INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis has reached a settlement with the owners of four apartment complexes where residents have been facing the possibility of having their water shut off.
The terms of the settlement, filed Tuesday, require that JPC Affordable Housing and Berkley Commons LLC sell the properties — Berkley Commons, Capital Place, Covington Square and Woods at Oak Crossing — and bring in new landlords.
Once that takes place, the lawsuit will be dismissed. The settlement also mandates that residents' utilities cannot be shut off until at least December.
BACKGROUND | 'We're saddened this ever happened': WRTV Investigates asks apartment management group why bills are unpaid
The settlement states that upon the sale of the Capital Place property, JPC Affordable Housing must pay the city of Indianapolis and Marion County $125,000. Following the payment of all debts, collections and obligations, the property group is expected to pay the county up to an additional $600,000.
The settlement doesn't officially take effect just yet because the Indiana Attorney General's Office and utility companies haven't settled their lawsuits against the company.
Citizens Energy provided the following statement to WRTV Thursday:
"Citizens Energy Group is actively negotiating, in hopes of reaching a settlement agreement, with JPC Affordable Housing regarding their more than $1.9 million of past due utility debt that has been accumulated over the past 18 months. Our goal throughout this period has been to secure an agreement with JPC that ensures continued utility service to their four apartment properties while protecting Citizens’ customer base from the full cost of JPC’s past due utility debt. Citizens recognizes the hardship utility disconnections cause and that’s why the utility is a leader in ensuring financial assistance to customers through our bill reduction programs, grants from our Warm Heart Home Foundation and flexible payment arrangements. Citizens has kept the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission fully informed of our actions related to JPC Affordable Housing over the past 18 months."
For months, residents have been told their water may be shut off at the end of September because the management company had yet to pay $2 million in utility bills, even though water is supposed to be included in residents' rent.
The Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County recentlyfiled an emergency complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in an effort to prevent water shutoffs at the properties. More than 1,400 housing units with 2,000 residents between the four complexes were at risk.
The complaint accused Citizens Energy of "using thousands of innocent residents as pawns in its economic dispute with the landlords"
RELATED | City leaders meet with residents of JPC Housing facing utility shut-off
In February this year, the city paid $850,000 to restore services for residents at Capitol Place and Berkley Commons. Indianapolis Deputy Mayor Jeff Bennett says the city wouldn't be able to step in to assist again because the remaining bill is too large.
Bennett explained that, in past instances, including one on the north side of Indianapolis called Lakeside Pointe, interactions with JPC Affordable Housing had turned out positive.
-
Bridging the gap... Literally
There's a new way to travel to the AMP at 16 Tech from downtown Indy and nearby communities. It's a new connector off West 10th Street and Riley Hospital Drive.
'It’s stealing joy': Hoosiers react to clash involving Haliburton's dad, Bucks
Despite the Pacers big overtime win to eliminate the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, an interaction after the game between Tyrese Haliburton’s dad is what made a lot of the headlines.
IMPD asking community to help locate missing teen
18-year-old Zachary Bean was last seen on Wednesday in the 300 block of N. Jersey Street, police say.
Price of gold hitting all-time highs
The price of gold is up $1,000 from a year ago and more than 30% since the start of the year. Experts say it’s due to the current state of the economy.
