How would a citizen take legal action to halt a city Mayor from rehabbing a hotel that has been condemned?

Question

We have a Mayor (with only a GED so he isn't too bright) who has decided to rehab a 15 story hotel that has been vacant for 20 year. The no-bid contracts are going to organizations ( rumored to be mob related ) outside of the city. One appraisal said the building had a negative valuation of $760,000 and should be demolished yet they are moving ahead to spend millions of city funds for a project with no market value. Common sense does not deter these plans. There are environmental issues (asbestos / mold / etc.) and the heating, plumbing would need to be replaced. This is the old Sheraton hotel in downtown Gary, Indiana.
How can we appeal to the courts to change this course of action? Many people believe this is another run on the city's treasury, (however small)... by outside organizations. There are many good citizens remaining in Gary, Indiana, who love their homes but are frustrated by the lack of civic leadership. How can we appeal to the courts at this point?

Answer 1

Contact the county's District Attorney and the state's Attorney General. Some legal research would have to be done to find out if the mayor is violating any laws. If not, I don't see how you can stop him.
You might also want to look into the possibility of a recall petition, if it can be done in your state.

Answer 2

Your initial action needs to be a petition for the issuance of a preliminary injunction to halt execution of the contract pursuant to I.C. § 5-23

Next you'll need to proceed to a hearing on the above statute. service contracts are not required to be bid, however, if you can provide proof to the court that the no-bid contract is NOT service oriented, then you should be able to have it ruled invalid.

Answer 3

Well property taxes for us (Tippecanoe county your central IN neigbor) are due in a couple of days....you could try like an Indy citizen did and have everyone pay in bills and coins!