Evansville Land Bank Corporation Meeting – May 15, 2026
Evansville Land Bank Corporation Meeting – May 15, 2026
The Evansville Land Bank Corporation held its regular meeting on May 15, 2026 at 9:00 AM (local time). The board approved previous minutes, reviewed financials, discussed FDIC insurance limits, and addressed several property development and acquisition items. A key focus was the status of properties in the 500 block of Bayard Drive, where the developer TrueVest is behind on taxes and development. Habitat for Humanity provided a status report on its building progress.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the April 17, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously.
- Financials: The financial report was accepted unanimously. The board then discussed moving funds to stay under FDIC insured limits after learning that the cash is not considered public funds. A motion passed to move $200,000 from the fight blight account at Indiana Members Credit Union (IMCU) to a German American money market account, and to pull all assets in excess of $250,000 from the IMCU business checking account into laddered CDs managed by German American Wealth Management.
- Investment Maturation: The board voted to have German American reinvest a maturing investment at the highest rate for a term not to exceed one year.
Discussion Items
500 Block of Bayard Drive (TrueVest Development)
- Peter Boards (finance) and Ryan (construction) of TrueVest reported on six parcels (504, 505, 511, 502, 506, and 508 Bayard Drive) that are not meeting the development agreement signed in January/May 2025. These parcels have delinquent taxes and weed/trash liens totaling amounts from $225.44 to $1,191.44.
- Peter stated that TrueVest is now using internal financing and expects to begin construction on the next lot within weeks. They committed to paying all delinquent taxes and liens by the June 12, 2026 meeting and to provide a development update at the July 17, 2026 meeting.
- The board expressed concern about the lack of progress and accepted the commitment, asking for communications through staff.
1513 West Missouri Street (Property Donation)
- Property owner Mr. King appeared to discuss donating the parcel to the land bank for eventual sale to Habitat for Humanity. Two outstanding liens were identified: a water/sewer lien ($2,698.00) and a trash lien ($403.50). Mr. King was asked to provide releases for these liens.
- The motion to accept the donation was tabled until the next meeting, pending receipt of lien releases and an updated title report. The board noted that the existing structure must be torn down by the building department before the land bank can take title.
Habitat for Humanity Status Report
- Habitat reported on progress toward its five-year goal of 40 homes per year. For the current fiscal year (ending June 2026), they are on track to build 25 homes. In the Chain neighborhood (Phase 1), 15 of 17 homes are complete (7 on land bank lots). In Glenwood, 5 of 10 homes are started. Next, they will move to Chain/Star neighborhoods with 36 lots (15 in Chain, 21 in Star), with pre-construction beginning and vertical construction by mid-summer. Ten of those lots are pending AHP grant approval.
- Habitat is now using modular construction at its Maxwell Avenue volunteer center, saving about $4,500 per build and reducing framing time by three weeks. They also reported a donation of 38 acres on West Mill Road for future development, but remain committed to inner-city neighborhoods. They expect to need 12-15 lots for the next phase in Jacobsville in about 5 years.
413 North Fourth Street (Multiple Applications)
- A previous application from a resident at 1020 West Virginia Street to use the lot as a garden was denied by the board (motion passed). A new application from the immediate neighbor at 409 North Fourth (taxes current, property in excellent condition) was tabled to allow staff to obtain bids for removing a tree (but not the stump). The original applicant consented to the change.
Expiring Property Listings
- The board voted to extend expiring property listings for another six months if the realtors agree.
Habitat for Humanity Lot Purchase
- Habitat for Humanity applied to purchase three properties (1308 Gabbett Street and 2018/2020 North Fifth Street) for a combined buildable lot size of 50 x 133 feet. The board approved the sale at $500 per buildable lot, per policy.
Key Outcomes
- Funds Transfer: Motion passed to move fight blight funds and excess checking funds to comply with FDIC limits.
- TrueVest Commitment: Developer agrees to clear all taxes and liens by June 12, 2026 and provide updates by July 17, 2026.
- 1513 West Missouri Tabled: Donation acceptance deferred to next meeting pending lien releases.
- 413 North Fourth: Original application denied; new application tabled for tree removal bids.
- Habitat Purchases: Approved sale of three lots at $500 each.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Welcome to the May 15th, 2026 meeting of the Evansville Land Bank Corporation. Seeing that we have quorum. We'll begin with the approval of minutes that were provided on April 17th. Does anyone have any questions, comments, concerns, or amendments to the minutes that were provided? Hearing none, does somebody want to make a motion to approve? I'll make the motion. I'll second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. All right. Can we get a quick run through of the financials? Anything unusual in there that you have any uh color to add? Um, nothing unusual, but I will um can you guys mute your mics, please? I think it's just some feedback. Um, city grants income. That's the April monthly installment from the city expenses include building maintenance management from building authority, um, accounting fees, that's the Kemper CPA final building of the 2025 audit and tax filing. February legal fees, technology fees is the QuickBooks Online Annual Renewal. The April inspector fee and cleanup at two properties are the independent contractor services, equipment leases, and purchases is the March printer lease and copier charges. Um, the annual renewal of the excess liability policy you see there, and utilities include internet, cell phone, center point, and EWSU. Um on the balance sheet comparison, you see no change in the fight blight or IMCU regular business checking account. Um, that is actually gonna be a point of discussion here. Um, we don't have a tab or a bullet point on our agenda for other financial, but I'm gonna add that in today because there's something that has come up and we need to discuss about the FDIC insured limits. So just take note of those amounts there, and that's all I have to add for that. All right, does anyone have any questions about the financials? All in favor of accepting the financials. Uh I'm sorry, I need a motion and a second. I'll make a motion. I'll second. Thank you. We have two motions and a second. All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right, those are accepted. Investments maturing at the end of this month, and then I guess we'll also need to discuss then following that uh moving funds around to stay under the FDIC insured limit. So we have an investment in maturing on this month on the 27th in the past. Um the board has voted for German American to reinvest the maturing investment at the highest rate possible for a term not to exceed one year. Um does the board have any opposition to doing that? Um, don't see any immediate need for these funds. I'll make a motion that we have German American reinvest these amounts in the highest yielding possible way. I'd CD not to exceed one year. Is that your motion? I have to exceed a year. I'd second that. With a motion and a second, all in favor of German American taking the sanction for us. Aye.
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