Joe Davis’ dispute with Bloomington city officials over what he calls junk, construction materials and treasure, continued this week as city workers and lawyers arrived to remove items stuck in four dump trucks. It reached its peak when it started.
As the abatement ordered by Bloomington’s Public Utilities Commission and upheld by a court ruling issued Tuesday morning continues, Davis said the Fire Dawg team hired to carry out the court order continues. Workers yelled and became hostile as they were loading goods and debris into four trucks.
City Attorney Christopher Wheeler and Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development Department Program Manager John Hewett stood by as the proceedings continued throughout the morning amid a barrage of yelling from Davis.
He repeatedly called Hewett a “master abator” and accused city officials and Fire Dawgs employees of stealing valuable and coveted building materials he had collected over decades. Among the items removed were historic windows that were used when Indiana University’s iconic Collins Dormitory was renovated years ago.
There was also a significant amount of old wood, metal plates, and dilapidated cement mixers that went to the landfill. Davis was frantic and agitated, using his cell phone to pan around the scene and film what was happening.
“Today is a perfect day for theft in beautiful Bloomington,” said Davis, standing on the flatbed of his 1965 Ford pickup truck, which he has owned for 25 years and is about to drive away. “You’re stealing my stuff! Look at that metal you’re stealing. You’re destroying my metal. These are my building materials. Roll down those windows. Please! You can’t take these things away. They are my tools!”
Removal of items continued throughout Tuesday morning. Two uniformed Bloomington police officers stood on the property and warned Davis to stop and let the workers do their work.
“I don’t know how many years I’ve been working with Joe to try to clean up his property,” Wheeler said, standing nearby. “We are removing nonconforming items because the Public Works Commission ordered the cuts.”
He cited Title 6 of the Bloomington City Code, which addresses the accumulation of trash and solid waste in residential areas within the city.
Davis said his emergency appeal to halt the city’s operations was denied, but he intends to find a way to stop the ongoing cuts. He rushed into the courthouse Tuesday morning and filed a handwritten emergency appeal that was ultimately rejected by Monroe Circuit Judge Emily Salzman.
“It wasn’t until this morning that I heard the sound of the perimeter fence being torn from the kitchen,” David said in an email response to questions Tuesday night. “When I saw what was happening, I ran as fast as I could to the judicial building to file a new emergency injunction.”
He lamented the loss of items he had collected and stored for current and future building projects. “Among the things stolen from me by the city today were all the construction materials that went into a two-story carport and solar structure that was permitted,” he said. Ta.
Contact HT reporter Laura Lane at llane@heralt.com or 812-318-5967.
