Another wall in downtown Vandalia was a hot topic of discussion during Monday night’s Vandalia City Council meeting. During the Council Member Announcements portion of the meeting, alderman Andy Lester informed the council that Dennis Grubaugh has not let a company access Justin Durbin’s building at 101 S. 5th Street via the lot Grubaugh owns so that tuckpointing work can be done following approval of a TIF agreement from the city during an April council meeting to cover the cost of the work. Durbin stated that after that meeting, Grubaugh informed him that he would not let the company use the lot to complete work on the south side of the building and that has happened, causing work to be delayed.
Grubaugh informed that board that wall was actually his because he had a party wall agreement that event after the Craycroft building was torn down, he still owned the wall according to the agreement.
During discussion, alderwoman Dorothy Crawford expressed concern saying that the situation was similar to the what was occurring with the wall on Gallatin Street of which she says she believes the city is trying to gain possession.
When asked about the legal side of the issue, City Attorney Ryan Connor explained that at the moment the city does not have a part in the fight until TIF is affected by the situation, so it is more of a civil situation between the two property owners. Alderman Lester told Durbin it appeared a lawyer would need to be sought by him to try and take care of the matter.