Northern Mobile Home Park was given an ultimatum from Schofield in 2016 for 350 zoning code violations. The park’s license was revoked last Monday.
The city of Schofield will be taking the new owners of the Grand Avenue mobile home park to court for operating without a license.
The Hidden Lakes Estates mobile home park’s owners, Sustainable Resources, was granted a license when it initially took over the park in 2018. But the company never applied for its renewal, which was due on Jan. 1.
Meanwhile, Sustainable Resources hasn’t paid its taxes for 2018 or 2019, owes money on its utility bills, parking fees to the city, and for money the city spent to raze vacant mobile homes, city leaders allege. More vacant mobile homes need to be razed on the property, says Public Works Director Mark Thout, because they’re a health hazard.
As it stands, according to city documents, Sustainable Resources owes $33,433 to the city and $66,743 to the county — a total of $100,000. And the city hasn’t had any contact with Sustainable Resources, Mayor Kregg Hoehn says.
Schofield has long had issues with the mobile home park. The city nearly shut the park down a couple of years ago but issued a license to the new owners in 2018, city leaders say. The new owners promised to clean up the park and eliminate the health hazards. But council members Tuesday said those promises have gone unfulfilled.
“The biggest concern is that he’s operating without a license,” Hoehn told the city council Tuesday. “We can’t allow a business to operate without a license; it would be like a tavern not applying for a license and just keep serving customers. You just can’t do that.”
The park has already been cited for failing to apply for a license, a fine of $500, says Schofield contracted attorney Shane VanderWaal.
Ultimately the court action could result in the park being shut down. That would mean any remaining tenants of the park would need to find a new place to live. Thout says the city has been working with the Marathon County Health Department in identifying vacant trailers that post a health hazard, and says they’ve been in contact with other mobile home parks that could help relocated residents.
Residents at the meeting said they have trouble getting in touch with the new owners and they are difficult to work with when they do.
