Trailer park owner wants parity on water charges
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Vista Village, one of two trailer parks on Columbia Avenue West, is drowning under its water bills.
And the owner wants the city to do something to correct the inequity between her park and her competitor.
“My water bills have been escalating because I’m on a meter system,” said Lee Ann Wolfin, owner of the trailer park. “If they keep going up like this ... the park is eventually getting to the point where it’s going to have to close.”
The trailer park next door to them is not metered, she pointed out.
The reason the park was metered in the first place, said Wolfin, is that the previous owner was unwilling to fix the leak problem in the park’s pipes.
Leaks are difficult to find in the park and, while she fixes them when they’re discovered, she can never save enough money to fix the overall problem.
In 2007 her water bills totaled $27,525.08, and dropped only a little in 2008 to $25,054.83.
Wolfin’s letter added there are only 66 tenants paying on average a $200 to $250 monthly fee - there are 138 pads in total in the park.
Wolfin said that since she took ownership in 2006, five trailers have moved out, three have been abandoned and several are for sale.
And she recently received notice that another trailer is being moved to Prince George.
All those factors combine to a shaky future for the trailer park.
She wants to work with the city council to figure out a solution to fixing the park.
Wolfin has sought an estimate for fixing the entire park but at a price tag of more than $650,000, it is impossible for her to save up that much money.
Mario Feldhoff moved for staff to prepare a report on how they can move forward on the issue. The motion passed unanimously.
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