The Watertown Local Development Corp. started legal action Wednesday against Fort Drum Storage LP in an attempt to collect nearly $77,000 overdue on a loan made to the Watertown business in 2009.

The corporation, also known as the Watertown Trust, filed action at the Jefferson County clerk’s office against the company that operates an automobile storage business based at 735 W. Main St.; the company’s president, JoAnn Sanchez-Norquist, Evans Mills, and its general partner, Sanquist Financial Inc., also of Evans Mills.

According to court documents, Ms. Sanchez-Norquist executed a note and security agreement May 13, 2009, in which she promised to repay $105,000, plus interest, provided to the business. The action does not show when the last payment was made on the loan, but the trust maintains that $76,874, plus interest, remained due and owing on it as of Oct. 18.

Ms. Sanchez-Norquist’s husband, John S. Norquist, and Peter O. Sanchez and Jennie Sanchez, both of Gold Canyon, Ariz., also are named in the action as signers of “unlimited continuing guaranties” on the loan.

Fort Drum Vehicle Storage was formed in 2005 to serve deploying soldiers in need of a place to store their vehicles. The West Main Street warehouse previously housed about 90 vehicles for the company until it was lost in October to back taxes.

The company’s chief financial officer, Charlene “Ruby” Williams, emerged as the high bidder for the property during an Oct. 10 public auction, offering $125,000. She made a 10 percent, or $12,500, deposit with the city and had until Tuesday to complete the transaction.

She failed to pay the remaining money, and the City Council likely will put the property up for auction again, possibly in January.

Ms. Williams is a fugitive from justice in the state of Florida for a 2006 probation violation involving convictions for third-degree grand theft and distributing a forged instrument the year before.

She pleaded no contest to those charges and received a sentence of 18 months of probation, according to St. Johns County court documents.

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