The Muncie Unsafe Building Hearing Authority declared an emergency Oct. 9 for the commercial property at 705 South Madison and authorized city staff to take immediate steps to secure the building and remove hazardous debris under Indiana Code 36-7-9-9.

The action followed a staff inspection and legal review showing roof and door failures that, the city’s administrator said, posed an “immediate danger to life, safety, and or property.” City attorney Aubrey Christ told the authority the statute allows the city to act right away to remove that danger: “Emergency action under IC 36-7-9-9. Immediate danger to life, safety, and or property. Action is limited to removing the immediate danger.”

Authority members voted to declare an emergency and ask staff to secure exterior doors, arrange dumpsters and debris removal, and otherwise make the structure safe for the public. The board also discussed the administrative record: earlier certified mail service of orders used an address that legal staff later determined was not the registered agent’s. The hearing authority rescinded a $5,000 civil penalty that had been recorded at the prior meeting because of the service irregularity and instructed staff to re-issue notice to the property owner and the correct registered agent.

City staff said they would document the emergency work and seek recovery of expenses later as a lien on the property. The authority directed the city to pursue standard service on the registered agent and scheduled the matter for further review at the next hearing in December.

The authority’s emergency declaration allows the city to secure the property and remove immediate hazards without waiting for a full adjudicative determination; any longer-term remedy, including demolition or receivership, would follow normal notice and court procedures.