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Stormwater board authorizes attorney to contact purchaser after Trail Creek detention pond tax-sale notice
Summary
The Burns Harbor Stormwater Board voted April 15 to authorize its attorney to contact the purchaser and filing attorney after receiving a right-of-redemption notice for a 1.36-acre detention pond in the Trail Creek subdivision; members also noted Trail Creek LLC was dissolved in 2021 and recommended reviewing the subdivision PUD to confirm maintenance obligations.
The Burns Harbor Stormwater Board voted April 15 to authorize town attorney Patton to contact the attorneys tied to a tax-sale purchase affecting a 1.36-acre detention pond in the Trail Creek subdivision.
Board members said a notice of right of redemption for the detention pond—identified in the letter and assessor records as 1.36 acres—arrived via the clerk's office and named a purchaser, Jeffrey Langan. The notice, the board heard, gives Trail Creek LLC (the recorded owner) a year to redeem by repaying the purchaser and associated fees; if not redeemed the purchaser can ask a court to deed the parcel to them.
"We received a notice of right of redemption from a tax sale for a detention pond in Trail Creek," a board member reported; board members discussed whether a private purchaser would understand or accept the ongoing maintenance obligations tied to a detention structure that is part of a subdivision plan. For the record, Brandon Downey, employee of the Town of Burns Harbor, said he had photographs of the pond outfall and site conditions.
Board members noted that Trail Creek LLC appears to have been voluntarily dissolved with the Indiana Secretary of State on June 23, 2021, and recommended town staff pull the original PUD ordinance and subdivision plans to confirm who was assigned maintenance duties when the subdivision was approved. "We might be able to pull the plans and it might be written on there," one member said.
Because of the uncertainties about title and maintenance, a motion was made, seconded and approved to authorize the town attorney (Patton) to contact the filing attorneys in Zionsville to ask about their intentions and to confirm that the parcel is a detention pond subject to maintenance obligations. The motion passed on a roll call vote.
Next steps the board discussed included: (1) attorney Patton reaching out to the attorneys who filed the tax-sale notice to clarify intent and next steps; (2) staff researching the original subdivision approvals, PUD ordinance and any recorded maintenance covenants; and (3) confirming whether Porter County or other agencies have inspected or enforced maintenance for the pond. No enforcement action or change of title occurred at the meeting.
