(Photos contributed)
VINEMONT, Ala. – South Vinemont Town Council held a special called meeting on Tuesday, for the purpose of a business license hearing for Vinemont Village DBA Business Resource LLC and Vinemont Estates DBA Wyoming Lot MH Rentals. The meeting was a due process hearing to give the owner of these businesses the opportunity to respond to issues raised on or prior to March 29, 2022. Town Attorney Roy Williams said that the town had received 10 complaints from Vinemont Village since September 2021 pertaining to raw sewage. “Six of these were verified by the Health Department in lots 24, 30, 32. Also, there were complaints of trash disposal issues. As of 4-11-22, according to the local agencies, those issues were corrected.”
There had been two complaints about Vinemont Estates since March about raw sewage and trash disposal issues which local agencies said have been corrected. The town received several calls from tenants regarding raw sewage or electrical issues. The town clerk stated that the town sent several notices by email and certified mail about both Vinemont Village and Vinemont Estates to business owner Kevin Serra. Attorney Matthew Carter, representing Mr. Serra, said that the only notice they received was for Vinemont Estates therefore they would focus mainly on Vinemont Estates.
Carter stated, “My client bought both of these properties approximately 16 months ago during the teeth of Covid-19, and the people that owned the park prior to them, they had it for approximately 20 years. Once my client took possession of the property, he discovered that there were numerous water and sewer issues which he has attempted to mitigate since he’s owned the park. He has a plan that would take about 36 months on purchase – once he discovered the issues, and now we’re about 17 months into it. There’s not been 17 months of progress. Covid-19, we’re all aware, has caused shortages, labor issues and in addition to that, privacy issues. For several months, when he took possession of the park, there were efforts made to try to figure out what the problems were with individual tenants.
Some tenants were hesitant to talk to anyone, and there’s a good reason for that. I’m sure some of you did not want to go out in public with someone knocking on your door, especially your landlord, whether it was for good reasons or bad. Despite all of this, Kevin Serra made the decision to expend immense amounts of resources, and understand when he purchased these properties, he did not go in there and cause sewer or water issues. To date, he has spent approximately $378,000 on these two problems.”
He continued, saying, “Ninety-five percent of mobile home parks in the United States do not have to go in and do new water and sewer line. That’s a minority of parks. These two did. And all of you that are residents in this park know that those parks have had problems for a long time, but to fix the problem, there had to be an immense amount of infrastructure that was disturbed on a temporary basis.”
Carter also addressed the complaints about the road conditions and overflowing dumpsters. He said that the dumpsters will be removed soon, but until the roads are fixed, there is no way to deal with the issue. He stated that at Vinemont Estates, the day before, Serra had 75 tons of gravel delivered and 50 tons the day of the meeting. They had a worker there until 10 o’clock the night before working on the roads so that emergency services vehicles can access the property.
Carter said, “It’s impossible for him to fix the water lines without disturbing that road. We think that road will be fixed within 10 days, weather permitting.” He said that Serra had also taken action to alleviate the trash problems, “Once he had the complaints, we hired a full-time maintenance person to clean up trash two times a day, and no business can afford to have someone monitoring the dumpster every day. The tenants have to take some accountability. In addition, he cannot prevent people from stopping on the side of the road and using these dumpsters.”
Photos contributed
Because of the numerous issues at the parks, Carter said that Serra had to prioritize which issues to take care of first and working on the water and sewer lines caused the trash and road problems. He also noted that the complaints made about Vinemont Estates have been abated. “Tonight, we believe we are only here for that. Kevin wants to be a good neighbor. He needs respect from you all and patience to do this. He wants these to be better than they are, and they’re already better than they were, or at least the Estates are.”
Serra stated that he did not know the severity of the problem with the water and sewer lines when he bought the properties. “Both of them need new water and sewage, and it lasts about 80 years once you put them in, but the problem is everybody hates your guts when they go in because it’s a total disruption. We’re one of three mobile home parks in the entire city that offers affordable living. Our water and sewer bill was over $170 a lot from endless amount of leaks. I probably spent $50,000 on leaks, just sewer leaks and water leaks. Whether it was me or it was someone else, the water lines had to be replaced.”
At Vinemont Village, there are currently issues the owner is working on with the Health Department. Carter said that there is a work order process and suggested tenants from Vinemont Village visit the office and fill out a work order form. Some tenants at the meeting raised the issue that work orders they have filled have never been addressed. One tenant stated that he was not informed of any of the work being done on the property before he had signed his lease.
The majority of the tenant concerns came from Vinemont Village. Another complained that the homes on the company website are not the homes on the property. Other issues are health concerns raised about black mold in walls causing lung problems. The sewage at the Village, which is currently on septic tanks, was reported to be coming up into tubs and sinks.
Property Manager Melissa Davis said, “We knew when we came in and saw how bad this was—the homes aren’t great. We also have bigger issues to fix that we had to address, so we have a month-to-month lease. You can leave in 30 days. If you’re not happy with how timely your stuff is taken care of, we’re not holding you here.”
Tenant Marly Burnett added that only four people are doing the work at the properties. “I understand that there’s stuff that needs to be done in homes, but do we want our water fixed, or do we want the floor fixed over here, or do we need the faucet fixed, like what can four guys do?”
Town attorney Williams stated that the town does not have the legal authority to do anything about the issues in the homes, “That is between you and the landlord. The council has no ability to do that, other than condemn the place.” For issues between tenants and the landlord, the residents were told these were civil matters and would have to be taken to court.
Attorney Champ Crocker was also present to represent the Vinemont-Providence Fire Department. He stated, “The fire department is very concerned about the road situation due to instances that have happened as far as ingress and egress and inability to access the park.” However, he was informed that the road issue was not an issue being discussed at that meeting. On November 13 of 2021, the department sent an email to the property owners stating their life safety concern for the residents of the park due to the road conditions. Brandon Young with the department said, “We got a response from Melissa Davis on November 14 that it would be done in a week. On January 10, an engine fell through the road and cased some damage that we’re still dealing with.” Young added that Serra has recently emailed him personally and they are working on a solution to the remedy the ingress/egress in the trailer park.
The mayor stated that he believed the council had enough information to give everyone involved a timeline by which renovations will be completed. “The timeline will be up for adjustment. It’s not chiseled in stone. Eighteen months ago, you could chisel it in stone, 18 months later, Covid wiped all that out.” He added, “Instead of trying to hurt them, we can at least help them by staying out of their hair as best we possibly can.”
The vote as to whether to revoke Serra’s business license will be held at the next meeting on May 10 at 6:00 p.m. with a work session at 5:30 p.m.
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