"Holy Georgie Moly!"
These were the words that popped out of little Savannah's mouth as her unwrapped Christmas gift revealed a remote controlled truck, and is a phrase I carried with me this past holiday season. Her gift was received at a Christmas party sponsored by local organizations for children of April Aire mobile home park. The wide eyes of other children tearing open presents matched Savannah's words of exclamation as well, and caused more than one adult to become misty-eyed.
The party, complete with Santa, pizza and games at Badger Sports Complex, was a bright spot in what had been a dismal year for residents in the trailer park community. The owner, Richard Hassel, was charged with having a contaminated well and septic system. He was fined by the DNR after a resident complained of unsafe levels of lead in the water. Other problems were brought to light including substandard living conditions, ordinance violations with dog breeding, and high levels of police calls to the park. Eventually the park went into foreclosure and was placed into receivership with Prospera Credit Union.
Unfortunately, the story for April Aire residents is coming to an close. No one bid the $300,000 needed to take the park out of foreclosure. Most trailers are very old, and many have been condemned. Many renters have been evicted this past year, and only eight occupied rental units remain. The rest are owner-occupied. Costs to run city sewer and water out to the park would run about $500,000, making it an unattractive investment for prospective bidders to keep open as trailer park. Residents of the park have until June 30 to vacate the premises. What remains difficult for the owner-occupied units is that while their homes are kept up, many mobile home parks will not allow older trailers. Some trailers will not withstand relocation. Imagine paying the mortgage on your home and essentially having to abandon it.
Making the story more depressing, is that the same residents who tried to make their community a safer place to live are the ones facing eviction. The situation brings to light and underscores a deeper problem evolving in the our community. That is, finding and sustaining affordable housing in populated towns and cities.
So what happens to the park now? The following is pure speculation, but Prospera Credit Union will most likely clear the land of trailers and put the property up for sale. Because the land is in a prime location, near the interstate, it shouldn't be hard to sell. The buyer could pay costs associated to run sewer and water lines out to the parcel, or strike up a deal with Appleton. The city could annex the property from Grand Chute under previous border agreements. That it was once April Aire Mobile Home Park, most likely will become a distant memory.
A sad ending for April Aire Mobile Home Park. Not the one I had hoped for little Savannah.
