Following a closed session at its Dec. 8 meeting, the East Bethel City Council voted 3-0 to proceed with an eviction action against Firebird Land and to authorize the city’s response to a complaint filed by the company.
The move comes as BDM/Firebird has been accused by several elected officials in the city, including Council Members Tim Miller and Jim Smith, of failing to pay a lease and property undervaluation.
City Attorney Jacob Saufley requested the motion after the closed session. Council Member Suzanne Erkel was absent, and Council Member Brian Mundle abstained.
The action stems from a civil complaint filed by the city on Dec. 1 against Firebird Land and BDM Construction related to a 2004 rent agreement involving the Whispering Aspen Community Center. The complaint alleges the city provided written notice Oct. 30 directing the companies to vacate the property by Nov. 30.
According to the complaint, the companies are headed by Brian Mundle Sr.
A purchase agreement included in the meeting packet allows the purchasers temporary use of office space in the community center until the Whispering Aspen development is completed. That section of the agreement also specifies portions of the property the city retains ownership of, including the outlot on which the community center is located.
The written notice of termination, addressed to both Mundle and Mundle Sr., states that the temporary occupancy arrangement has expired and that the city would proceed with eviction if the companies did not vacate the space by Nov. 30.
An eviction summons hearing is scheduled for Dec. 22 at 8:30 a.m.
Council Members Tim Miller and Jim Smith provided ABC Newspapers with allegations of state statute that they say BDM/Whispering Aspen is violating, including the 465.03 pertaining to Gifts and Appropriations to Private Entities, and 469.090-469.1081 regarding Economic Development Authorities. They also believe there is a violation of Article X, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
Per previous reporting from ABC Newspapers, Mundle indicated at a public forum at a previous June council meeting that he had been gifted two lots from his father, and that a deed tax of $1.65 had no relation to the valuation of his property.