Mount Vernon council approves transfer of downtown parking lot to land bank after amendment to keep property ‘as is’

Mount Vernon City Council on April 28 voted to transfer fee-simple title of one or more downtown commercial parcels to the Knox County Land Reutilization Corporation (the land bank) for economic development, adopting Resolution 2025-42 as amended to state the transfer is "as is." The measure passed on a 5–1 vote.

The vote followed public comments from Kathy Tate, chair of the Knox County Democratic Party, who told council she and nearby businesses are struggling with limited parking and a deteriorating sidewalk on Vine Street near Gay Street. Tate said the area’s aging sidewalks force older residents and people using mobility devices to walk in the street and urged the city to study future parking and pedestrian needs.

City service director Tanner Salyers and staff described three broad options for the lot, which is currently managed as a reservation-only parking area: (1) retain city ownership and pay for a full upgrade (Salyers’ estimate of a “Cadillac” upgrade was roughly $350,000); (2) keep city ownership but convert the lot to full public parking (which increases the city’s operating burden for winter maintenance and repairs); or (3) transfer the parcel to the land bank, which would assume ownership and manage the lot through a property owners association tied to the adjacent 18 East Vine project. Under the land-bank scenario, Salyers said the city’s share of upfront construction costs would drop to roughly 35–40 percent and the land bank and its POA would carry a larger share of long-term maintenance.

Council members pressed staff on particulars that will affect taxpayer exposure. Council discussed an unofficial county-auditor appraisal figure (cited by staff as about $117,000) and confirmed the site covers two parcels and about 43 parking spaces. Salyers said bids for a full upgrade have not been solicited and that the $350,000 estimate is the high-end, unbid figure. He also said any construction contract above the safety-service director’s signing authority would be returned to council for approval. Staff noted that contracts under $75,000 could be executed without a future council vote.

Councilors also asked whether converting the lot to public parking would jeopardize the city’s tax-exempt status. Staff responded that tax-exempt status would be evaluated on a per-parcel basis and that if a particular parcel were operated as a profit-making parking enterprise it could lose exempt status, but not the whole city.

Councilmember amendment and final vote

Councilmember [Miss Keener] offered and the council approved an amendment adding an explicit sentence that the transfer is of the property "as is." The amended resolution was adopted 5–1.

What happens next

Salyers and city administration said the transfer is a fee-simple conveyance only; any subsequent construction, public-access commitments or cost-sharing would be negotiated by contract with the land bank and would return to council if the dollar amount exceeds administrative signing authority. Staff said the land bank and the owners of the adjacent 18 East Vine development would likely set up a POA to manage vendor and public parking allocations. Public commenters and some council members urged the city to commission a parking and pedestrian study to understand future demand before committing public funds.

Clarifying details from the meeting: the site discussed is two parcels with about 43 spaces; staff presented a high-end upgrade estimate of about $350,000 (unbid); the city’s administrative signing authority allows upgrades up to $75,000 to proceed without a council vote; under one negotiated scenario staff said the city would pay roughly 35–40% of construction costs after the transfer; the amended ordinance language specifies the transfer is made "as is."