STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Residents of the Four Seasons Mobile Home Park are days away from having their water shut off.
Darlene Droese has lived with her husband at the Four Seasons Mobile Home Park for nearly seven years. But for the last few years, they say they’ve lived a nightmare. “We got an initial water and sewer disconnect a couple of years ago,” she said to WAOW-TV. Residents say they pay their bills, and the owner of the park then pays the utility companies.
As first reported in the Point/Plover Metro Wire, residents received a new notice last week that their water would be shut off on Thursday because the owner had not paid the bill. “He sent us a text that said no worries we’re paying this,” Droese said. “Communicating with the city water department, they have heard nothing from him.”
Now, 25 residents are at risk of having their homes condemned and being forced to leave if the bill is not paid.
“A lot of people in here are elderly and disabled, they’re on fixed incomes, they don’t have the resources,” Droese said. “The city definitely has failed us. They have no answers.”
Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza said the city is doing all it can to help the residents, but to some extent, their hands are tied. “We’re not even in a position where we could have the infrastructure to bill or run utilities to homes individually,” he said. “The city has been doing everything in its power to make sure these people aren’t displaced, but it’s getting to the point where we’re running out of options.”
Because the park is private property, there’s not much they can do without the consent of the owner, who they have not heard from. Still, Wiza said he’s meeting with city officials Wednesday to see what can be done.
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