The Muncie City Unsafe Building Hearing Authority on July 10 pressed Tierra Winters, a local property owner, to produce tangible progress on two properties — 1022 East Kirby and 426/428 West Howard — and set a 30-day follow-up with specific expectations for visible exterior work.

Winters told the authority she had been maintaining boarded properties and intended to paint, put doors on and install windows where possible. She said she had repeatedly requested a city dumpster for cleanup but had not received timely responses and that financing for interior rehabilitation was not available. “I27d be happy to paint it. Put the doors on,” Winters said during testimony.

Authority members said they have had repeated monthly conversations with Winters and were not seeing measurable progress; they emphasized that cosmetic exterior improvements alone might not be sufficient long term but agreed to a 30-day continuance focused on seeing paint, functional doors and progress toward windows. For 426/428 West Howard the authority also imposed a $150 fine for failure to obtain a required inspection. The authority warned Winters that continued failure to show progress could result in civil penalties, placement on a noncompliance list, and other enforcement steps; members discussed, but did not at this hearing impose, a $2,500 civil penalty discussed as an option earlier in the meeting.

Why this matters: the properties have been the subject of repeated hearings and neighborhood complaints; the authority framed visible exterior rehabilitation as a near-term metric to reduce the neighborhood impact of vacant buildings while reiterating the longer-term goal of habitable interiors.

Next steps: 1022 East Kirby and 426/428 West Howard were continued to the next hearing (Aug. 14). Staff is to inspect the properties before that date and report back. The authority said failure to show the specified progress could trigger stronger enforcement actions without further continuances.