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Property owner attends hearing amid lawsuit
The owner of a property management company being sued by the City of Milwaukee attended a City Hall hearing Monday as housing advocates pushed for stronger enforcement of the city's nuisance property ordinance.
MILWAUKEE - The owner of a property management company being sued by the City of Milwaukee attended a City Hall hearing Monday as housing advocates pushed for stronger enforcement of the city's nuisance property ordinance.
What we know:
David Tomblin, owner of Highgrove Holdings, appeared at City Hall as Common Ground organized ahead of a Steering and Rules Committee meeting on nuisance properties.
Tomblin and Highgrove Holdings have been a target of the coalition. Common Ground has worked with the city as Milwaukee sues Highgrove to be declared a nuisance. The city says Highgrove manages more than 260 properties, owes tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes and has left properties unrepaired, vacant or abandoned.
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Tomblin sat in on the hearing after Common Ground pushed for better use of the city's nuisance ordinance.
"Today was a big victory for Common Ground," Kevin Solomon, with Common Ground, said.
After the hearing, cameras were rolling as journalists spoke with Solomon while Tomblin stood out of view.
What they're saying:
"The Common Council members have committed to tracking nuisance properties, systematically, and anyone that meets the threshold that if they're not 'nuisanced,' why?" Solomon said.
Jeramey Jannene, with Urban Milwaukee, asked Solomon, "David Tomblin’s here today. Have you met before? Are you singing Kumbaya now?"
"We’re not," Solomon said.
Tomblin then walked up and joined.
"That’s unfortunate. We try," Tomblin said. "We used to send reports to Mr. Solomon."
Tomblin defended his company, saying it works with city agencies and law enforcement.
"We have DNS-nuisanced properties. But the reason that we have so many empty properties, when we buy, is because we kick people out. We put our signs on every property," he said. "Why? I work with the police department, and fire department, and when we put our signs on property, we tell everybody – call us."
Dig deeper:
The interaction led to a series of back-and-forth exchanges with journalists and Solomon.
"85% of our tenants signed a petition – no monies, no deal – that they’re happy with us," Tomblin said.
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"That you had a paid staff member go door to door and asked them to sign under duress," Solomon said.
Tomblin called the interaction a confrontation before walking away.
When asked about Tomblin's presence, Solomon called it political.
"It says that our pressure is clearly getting under his skin," Solomon said. "The lawsuit will play out, Common Ground will stay on it."
The Source: FOX6 News was in attendance at the hearing at City Hall.