INFORMATION #2 03-24-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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River Mobile Home IssUe Addressed Again By JoY Scherber .. .inance xn response to the needs of Residents of Elk Terrace Mo- the residents of Elk Terrace Mo-. bile Home Park were at last · :bileH°me Park. '. Monday's City Council Meeting,. :..:' The ordinance gives residents hoping to find an end to the itwo choices-to sell their mobile hardship they have faced since home or take relocation costs to receiving notice that'the park', imove their home to another was closing and residents needed -~':; location.. to find a new place to hve. ' . ' Residents discussed concerns Council members passed' a "about the ordinance. mobile home park closing ordi- i..One resident, Heather Ber.gmann, addressed the council saying, "the city is going to make loads of money on tax revenues, you know it. I mean, our property is going to be de- . veloped, the farm behind us is going to be developed, suppos- edly rumors to be made into a golf course." ."I mean, you guys are going .to be making loads of money. How much is Earl selling the place for? And then, when the developer finally gets it, I mean, he's making loads of money." "Why, why do we have to get screwed? We're the residents of Elk River that chose to live here." Mayor Hank Duitsman asked, "is this going to be a Mobile to page 4. Mobile from page ! hardship on all of you? Deft- nitely, it's going to be a hard- ship. Anytime you have to move, or find a new location, it's her addressed his concerns that "a lot of people, or people who moved into newer homes, were under the impression, they. were told, that they were gotn$ to have another park to move xnto, and that's why they moved in, and now it's closing." Farber later added that even ' xvith the appraisals, some resi- dents would still end up eight to ten thousand dollars short. "That would be a great tragedy," he said. Council Member Daryl Thompson was concerned that after the homes were appraised, some residents might only have 30 days to find a place to live. Cc;uncil members voted to extend the 30 day time frame in the ordinance to 60 days, allow- ing residents more time to make a decision as to where they were going to live. Fraser was very pleased With the ordinance. "This ordinance is by far the most 'resident-friendl? park closing ordinance m Ivlinnesota." "This is the only park closing ordinance in Minnesota that pays residents the appraised value of their homes," Fraser added. "The Elk River City Council mandated that residents who do move their homes be reimbursed for the costs involved in moving their home and of all 'hook-up' charges, as well as receiving money to cover the costs of moving all of their personal be- longings," commented Fraser. "No other park closing ordinance in Minnesota guaran- tees that these personal expenses will be covered," she added. "We're happy with the ordi- nance," said Elk Terrace resident Heather Bergmann. "The city could have decided not to do anything." . Bergmann went on to add, "we didn't get everything we wanted", but seemed to be Only four other cities in Min~ nesota have mobile home park closing ordinances: Blooming- ton, Hopkins, Lake Elmo and Mounds View. All Parks Alliance for Change (APAC) Organizer Beth pleased overall xvith the ordinance. "The Elk Terrace APAC members were instrumental in persuading the Elk River Ci~ Council to pass this historic park closing ordinance," said Fraser.