Jackson Property owner says Environmental Court is targeting properties
WEST JACKSON, Tenn.–A Jackson property management owner says his business is being unfairly targeted by the city. Ordering him to demolish a property he says he intended to rebuild. Property owner Paul Mundt says the decision to demolish six units destroyed by a fire in January has been “very emotional.” The city says they aren’t treating Mundt any differently, they are simply trying to uphold building codes and regulations. Court documents show Paul Mundt was summoned to environmental court for negligent property management. A fire in January left a 6 unit apartment complex inhabitable. “According to our inspectors, it became infested with mold and the neighbors demanded and I think had the right to a proper response,” said City of Jackson Attorney, Lewis Cobb. Built more than 40 years ago—Mundt says the day after the fire he was told by the city he had to decide, rebuild the units or destroy them. “The conclusion was that it was rebuildable and we started to make plans to rebuild the property,” said Owner Paul Mundt. Cobb says Mundt was given 60 days to restore the property. Mundt says he feels targeted by the court system. Cobb says Mundt, who owns more than 100 other properties has been in environmental court at least a dozen other times. “I think we’ve been more than fair to him. We’ve given him notice and allowed him to fix the problem on his own.when he doesn’t fix the problem then it’s up to us to give the consequences,” said Mundt. Mundt says now his business may be in jeopardy,”It has had a significant impact on our business, and a significant impact on me emotionally,” he said. Mundt will make his next court appearance on Monday for a status update on when the building will be taken down. He says he has chosen a contractor for demolition and issued a letter to JEA to cut off all the utilities.
