MUSCATINE, Iowa — The Muscatine City Council voted Thursday to assess L&M Waste with a $33,000 nuisance abatement bill for the cleanup of the business’s property.

But the Council doesn’t expect to see any of that money or the $287,000 in upaid fees L&M owes the City for dumping trash at the Muscatine Transfer Station.

Councilman Jerry Lange asked interim City Administrator Randy Hill if the chances of getting paid by L&M are good.

“That’s an opinion and my opinion is no,” Hill said.

L&M has been storing hundreds of tons of waste on its property at 5111 59th Ave W. L&M has not been allowed to dump trash at the landfill since January due to unpaid bills. The property is owned by Jim Watts of Rock Island, Ill.  Watts was ordered by the City to clean up the property, littered with more than 100 trash-filled bins, because it is a nuisance violation. Watts did not comply and the City cleaned it up.

City Attorney Harvey Allbee Jr. said Watts owns multiple companies in Iowa and Illinois and that he owes many other entities money above and beyond the large bill from Muscatine.

Allbee said that the City is not likely at the top of the company’s list of creditors and that “we’re probably out all the money.”

Some Council members expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources can’t do anything about the mess.

Steve Boka, director of planning, zoning and building safety, said the DNR’s hands are tied because L&M is operating under a valid license and it’s a private business, so there are no guidelines covering how the company stores trash. Boka added that the City is patiently waiting to address the issue in court on Oct. 22, when officials will ask a judge to order L&M to stop storing waste on the property.

The vote was unanimous. Fifth Ward Council member Dyann Roby was not present.