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April 28, 2012

Andres hearing delayed until May

New Albany seeking removal of materials, equipment from New Albany property

By DANIEL SUDDEATH daniel.suddeath@newsandtribune.com

NEW ALBANY — A hearing over a motion filed by the city of New Albany against D Andres Enterprises accusing the company of violating an agreement to vacate property has been pushed back to May 31.

Attorney James Hancock, who is representing D Andres in the case, requested the hearing that was slated for last Tuesday be delayed until May 31. A message left for Hancock on Friday seeking comment for this story hadn’t been returned as of press time. Prior attempts to reach D Andres owner Dennis Andres regarding the case were also unsuccessful.

According to City Attorney Stan Robison, Hancock had a scheduling conflict which was why the motion to delay the hearing was made.

The city is claiming D Andres Enterprises failed to meet a court established deadline of Jan. 31 to remove machinery, dump trucks and other materials from property near its 615 State St. location.

According to court records, Andres and his legal counsel were present during a Nov. 22 court hearing when the agreement was reached. City officials have maintained Andres doesn’t own the property where the equipment has been stored, and the issue has also raised complaints from adjoining land owners and city residents.

On April 3, former mayoral candidate and Keep New Albany Clean & Green founder Irv Stumler asked the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety to strengthen its efforts to have the equipment and materials removed from the property. He was joined at that meeting by Paul Klingensmith, who is the CEO of the John-Kenyon Eye Institute, which is located near the property in question along State Street.

Klingensmith later told the News and Tribune that the John-Kenyon Eye Institute doesn’t want anyone to lose their business, but that the neighboring property had become an “eyesore” because of the stored materials and equipment.

Andres has claimed he was “grandfathered-in” to possession of the property in question, Klingensmith said, but Robison has denied that assertion.

When asked Friday if Andres Enterprises had made any effort to remove the equipment from the property since the city filed a show cause motion April 4 requesting a hearing on the matter, Robison said “none whatsoever.”

“They’re still on the property, and we take pictures every week,” he said.

Robison added he’s alerted the legal counsel for Andres that if some progress isn’t made on removing the equipment in question, the city may file an emergency motion requesting immediate action.

At the least, Robison said an emergency motion would likely result in an earlier court date over the case. But if the schedule continues as currently slated, Robison said the hearing shouldn’t be continued beyond May 31, as all legal counsel confirmed the date on their calendars when it was arranged in Floyd Circuit Court.

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