Fines of $300 per day will continue to accrue against local marine parts dealer Owen Cobbum until he cleans up his property along SR 13 south of North Webster.

“The clock is still running,” said Dan Richard, director of the Kosciusko County area planning commission, who indicated the county board of zoning appeals “within the next month will meet with the attorney to find a way to press this case along and collect the fines.”

On Sept. 22 the Kosciusko Superior Court ratified previous fines of $10 per day and ordered the daily $300 fines to begin Nov. 1. The court clerk confirmed Friday no payments have been made on that judgment. To date, the total exceeds $28,000.

Cobbum asserted the piles of tarped items are building materials he needs to construct a storage facility on the property. But his building permit was conditioned on the requirement he allow “absolutely no outside storage” on the site.

Cobbum violated that condition and the board filed suit against him in November 2013, ultimately resulting in the fines.

This is not Cobbum’s first run-in with county authorities about outside storage issues. In the 1980s the county circuit court judge ordered Cobbum to clear his Syracuse property of debris and conform the property to state fire code regulations, threatening jail time for noncompliance.

Shortly thereafter, Cobbum sold his property to John Rinker, a co-founder of Rinker Boats, who promptly cleared the property of several truckloads of boat and boat trailer parts.

In 2009 the town of Cromwell filed a complaint and requested a permanent injunction against Cobbum for violations of the town’s zoning ordinance.

A Noble County court entered judgment for the town, finding Cobbum’s storage of items was inconsistent with the agricultural use of the property. Cobbum appealed the case and lost.