City Settles Over 23 Apartments Matter

By Gordon Hopkins A lawsuit against the City of Fairbury over $272,000 sitting in escrow has been settled after mediation.The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court on October 4, 2024. The plaintiffs are Allied Development LLC and Fairbury '23 LP, who were responsible turning a school building into apartments 20 years ago. According to the complaint, “When Allied Development sold the Fairbury ’23 apartments on or around May 30, 2023, Fairbury refused to forgive its loans as it had agreed to, forcing the title company to hold approximately $272,000.00 in sales proceeds. Those proceeds – which are still pending in escrow today – rightfully belong to Plaintiffs.” In 2004, Steve Foutch, until recently the owner of Fairbury 23 Apartments, received $202,000 from the City of Fairbury to convert a former school building into low-income housing. The city then asked for repayment of that loan, despite Foutch's claim that he believed the loan would be forgiven and despite the fact that the money did not originally come from Fairbury.The funds originally came from $130,000 in grant funds, along with Fairbury’s $72,000 contribution in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the redevelopment project.According to the agreement, plaintiffs and defendant each receive a portion of the funds in escrow, with $158,400 going to the plaintiffs, along with a payment of $20,000 by the city's insurer, EMC Insurancee Company. The remainder will be paid to the city. The city council approved the agreement at a meeting Tuesday night, August 5, 2025. While several of the council members voiced objections, the only council member to vote against the resolution was Phil Rogge.Fairbury Mayor Kelly Davis and Fairbury City Attorney Kurth Brashear both recommended accepting the agreement, pointing out the expense and risk of taking the matter to court.

UP Train Slips Its Tracks In Jansen

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Shutting Down: Will PBS and NPR Survive?

Related Articles

High Winds Fuel Multiple Wild Fires in SE Nebraska

Sen. Ricketts Makes the Case for War

City Offices Closed During Move

A Broken Wire Over Railroad Tracks Leaves City in the Dark