Prisoner Wants $1 Million for His Property, So Covington Offers $81,000 & Starts Eminent Domain
“The City of Covington seeks to continue work on Riverfront Commons, the multi-purpose trail that extends from Ludlow in the west to Dayton and Fort Thomas in the east along the Ohio River, spearheaded by Southbank Partners.
But one property stands in the city’s way and on Tuesday night, the city commission opted to take control of the property over the owner’s protests.
830-840-850 Highway Avenue is an unusable parcel of land that touches the river, according to City Engineer Mike Yeager, who explained that the city has been in negotiations with the property owner since March.
The owner is Meredith “Larry” Lawrence, the former Northern Kentucky attorney who was serving time in a federal prison for failing to report income from various sources, including from his ownership of Racers gentleman’s club in Sparta near the Kentucky Speedway, according to media reports at the time.
The City of Covington brought in an outside appraiser to check out the property and after that offered up $81,000 to Meredith.
Meredith countered: $1 million.
The city countered: eminent domain.”
River City News 24 September 2014.