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Monday, October 04, 2010

"My word is my bond" has degenerated, perhaps, into get it in writing. Also, a state senator, Mike Jungbauer, taking substantial paychecks from the public should owe the public prompt payment of taxes, no less, no delay. And being a Republican is no excuse for late payment. What if the paychecks were late? Who'd be howling?

Reading the court file, Sonya Conroy, who lives in Ramsey where I live, had over seven thousand dollars cost arising from a failed septic system. When she sued Mike Jungbauer, who Conroy contended in court papers said to her in inducing her trust and reliance that he guaranteed his septic work for ten years, Jungbauer in conciliation court beat the complaint down by hiding behind Conroy's contract papers (not prepared by Conroy but given her for signature by Jungbauer) saying a now defunct corporation had obligations to her, not Jungbauer, personally. [See updates explaining the strikethrough of a statement in error].

Conroy sued in January 2009, and for her, clearly, "Rite Choice Marketing, Inc.," was the dead wrong choice for her to trust:




Read that last item for what it says. His firm no longer is a registered properly valid business entity, and before it forfeited its registered status it was something Jungbauer ran out of his home in East Bethel as the corporation's "registered office."

Another conciliation court file I did not review because it was archived and not in the courthouse public access files - again with the "Rite Choice Marketing, Inc.," shell at play:




BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE.

Less than a month ago, a $20,489.76 claim was filed by a contractor that Jungbauer had pave a subdivision project road apparently adjacent to his home. It involves "Norlyn Farm" a land promotion which he had advanced into existence via appearing before East Bethel council and boards and staff, in person and via Landform, at various stages of platting.

In this latest recent lawsuit another now-defunct, throw-away, run-it-from-the-home entity, this time called, "Rite Choice Development, LLC," for variety, was complained of as being used by Jungbauer, presumably for the purpose of frustrating entry of a judgment against him and collection of a debt from him for contracting services he is said to have requested, and which the complaint says he should be made to pay for, after gaining the benefit of substantial paving for the "Norlyn Farms" project he was advancing in East Bethel.




The complaint in that action, No. 02-CV-10-6820, at the Anoka County Courthouse is unclear about exactly where the paving was done with the paving firm as yet paid nothing on the invoice to Jungbauer and the shell firm, but the invoice indicates 301 tons of blacktop at $68/ton, so it seems more than a driveway is in dispute.

Here's a Bing Bird's Eye view of the Jungbauer home:


I believe it is the entire length of that cul-de-sac adjacent to the upper [Jungbauer] home that Jungbauer induced the contractor to blacktop, and now he appears set to try avoiding having to pay for the work he ordered, and is apparently having to be sued to have the payment-due obligation honored. Here's the evidence: Please link to this archived Google Map image first, to see streets labeled and the Jungbauer property noted.

[UPDATE: In posting, a Blogger error made an in-post showing of that Google map screenshot display incorrectly, but with the linked image intact for viewing. Next is a Bing Map screenshot that shows essentially the same thing at a different point in time, the box with "15" in it being at the Jungbauer driveway to his home to the left. Hopefully it works correctly as a click to enlarge post image:



END OF UPDATE]  Online East Bethel city records suggest that long 212th Ave. cul-de-sac is what's at issue. First, Nov. 23, 2004, Planning and Zoning Board minutes, online here, p.3, states along 212th is where the Norlyn Farm lots were platted:

Michael Jungbauer is present. Jungbauer has large map.  He wants to take the piece along East Bethel Boulevard. and 212th  and develop it. Currently 212th  is a private drive.  It would be improved .Jungbauer indicated the ghost platting on the overhead and points out how the road would go around and the wetland would be restored.

Final plat approval by the East Bethel city council, May 17, 2006, online here, p.9-10, has this in the minutes, again pinning down locale:

Landborg made a motion to approve the request [...] of Michael Jungbauer for final plat for Norlyn Farms to create five residential lots at 212th Avenue NE and East Bethel Blvd. (PIN 15 33 23 11 0002 & 0004) with the following conditions: [...] All lots shall be accessed off of 212the Ave NE.

Council minutes from Aug. 1, 2007, online here, p.5-6, further put a time frame on the road paving from the city's perspective that is in line with the Sept. 13, 2008, paving company invoice date, (as attached to the firm's complaint in the court file suing Jungbauer and his shell LLC):

Sell explained that Mike Jungbauer has requested that the final lift on the street in this subdivision be postponed until September 30, 2008. By granting the extension, the warranty for the road will be extended until 2010 or two years from the date the final asphalt lift is installed. [...] Boyer asked would the first course have increased wear and decrease the life of the road. Hunter said we normally have this covered in amount of 150%, with the increase of cost for asphalt will this cover it. Jochum said yes, he believes this was figured with the increased costs. Jochum said Jungbauer has submitted a letter of credit for warranty and this wear. He said he will double check this. [...] Sell said we will get that and report back to you.

Other online East Bethle documents regarding the effort are here (sketch plan - p.3), here (prelim plat-p.2), here (park committee-p.4), and here, the latter item indicating that Jungbauer appeared via a Landform person as his agent (p.2).


More.

Whether it is Jungbauer trying to be cute to duck a debt for its own sake, or whether it's a situation of being stretched thin after the housing bubble collapsed, I cannot say, but there is this final county assessor's page for the Jungbauer home, indicating he was running his businesses from residential homestead property; and that he was slow recently on paying taxes as and when due, which reflects back to the headline - if you take those substantial public Senate paychecks, you are obligated to pay the public its lesser share back, on time, not late :


________UPDATE_________
Sonya Conroy has to have a sound septic system for her livelihood as well as her homelife; just so you know who arguably was hung out to dry by the Senator's astute practices:


___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
A correction. I telephoned Conroy. When she bought the home there was a failed system, and the sellers contracted with Jungbauer's operation to allegedly put in a properly sized and laid out installation. Conroy believes the system was insufficient and badly done from the start, (for the home itself, without the additional daycare system demand). However, Jungbauer did a series of promises of repair and repair efforts over a few years after problems had been encountered very soon after Conroy moved in, with the entire system redone very recently and with the new contractor indicating Jungbauer had put the drainfield too close to the well requiring an entirely new drainfield installation, not merely a tank upgrade.

So the correction - Conroy did not sign papers with Jungbauer - I was wrong about that - but there is a history and Conroy is generally quite dissatisfied with the man and the workmanship.

___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
The court file indicates that the Complaint has been filed, and that John Dehen had been involved but has formally withdrawn as Jungbauer's representative so that the defendants are currently pro se; and there has not yet been an answer filed. One can be expected somewhat soon unless Jungbauer allows entry of an order of default; etc. With the absence of an answer it can only be surmised that interposition of the corporate shell will be the primary defense, as in the Conroy instance. The complaint is worded as if it anticipates such a filing.

Have a look. Anoka County Courthouse - North Valley, Inc., v. Jungbauer, et al., No. 02-CV-10-5829.

_________FURTHER UPDATE_________
Little known factoids, re the headline. My word is my bond. This link, pointing here.

_________________FINAL UPDATE______________
East Bethel Aug. 1, 2007, minutes, p.5-6, online here, suggest uncertainty then whether any of the Norlyn Farm lots had been sold. Viewing that time frame together with the paving invoice dated 9/13/08 suggests a lot or more might have been sold in intervening time, triggering then a city demand for paving. This is speculative because I have not found such data online and the Bing and Google aerial images showing vacant land are undated. The inference is that the city had serious concerns about lots being sold before the required blacktopping, with the Aug. 1 minutes stating [with bolding and italics in the minutes, not added]:

Voss said in the write-up it says lots haven’t been sold. He asked if staff is certain they are not sold. He said he has heard differently. Sell said to the best of his knowledge they are not sold. He said there is one house built here. Voss asked is the developer still in ownership of the lots. Boyer asked can we just check this. Sell said yes. Boyer asked if Paavola and Klein would consider amending their motion. Paavola amended the motion adding and if the lots are all owned by Rite Choice LLC. Klein seconded the amendment, all in favor, motion carries.

With the situation in Ramsey, along Highway 10 and elsewhere being that projects have failed in multiple locations including the colossal Ramsey Town Center fiasco, the market cannot be greater in East Bethel, which is further from downtown, not on a major highway link, and not having any Northstar stop potential. Possibly Jungbauer is having trouble moving the lots at a break-even price (or for less), while having to service substantial debt, and is spread thin.

That possibility might explain the aggressiveness shown in Ramsey-Landform dealings, where substantial money from Ramsey is given a consultancy each month in the extreme down-market situation now existing, i.e., with the money being routed that way with little to no real hope of any immediate return upon the regular monthly "investment." Presumably that entire consultancy is not experiencing boom times fiscally, at present, so that the regular Ramsey cash flow is of importance.

Details of how such things might or might not be are unclear. I have not sat down at a table at Spectators as part of discussions, if any, which might shed light on things beyond what can be found within the distressingly ill-documented public record.