Residents at Sun Country Trailer Park were devastated on Easter Monday to find eviction notices tacked to their doors that threaten to demolish their homes in one month.
“This is your 30-day notice to vacate the premises. You are required to move all of your possessions, including trailer on or before May 25, 2011 at 12 noon hour. Any property that remains on site after such date will be disposed of, and restitution for the cost of disposal will be invoiced,” states the notice signed by Tim Latimer and printed on 806219 Alberta Ltd. letterhead.
A court order, filed March 17, 2011, effectively grants ownership of Sun Country Trailer Park, located south of St. Paul on Highway 881, to 806219 Alberta Ltd.
“The company foreclosed on that property because they lost a lot of money on it and the mortgage wasn’t being paid by the previous land owner, that’s why the judge has given the order to change the title over,” said Latimer, in an interview with the Journal on Sunday.
Latimer indicated that he is not interested in continuing to run a trailer park on the site but didn’t say what the company wants to develop there.
“This company needs to clean that property up to start complying with the health order,” Latimer said. “After the losses that have been sustained, I don’t think anyone is interested in continuing with the trailer park there.”
A corporate search of 806219 Alberta Ltd. lists Sharon Latimer as director, and 1086825 Alberta Ltd as 100 per cent voting shareholder. A corporate search of 1086825 Alberta Ltd indicates the Latimer Family Trust of Edmonton is 100 per cent voting shareholder of the company. One of three directors of that company is Sharon Latimer.
The trailer park has been in the news since last fall when concerns arose over the condition of some of the mobile homes. Inspectors were sent out from Alberta Health and the County of St. Paul hired an independent building inspection company to look at the trailers on the site. Some of the trailers were deemed unfit for human inhabitation.
However, several families that live in the trailer park claim to own their trailers and take pride in having made repairs and upgrades.
“It simply can’t be legal to come in and take someone’s home away and demolish it,” Charissa Miller, who along with her husband Ken and two children own a trailer at Sun Country.
It is impossible for the families that live at Sun Country Trailer Park to move their homes in the given time frame, said Miller. Moving a trailer requires a permit from the County of St. Paul which in turn requires an inspection to be sure they are road worthy. Even if the trailers were in excellent condition and they had the money to pay for the move, the Millers believe that it would be impossible to get the paperwork done in one month.
According to the Mobile Home Tenancy Act, depending on the circumstances, tenants in a mobile home park are normally given six months to a year to move their trailers, said Mike Berezowsky, spokesperson with Service Alberta.
He added that the property owner is also expected to provide a reason. However, he clarified that if there is a court order, that may overrule the Mobile Home Tenancy Act.
Most of the people who live at Sun Country are on Assured Income for Severely Handicapped (AISH) or a fixed income and lack the funds to be able to move on short notice.
“I don’t have seven dollars left over at the end of the month. Everything we get goes to raising the girls. How am I supposed to pay for permits, inspections and a moving truck?” questioned Miller who is on AISH because of a back injury sustained in a fall.
The Millers, Richard Benson, a single dad with three children, and several other residents of Sun Country Trailer Park are proud to own their homes and have made numerous improvements to their trailers and to the trailer park. If the water pump breaks down, Miller said, her husband and Benson are the ones that fix it. “If one of the trailers is in need of repairs, it’s Richard or Ken they call,” said Miller.
“It’s like a step back in time to the 1950s,” explained Charissa. “Everybody pulls together to help each other and nobody expects to be paid any money, because nobody has any money. You do it because you are neighbours and you care about people.”
Many of the residents have built additions and improvements onto their trailers, expecting that they would be there for a long time.
The Millers, for example, have built a large deck onto the east side of their trailer where the sunrise shines in on a room full of toys for the girls. The yard is fenced to keep the girls safe when they play outside with their puppies.
Benson, made numerous upgrades and improvements to his trailer after the health department and building inspectors hired by the County gave him a list of improvements needed to bring his trailer up to code. He moved to Sun Country Trailer Park after a fire burnt down a house he was renting in the Town of St. Paul.
Kitty Flanders, age 67, is living on an old age pension, and said she maintains her home and herself on $750 per month.
She said she was in tears when she received the notice because she underwent full hip replacement on her right hip last May and is preparing to have the left hip replaced in about three weeks.
“When you come out of a major surgery, you are not bending down and packing things,” said Flanders. She said it took her about seven weeks to recover from the previous surgery.
“I will likely be in the hospital recovering from surgery while they are out here bulldozing my home and everything I own.”
The community is not going down without a fight. Ken Miller visited Legal Aid last week and said residents will file complaints with Service Alberta.
