Saturday, August 20, 2016

Over Two Dozen Lot-Leasing Residents In Mobile Home Park Left Scrambling; Get 30 Days To Pack Bags & Move Their Trailers After Landlord's Failure To Pay $23K In Overdue Utility Bills Causes City To Shut Off Water & Sewer Service, Give Everyone The Boot

In Mulvane, Kansas, KSNW-TV reports:
  • The owners of a Mulvane business are stepping up to help out the residents of a mobile home park after all 30 residents were handed a 30-day eviction notice, Monday night.

    They’ve been without water for weeks, after the park’s former owner failed to pay the bill.

    The park is virtually closed after this month, no more park.”

    A depressing reality that literally hits home for Patricia LeFors. “We’re scrambling, doing everything we can. I’m calling in loans. I’m talking to people about help. I’ve called all different kinds of agencies,” LeFors said.

    She and the 30 others that call the Mulvane Mobile Park home were evicted earlier this [month] after the Mulvane City Council refused to turn back on their sewer and water services. The former owner, Eric Henderson, owes the city upwards of $23,000 in back payments.

    “He took our money and didn’t put it back into the park like he should have and that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in,” stated Judith Randall.

    Now these residents have less than 30 days to come up with a place to live. But, it can cost upwards of $3,000 dollars to move the trailers. “Nobody’s going to have that. So, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Randall explained.

    That’s why Mark Kilburn and his business partner, Earl Davis, put a plan into action.

    “We got a business. We take care of the community,” said Kilburn.

    Kilburn is the co-owner of Smokemaster’s Southern BBQ. When he heard about the Mulvane Mobile Home Park situation, he knew it was time to help. “They have no other recourse to take care of things, so we just felt like there was something we needed to do to help them out,” said Kilburn.

    Kilburn, his partner and family will be grilling in Derby this Saturday, selling BBQ, to help the residents, with their search for new homes.

    “We all believe in taking care of people. It doesn’t matter if you know them or not, if they come to you and say, I have a need, you better do what you can do to take care of them. That’s just the way we were raised,” said Kilburn.

    The event is being sponsored by Smokemaster’s Southern BBQ [...]. A portion of the proceeds will go to the residents to help pay for their moving expenses.
Source: Mulvane business steps in to help mobile home residents.

For a follow-up story, see Animals abandoned after residents in Mulvane move out in a hurry:
  • While the evicted residents of the Mulvane Mobile Home Park are packing up and getting ready to move, there are dozens of animals being left behind to fend for themselves.