Owner cites EPA soil sampling; inspector and owner agree phased repair schedule for 1101 East Powell Avenue

Evansville — A contentious March 20 hearing over 1101 East Powell Avenue addressed both interior structural problems and a separate soil lead-sampling result from a federal agency. Inspector Mark Lukey said the house had been stripped to the studs, had “holes in the sub floor that go straight to the basement,” visible signs of vagrant activity and structural concerns including missing mortar and loose bricks. He also testified that sampling results sent to him by the owner showed elevated lead levels in the front yard soil.

Owner Nicholas Mammonville told the commission he had received an EPA letter noting lead concentrations “above the parts per million that they deem acceptable” in a front-yard sample and said that letter had prevented him from beginning exterior or yard-disturbing work. Lukey said his reading of that correspondence was narrower: the EPA letter covered contaminated yard soil and, as he put it, "in my opinion, no" — meaning the EPA letter did not bar interior repairs or rear-exterior work that did not disturb the tested area.

Both sides submitted technical documents: Lukey entered photographs and the EPA sampling email into evidence as exhibit 9; Mammonville supplied a structural engineer's report and corresponding photos (admitted as exhibit 10). The engineer's report documented sagging floors on both the first and second floors and identified a south girder beam in the basement that an engineer recommended be replaced because it had caused visible sinking on the upper floors. The inspector described termite damage and missing flooring in multiple rooms.

Negotiated remedy and schedule

After hours of testimony and written evidence, Lukey and Mammonville met in the hall and returned with an agreed phased timetable the commission accepted on the record. The schedule (signed at the hearing) sets specific completion dates and interim progress checks:

- Siding replacement: complete by May 20, 2025 (return May 22, 2025 for progress). - Structural repairs (beams and brick tuckpointing): complete by Sept. 25, 2025. - Electrical and plumbing work: complete by Dec. 11, 2025. - Final completion of all remaining items: April 2026.

Inspector Lukey told the owner that the commission would convert a raise order to a repair agreement only with “very tight time frames” and warned that failure to meet the schedule would lead to a raise order. Mammonville said he had already invested substantial funds in the property and had repair quotes and plumbing bids at the hearing; he asked for the opportunity to proceed under the agreed timetable. "I've already put a lot of money on that property," he said during his remarks.

Why this mattered at the hearing

The case illustrates two recurring enforcement tensions: when owners cite external constraints (here, an EPA sampling notice) that limit exterior or yard work, inspectors and hearing officers must determine what work can proceed without disturbing contaminated soil; and when owners present partial progress or technical reports, the commission must decide whether to allow a repair-oriented path with specific milestones or to proceed with more drastic enforcement.

The commission recorded the signed schedule on the record and will expect compliance at the stated return dates. Inspector Lukey said he would monitor progress and that any missed deadlines would expose the owner to a raise order.