Gary attorneys or law firms were selected Wednesday, March 15, to handle tax sale properties for the Gary Redevelopment Commission.
Separate contracts were awarded to three attorneys, while a fourth contract was awarded to an attorney and a law firm. Contracts went to MacArthur Drake, Angela Jones and Inga D. Lewis-Shannon, along with the combined contract for Rinzer Williams III and the Walker Law Group.
They were among 14 attorneys or paralegals who submitted bids last month for researching the details of land transactions. Eleven bids were determined to be qualified to do the work.
Walker Law Group is based in Gary and all the other lawyers are Gary residents, except for Williams, who lives just outside the city limits in Merrillville. He serves as the official attorney for the Gary Common Council.
Redevelopment Deputy Director Jack Eskin said the priority was placed on hiring Gary residents. Bids were submitted from Merrillville, Munster, Crown Point, Dyer, and Wadsworth, Ill.
The attorneys were hired by a 3-0 vote with President Kenya Jones abstaining and Vice President Eric Reaves absent.
In other business, the commission approved a resolution granting an easement agreement to Herbert Collins and Jennifer No who own property adjacent to some vacant lots in the 600 block of East 3rd Avenue and the 600 block of Clark Road which they want to beautify.
The commission also wants its attorneys to review the requests of five other Gary residents who want to take over adjacent vacant properties. In one case, a homeowner wants to use the lot next door to build a garage, while another wants to use it for parking spaces. Others want to extend the grounds of their own homes into the adjacent lots.
Eskin said the city permits such use if the request is from an owner adjacent to the city lot who is current on property tax payments.
A decision on the five cases will be made in April.
Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
