UPDATE: Health dept. said follow-up at Four Seasons is regulated under state law

Editor’s note: The Portage County Health Department firmly denies releasing an amended inspection report as the Metro Wire previously reported. See our follow-up story on Sunday morning.

By Brandi Makuski

The Portage Co. Health Department has been mum on why it did not perform a July 5 follow-up inspection relating to the presence of raw sewage at an east side mobile home park.

County sanitarian Cheryl Helms conducted what was described as a “routine inspection” for the annual renewal of the Four Seasons Mobile Home Community’s operational permit on June 21. In it, she noted several violations.

See the report here: Four Seasons Mobile Home Park report 6.2022

While Four Seasons, 1430 Torun Rd., is located inside the city, some of the code enforcement falls solely under the county’s authority, according to Ryan Kernosky, the city’s community development director. There’s a good deal of overlap between the city, county, and state laws pertaining to mobile home codes, he said, but also a good number of gaps.

The most recent violation

“Mobile home parks are directly regulated through the state,” Kernosky said on Aug. 29. “If this was an apartment building, a duplex, a single-family home, the (city’s) inspection staff has the authority to enforce rules and regulations on sewage, water, things like that. Mobile home parks are governed by state codes that the county is supposed to enforce.”

The June 21 inspection report indicates that park owner Chris Reeves has until Sept. 6 to clean up hazardous waste identified on at least three lots in the park. The amended report indicates that the park’s operational permit was “conditional” based on those abatements, but Kernosky said the park’s permit was previously listed as being fully restored.

A June 23 email to Kernosky from Gary Garske, Portage Co. Health Officer, reads, “At this time, the current operator’s license for Four Seasons Mobile Home has been restored to fully operational status.”

Among the violations noted in the released report were uncapped sewage pipes and non-functioning plumbing systems, as well as extensive garbage and debris lying about the park.

In an Aug. 4 letter sent to Reeves, Garske said his office was alerted to the presence of “human health hazards” at homes on lots 110, 112, and 333. Grey water discharge and collection, and uncontained trash were among the hazards identified in Garske’s letter.

“Both described conditions constitute human health hazards and require immediate attention,” Garske’s letter reads in part. “Failure to address these conditions in a timely manner may lead to further unsanitary conditions and serve as a possible attraction for vermin to the park.”

The health department received another complaint on Aug. 13 regarding wastewater backup from a ventilation pipe at a mobile home on lot number 118. The caller provided the county with photographs of the backup, which included “the presence of wastewater on the ground and the presence of toilet paper and other waste” that constitutes a human health hazard.

The new complaint is covered by the previous order issued by the health department, the letter said.

“It’s a humanitarian crisis that the city would never permit”

Kernosky said it’s unclear to him why five weeks were allotted to fix the problem of the raw sewage, adding, “If it were up to the city, we’d issue either a 24- or 48-hour notice, and if it wasn’t corrected by then, we’d go in and correct it for them, and bill the property owner. It’s a human health hazard.”

On Aug. 24, a Metro Wire reporter observed several empty milk jugs containing human excrement in the backyard of lot number 112, discarded along with other trash, just yards from the public roadway on Wojcik Memorial Dr.

The lot neighbors the home of Shelly Bunk, who owns her 50-year-old trailer but rents the lot from Reeves.

According to Bunk, trailer 112 is occupied by longtime residents. She said she witnessed a cleanup crew remove “about 30 or so” jugs containing human waste from the same yard last fall, and believes the newer jugs have been in the yard for “at least several weeks.”

More jugs were present in the yard on Aug. 30, as verified visually by the Metro Wire.

Kernosky, along with Neighborhood Improvement Coordinator Mark Kordus, were both present for the county’s June 21 walk-through inspection. The jugs in the backyard of trailer 112 were not present at that time, Kernosky said. Yet, his office has been notified of three sewage problems in as many weeks.

Bunk confirmed the issue, saying the park’s plumbing system hasn’t been functioning properly for some time, and she has experienced waste backups inside her home. The longest she’s gone without a functioning toilet is 67 days, and has forwarded photographic evidence of her problems to the city’s code enforcement office, she said.

“I can’t afford to move, and even if I could, this is my home,” Bunk said on Aug. 24. “And anyway, who’s going to take in someone with two dogs and a bird?”

Kernosky said since he began his role with the city in 2019, Four Seasons has been among the top three concerns in his department. The city has been “a de facto park manager” for much of that time, with city crews assigned to special details of picking up trash and mowing lawns.

“There’s a humanitarian crisis at that park that should be taken more seriously by the county; a humanitarian crisis that the city would never permit,” Kernosky said.

A history of problems

Four Seasons has a history of code violations, and city police say they suspect squatters living in the park. Police Chief Bob Kussow said confirming the legal residency of park tenants has been difficult without an onsite manager who can provide lease paperwork. He also said officers are often limited in what they’re able to do because the entire park is considered private property.

Kernosky said the city came within “a few hours” of activating a “full community response” to evict the remaining tenants in July when Reeves neglected to pay the park’s water bill. State and local laws prohibit residential dwellings from being occupied without running water and properly functioning plumbing, he said.

It was the second consecutive month that residents were issued a disconnection notice. Both were averted at the last minute, according to the city.

Also in July, Kernosky said the park’s bill with Harter’s waste management had been unpaid for so long that the city had to take crews away from fixing potholes to clean up the mess.

“He hadn’t paid his garbage bill, so they came out with their trucks, lifted the dumpsters up, and dumped them out in front of the management office,” Kernosky said. “We sent a crew out because that was a human health hazard we could address.”

The cleanup, which took place on July 29, cost the city about $1,600, Keronsky said.

In January, the city hired Kyle Kluck Trucking to demolish about a dozen vacant trailers in the park because they were condemned. Relocating the structures for disassembly elsewhere wasn’t a viable option due to their conditions, Keronsky said.

In March, residents reported to the press they’d gone 20 days without functioning sewer systems in their homes. At least four residents had no indoor plumbing for several days.

In April, Reeves initiated legal action against the city, alleging the city wrongly demolished trailers belonging to him, which he claimed cost him at least $20,000 apiece.

Since Reeves took over ownership of the park in 2016, residents say the park has fallen into disrepair. Water leaks went unchecked for extended periods of time during winter months, the maintenance shed has been repeatedly broken into, park-owned landscaping equipment was damaged by unknown persons, mailed rent checks have been returned as “undeliverable,” and squatters settled into some of the mobile homes. The latter is tough to prove because, according to Bunk, someone broke into the management office and stole several files containing title paperwork for the trailers.

Nobody seems to have the answers

Despite numerous attempts, the Metro Wire has been unable to obtain additional information pertaining to the July 5 follow-up inspection listed on the county’s June 21 report. Craig Sankey, a child and family services manager for the county’s health and human services department, is also acting custodian for county records and has been unable to locate any records for July 5.

After reviewing the requested documents with attorney David Ray, corporation counsel for Portage Co., Sankey fulfilled two Metro Wire requests for inspection reports from May and June. But Sankey confirmed in an Aug. 29 email, “Portage County Health and Human Services did not conduct any inspections at Four Seasons Mobile Home Park in July 2022.”

A message left for Cheryl Helms, the county sanitarian who conducted the June 21 inspection, has not been returned.

Portage Co. Health and Human Services Director Kim Vagueiro, who assumed her role about six months ago when Ray Przyblski retired, wasn’t able to answer any questions about Four Seasons on Monday.

“I know the overview of that situation but I don’t know the details so I don’t have that at my command to answer that,” Vagueiro said on Aug. 29. “I don’t have the command enough of the details to answer that question. Cheryl (Helms) would be the one who would have command of the details. I feel like this is…I know this is a public place, but I want to be mindful of statements that we make about private businesses.”

When asked if she could find out why the July 5 follow-up inspection wasn’t performed, Vagueiro said, “We have three divisions, 200 people, and 55 programs in this building. So I honestly don’t have a command of the details of every single thing that happened.”

County Executive John Pavelski, who took office only four months ago, said he’s frustrated with the lack of action from the county’s health department. As soon as he learned about the Metro Wire’s inability to obtain clear answers on the June 21 report or the July 5 follow-up inspection, he said he scheduled an internal meeting for Tuesday to find answers.

Since taking office, Pavelski said he’s encountered a good deal of laissez-faire attitude in numerous departments, adding, “That’s just not going to fly with me. You can’t let these violations go unnoticed.”

“A lot goes through that office to be looked at so people don’t get sued and also, unfortunately, to skirt the responsibility of their job, as I am learning. I am not looking to skirt my responsibility, but actually, hold people accountable and do my job that I was elected to do,” Pavelski said. “I don’t really care what people know because I have nothing to hide. Everyone always talks about transparency but there are some that don’t want to implement it. I believe those documents should have been public record and they should have gotten to you in three days.”

Pavelski said following this week’s internal meeting, the county will meet with the city to determine the best course of action.

“It’s time to get some kind of reconciliation,” he said. “We’re in the process of doing something that should have been done three, four years ago.”

This is an ongoing story