The owner of a former store in the 300 block of Main Street has been given 10 days to begin tearing down the building.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert H. Wyatt Jr. signed an order that was filed with the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk’s Office Wednesday afternoon after finding Elvin Moon guilty of violating a section of the city code for failure to abate the former Kress Department Store as he was ordered to.
Moon was fined $1,000 and also ordered to have the building completely torn down within 30 days from the date of the order. He must also pay all associated court costs.
The court order also provided that if Moon fails to complete the abatement of the property, he could be held in contempt of court and punished “pursuant to the contempt powers of this court including additional fines and/or incarceration until the abatement is completed.”
Moon had been previously convicted of failure to abate the building in Pine Bluff District Court on Sept. 21, 2016, and appealed that decision to the Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Pine Bluff City Council approved a resolution May 19, 2014, declaring certain houses, buildings or structures as nuisances and ordered their abatement, and Moon’s property was included in that list.
Two years later, on June 28, 2016, Moon was issued a citation for violating the city code.
Following the municipal court trial, Moon, a resident of Los Angeles, said he would hire contractors to demolish some of the buildings he owned in the downtown area, including the former Hood Furniture at 124 W. 4th Ave., and the former Cleo’s Furniture, which was located on Pine Street. Both those buildings have been torn down since that press conference.
Moon also said he would have the building connected to the offices of Arkansas State Senator and attorney Stephanie Flowers, which is located at 219 S. Main St., torn down. That building has been condemned, but no apparent work has been done at the site.
At that same press conference, Moon said he planned to repair the Kress property, but again, no apparent work has been done there in almost three years.
A call to Moon Thursday afternoon seeking comment was not returned.
If Moon intends to appeal Wyatt’s decision to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, he will have 30 days from the date the order was filed; he would also have to pay an appeal bond in an amount to be determined later.