City gives Northgate owners three weeks to make additional improvements

Abraham Anderson, one of the owners of the Northgate Mobile Home Park on North Michigan Street, was online for Monday’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting to discuss the improvements being made at the residential park.

During the June 9^th meeting of the Board of Public Works, the trailer park was given several projects to complete before the June 23^rd meeting.

Dennis Manuway, Plymouth Building Commissioner, said they were putting a camera scope in the sewer lines of the system in the park, and had located several blockages that limited the scope of work that could be completed. They will jet out the sewer blockages or dig down and replace the broken areas. Some of the problem areas are under mobile homes.  All of the vacant lots now have their sewer joints capped off.

Manuwal said he was notified that at lot 246, they have dug a trench from the home to the old railroad, and he believes gray water is running off.  He didn’t see any raw sewage.  Manuwal told Anderson that the issue needs immediate attention.

Mowing of the lots has progressed, and they have hired an additional person to assist.    While there is progress on many of the issues in Northgate, the building inspector feels like progress isn’t happening fast enough. 

Anderson said his understanding from the June 9^th meeting was that by the June 23^rd meeting, they needed to have the sewer lines scoped, and that was completed.  They capped 62 sewer risers and handled the electrical connections on 23 lots, with the final two to be taken care of on Monday night.  Anderson said that by the meeting on the 9th, they had spent $13,000 on repairs, and in the last two weeks, another $10,000 was spent fixing issues in the park. 

Councilman Don Ecker asked how long it will take to fix the issues with the sewer system.  He estimated that within the next two weeks they will jet and auger the lines, including digging down and replacing broken lines. 

Mayor Listenberger asked Anderson if the park owned any of the trailers inside, and he said that up to 10 homes and the office were owned by the park, but none of those homes are being lived in. 

Manuwal said there are five trailers owned by the park (22, 140, 150, 222, 240) that need to be demolished, as well as two privately owned trailers.  One private trailer is a burnout, and the owners walked away.  Anderson asked the city to condemn the two privately owned homes, so they could move faster than the eviction process, and the board did vote to begin the demolition process. He also discussed the possibility of rehabbing a few of the trailers they have so they can sell them at a lesser price than new ones that run over $70,000. 

Councilman Don Ecker asked about the vision, and Anderson said they will spend some time cleaning up the property and requiring the current lessees to improve their lots.  They will begin enforcing the park’s rules on junk in the yards and begin the rehab process.  Initially, he told the city they would be bringing in new homes, but during Monday’s meeting, he said they will bring in new and a few newer homes after improvements are made, which could be up to a year. 

Mr. Anderson asked for two more weeks to continue with the fixes, and the building inspector said he would do a walk-through with the owners to determine if any of the homes they own can be rehabbed.  The sewer system repairs will be completed by jetting the lines and making necessary repairs to the broken lines. The gray water that is draining directly onto the ground and down a trench must be fixed, and a lot at the back corner of the park filled with debris will be cleaned. 

The next meeting is July 14^th, actually giving Northgate three weeks to make the improvements.