and only expended in areas under the jurisdiction of the City. The failure of the City to do this, might divert these monies from issues of more critical need, to areas not under our responsibility. This is the situation facing the City as it assesses the case brought against the City by Sara and Jon Henninger regarding the retaining wall.

About 40 people spoke out in support of the Henningers at Mondays City Council meeting. The couple, whose property is bordered by the retaining wall, have filed a lawsuit against the city to have the problem fixed.

The City of Mt. Vernon has been working with Mr. and Mrs. Henninger on the situation with their retaining wall since approximately October 2010, the information continues. At that time the City received a letter from their legal counsel addressing their concerns about the wall. The City immediately responded to the Henningers and expressed its opinion regarding ownership and maintenance of the wall based on documents regarding the project. The City did not have any contact with the Henningers about this issue until a scheduled meeting with the Mayor and City Manager iniated by the Henningers on May 10, 2013. At that time the City restated its position regarding the ownership and maintenance of the wall. On May 20, 2014, Mrs. Henninger spoke at the Council meeting about her concerns with the wall.

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City responds to controversy