West Buechel - No problem that cannot be ignored

Hilda Christine Walton was a legendary figure in West Buechel. I never met her since she knocked the dust off her sandals and left town before I arrived. I've been told that she was better looking than Jessica Rabbit, if you know who that is. It was intended as a compliment . . . to be better looking than a cartoon character.

Once upon a time Ms. Walton owned eight adjoining lots right next to West Buechel's City Hall.

Former Mayor Sharon Fowler coveted those lots for some undisclosed public purpose, or she got tired of looking at the ratty house that stood there. It all depends upon who you ask. Therefore, with boodles of taxpayer cash sitting in the bank doing nothing, the obvious solution was for the City to buy the property, demolish the house and figure out what to do with the land later. All for the measly price of $135,000, which was up from Ms. Walton's original asking price of $125k. 

So, that's what the City of West Buechel did in 2013, and life was wonderful. Until I came along.

I read then damn deed and noticed it conveyed only six of the lots, leaving out two right in the middle: 3912 Shepherdsville Rd.  So, I did what I do. I wrote a blog post about it and brought it to everyone's attention. 

Since Rick Richards and I were still on speaking terms at the time, in May 2015, I specifically told him about the deed problem.  Basically, it went like this: Mr. Mayor, you have a problem. The solution is to get Ms. Walton to sign a deed of correction. Tell the City Attorney, he'll know what to do. Have a nice day. I've done my part. Good luck.

What did Mayor Richards do?

Nothing.

What did the City Council do?

Yawn.

What happened next?

Hilda Walton got incinerated in a flaming car crash and died on April 23, 2016.

Those two missing lots are now part of Ms. Walton's estate, under some lawyer's thumb, and it is now a much, much easier problem for the City to solve. Adding lawyers, probate judges and heirs to the mix is always a step in the direction of simplification.
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Tom Fox, J. D.
Southern Specialty Law Publishing Company
Louisville, Kentucky

A division of Accountable Kentucky Incorporated
a Kentucky Non-profit corporation
AccountableKY.org

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This is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer.