Collapsed building sold, cleaned up in Monterey

Monterey residents are waiting to see what happens next as they watched the collapsed downtown building be cleaned up last week. 
A portion of the Sportsman’s Bar and Grill collapsed on April 23, 2015, and was partially torn down for safety reasons. Since then little has been done with the building or the property because the property owner, Courtney Hardin, appeared to be unreachable. 
After the building collapsed, the county attempted to contact Hardin and she was fined for not cleaning up the area. 
Since the building collapsed, the Monterey Town Council has spoken with county officials on several occasions in regards to what can be done about the building. 
On May 16, Monterey residents presented a petition to the Pulaski County Commissioners asking them to take action. At the time of that meeting, the county stated that they have done all they will do. The best solution would be a new owner of the building. 
Shortly after that meeting, county attorney Kevin Tankersley was contacted by Willie Sturgeon in regards to purchasing the building. Tankersley guided Sturgeon as to what paperwork would be required and how to best go about purchasing the property. 
Sturgeon was able to contact Hardin who gave the property to him. Sturgeon, of Knox, is now the new owner of the building and has already cleaned up the collapsed portion of the building. Sturgeon buys and flips buildings. 
Sturgeon said he will be working on the building the next couple of weeks, but he hasn’t decided what the building will be used for.  
There are some owed property taxes associated with the property and about $9,000 in sewer liens. It is not clear if Sturgeon will pay those fees or if he can petition the county and town to forgo those costs.