Contractor files lien against church for work done after steeple caught fire

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Two months after lightning struck the steeple of the Historic New Bethel AME Church in Ormond Beach, you can see tarps protecting the building from the rain.

Not long after the fire, contractor Dawn Alexander says she was introduced to the church by a family member and offered to work on the project.

"I’ll come over, assess the damage," said Dawn Alexander. "I’m not just a GC, I’m also an inspector. I went to school for civil engineering."

Dawn says she got right to work, bringing in subcontractors without getting a deposit first. She says she now out more than $30,000 from paying workers herself and for the time she spent preparing the project.

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"We’re believers too, and we knew that it was an insurance job, so we didn’t have to worry about getting paid," Alexander said.

However, Dawn says the church hasn't paid her a dollar. She has now filed a construction lien against the church, meaning the church can't be sold until the money is paid, or they clear it up in court.

"It hurts, it hurts," Alexander said. "I was raised in the church."

Dawn says she's having to sell personal belongings to cover her losses.

"I never saw this coming, but I definitely learned my lesson," Alexander said. I’m not doing any more work without taking deposits first."

FOX 35 News called the church multiple times and was told, on the advice of the church's attorney, they have no comment.