Mobile home park water disconnection avoided at the 11th hour
By Brandi Makuski
A water service disconnection scheduled Monday for an east side mobile home community has been averted.
Residents at Four Seasons Mobile Home Community, 1430 Torun Rd., will no longer be asked to leave their homes on July 1, according to Utilities Director Joel Lemke. Lemke said his office had no choice but to warn park residents of the disconnection, the second in three months, on June 24.
At 11:50 a.m. on Friday, Lemke said via email the issue had been resolved.
Residents in the park say the disconnection was scheduled due to nonpayment of the water bill, a fee they pay to owner Christopher Reeves monthly as part of their lot rent.
Reeves told the Stevens Point Journal earlier this week he’d paid the bill by wiring funds to the city.
Four Seasons Mobile Home Park is owned by Four Seasons MHC LLC, which in its state corporate filings lists an Appleton office, with headquarters located in Cheyenne, Wyo. No phone number was listed for either office.
Jessica Hills, a park tenant for the past five years, told the Metro Wire she’d experienced a number of problems getting maintenance issues addressed, including one night last winter when her heat went out.
“I don’t care anymore if the disconnection doesn’t happen, we’re moving,” Hills said. “I just can’t deal with it anymore, I can’t live like this.”
Hills said other problems with her home include a busted door frame, a leaking skylight, and problems with her gas stove. Other residents in the park have complained of similar issues getting problems in their rental units fixed.
Four Seasons is located near the Hull municipal border but is within the City of Stevens Point, inside District 8, which is represented by Councilwoman Cathy Dugan. When asked for comment on June 25, Dugan replied the following day to say she had “very little information about the Four Seasons water issue.”
Dugan, who in the past has admitted during committee meetings that she walks through neighborhoods of her district with copies of city ordinances and to educate residents about property maintenance violations, said she “didn’t know about the problem” at Four Seasons until she was contacted by the media.
“Right now, my role as alderperson is to listen to the residents of the mobile home park if they want to talk about their circumstances,” Dugan’s email read. “If the city or county has appropriate ways to help them, I’m available to assist.”
Hills and other residents at the park say they are considering legal action.
