Berkshire Village Residents Urge Action on Deteriorating Park
The Select Board advised the group to file another petition so a public hearing could be held.
Residents at Tuesday's meeting highlighted issues they say pose a health and hazard risk for the community, including problems with the septic system, outdated electric service, and unmaintained roads.
They are in the process of forming a tenants' association, as recommended to them by the Massachusetts Federation of Manufactured Home Communities, resident William Moreau said. A complaint has also been filed with the state Attorney General's Office.
Residents had filed a petition about the park's issues that was discussed back in November by the Board of Selectmen, acting as the Mobile Home Rent Control Board.
"At the time, due to circumstances that had developed after the writing of the petition and its formal hearing two of those signatories requested that some time be given to the new manager for the purpose of allowing her the opportunity to begin resolutions," a letter to the board states.
"Since that time, we are now faced with yet more changes in management, no definitive progress, and worsening conditions. We believe that there is sufficient history to suggest that this landlord has no regard to the health and safety of the residents of our community."
The board explained that the previous petition has expired so residents will need to submit a new petition so another public hearing can be held. Moreau said he would be able to get that to the town as soon as the next day.
The park is currently owned by Crown Communities LLC, which contracts with M. Shapiro Real Estate to manage the property.
According to the town's property card, Crown Communities purchased the park in December 2022 for $1.
Since taking ownership, it has gone through three management companies and three managers, two on-site and one off-site. They currently do not have an onsite manager, Moreau said.
A concern that was heavily emphasized was the under-plowed roads after the most recent storm that left residents snowed in.
Residents expressed their frustration with the delay in getting the park's roads plowed, blocking in residents.
The condition of the roads is a major health and safety issue because it can restrict emergency services from gaining access to the homes, resident David Icardi said.
Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said she had the police chief write a letter to the management company a week ago regarding the road conditions. Additionally, the Fire Department had also written a letter to the management company.
If there is an emergency call to Berkshire Village, the town will send a highway truck to clear a path for emergency personnel and send the management company a bill, Morse said.
"My main concern is the elderly people that live around me. Yeah, a town truck can go in there and get the ambulance in, but those are precious minutes when it comes to medical calls and whatnot, that's what we should be bitching about, not that they came late," Icardi said.
The parks current maintenance person has been out in the snow in "unbelievable conditions" riding his personal "little John Deere tractor," Moreau said, trying to help residents get out with "minimal equipment and no supplies to work with."
The condition of the sewer system has been an ongoing concern for more than 15 years, residents said.
According to communication with the property owners, when they purchased the community in 2021, the septic system was failing and had not been maintained for years, Morse said.
The property owners informer her that they have invested capital to address the problem as part of a $1.8 million system upgrade. The design is currently 80 percent complete and the company has engaged a contractor to conduct Title V inspections, she said. The Board of Health is also conducting Title V inspections.
A couple of residents highlighted how they have had to pay out of pocket to fix their sewer issues.
"I've fixed two of them so far, and they have been duct taped to the bottom of the toilet flanges. People are literally losing bottom of them, and they're falling out, and they're splitting the pipes joining for the rest of the house, because they're all falling apart," resident Joe Provencher said.
"That was the park's problem. I have not heard a response … this is costing people upwards of $800 to $1,000."
An issue highlighted but not discussed in great detail is the outdated electric service. Of the approximately 83 homes, 52 have not had their electric service upgraded, Moreau said.
"They're still working off the old service panels mounted on the poles, all of which are highly at risk. The electric company said to me over eight years ago that they were supposed to have been replaced 10 years before that," he said.
Moreau said he is not sure how long this equipment lasts after being replaced and how critical the issue is.
"If one of those poles comes down, ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, we're talking mobile homes that have metal walls. The risk to health and life is ridiculous," he said.
