Nebraska GOP chair linked to ‘dangerous’ Red Oak property

 RED OAK – J.L Spray isn’t your typical attorney.

Renowned for his bowties, Spray is a fixture in the Nebraska state capitol not only as a lawyer but also as an influential member of the Republican Party. 

He serves on a governor-appointed board charged with resolving labor disputes and in 2013, was elected Chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party after running unopposed. 

He inadvertently created a controversy at the most recent Nebraska Boys’ State when he referred to the former leader of the Al-Qaeda as “Obama Bin Laden” and according to his public figure facebook page, “when the weather is nice, J.L. drives a 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible.”

But just 100 miles east in Red Oak, Spray is just an “arrogant” attorney who’s trying to saddle local taxpayers with the cost of tearing down a building he bought sight unseen. 

In 2012, Spray’s wife, Rhonda, purchased the former church at 411 E. Hammond at a tax abatement sale in Red Oak. After purchasing the vacant structure, Spray immediately transferred the property to an LLC owned by her husband.

In an interview with the Red Oak Express, Spray conceded he had never seen the property  before purchasing it and that buying it was a mistake. After realizing his mistake, Spray offered to tear down the building if the city assumed the landfill fee, estimated at $16,000. Spray said he also offered to incur all the costs if the city allowed him to build garages on the structure. 

He has since offered to deed the property to the city, but with an expected $20-25,000 demolition cost, the city council declined. 

As a result, the building continues to deteriorate and City Administrator Brad Wright believes its imperative something is done. 

“It’s getting to a dangerous point, I believe,” Wright said. 

In April, Spray’s company that owns the building, Kirojen LLC, was found guilty of violating Red Oak’s nuisance ordinance. Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney Bruce Swanson told the City Council with that verdict, the City is authorized to demolish the building and can charge the LLC up to $5,000. However, with demolition costs estimated at four times that amount, Swanson advised the City would have to file a suit in district court to receive additional funds.

And even if the City receives a favorable verdict there, Swanson said with an LLC owning the property, obtaining additional funds may not be easy. 

“I don’t know what you are going to get out of a judgment from an LLC whose assets are basically junk buildings,” Swanson said. “I don’t know what this guy has. I understand he may have a couple more buildings in Montgomery and Mills County. Bottom line is this guy isn’t going to do anything.”

Councilman Larry Barnett wasn’t concerned about the logistics of recovering a judgment from Spray. 

“The problem I have with this is this is a moral thing,” Barnett said. “This guy knows he’s beating us to death with this and that doesn’t sit well with me. If I could attach his first-born grandchild, I would do that. I think this guy is just embarrassing the devil out of us and I don’t like that.”

Mayor Bill Billings’ frustration with Spray was equally obvious. 

“He’s a very arrogant individual,” Billings said. “I’d like to push him to the limit to see what we can do. To go back and take the $5,000 judgment and have it cost us $20,000 to take care of it is a travesty to the taxpayers of Red Oak.”

Spray maintains the City is simply wasting taxpayers’ money, predicting they won’t receive any money now from him. 

“Their recourse is against the property, not the owner,” he said. “I will convey the property to the city right now and we will be done with this.”

Spray said he buys vacant properties like this and wants to try and improve the communities where they are located. However, he maintains Red Oak gave him no options when they refused to negotiate a reasonable settlement. 

“To throw on a $16,000 gate fee for some old wood is crazy. We aren’t talking about a giant pile of bricks. This is a bunch of wood they probably would have shoved into a corner and burned,” Spray said. “And again, the City could have waived the building restriction. But the City chose to be stubborn about it so there is now zero economic value.”

The council voted 5-0 to direct Wright to obtain three bids for the building’s demolition. Wright believes the vote is an important step not only to cleaning up the property but in sending a message. 

“At least we can show the public we are making the effort to get what we can from this guy and get the property cleaned up,” Wright said. 

Spray said the City can file all the lawsuits they want, but in the end, it will just be a waste of time and money. 

“If they want to file a lawsuit, I will respond,” he said. “It’s just a colossal waste of time.”

In the days preceding his election as Nebraska’s Republican Party Chair, Spray was featured in an article in the Omaha World-Herald. The article cited his service as the party’s chief legal counsel, stating he was “widely known in Republican circles,” and “very active in party politics at every level.”

“Spray, who occasionally wears a bow tie, said if elected he will work to build the party’s grassroots base and improve communication with county parties,” the World-Herald reported.