Saugus selectmen take action to help mobile home residents

SAUGUS – The Board of Selectmen agreed to form a committee to try and help residents of the mobile home park, 846 Broadway, who are drowning in exorbitant water and sewer bills.On the table for the more than 50 residents who turned out for the board’s Tuesday meeting is not only water and sewer bills that have risen dramatically since last spring, but also possible eviction if the bills aren’t paid by Feb. 15.Town Meeting members voted last spring to give low-end water users a break by lowering the minimum rate payment. To offset the change, they created two new tiers and bumped up the cost for high-end users.Selectmen, as Sewer Commissioners, followed suit.Because the trailer park uses only one meter for all 74 homes, it has become the ninth largest water and sewer user in town.The result of that is mobile home owners have seen their rent bills, which include the water and sewer charges, increase by $79 per household to offset the cost to the park owner. The bill for the entire trailer park is estimated to be over $103,000 for the year, which one resident said is a 300 percent increase.”This was done with the best of intentions,” said Selectman Michael Kelleher regarding the changes. “The Sewer Commissioners and those that set the water rates never set out to create what it did.”Kelleher said the majority of the homeowners in the park cannot afford the increase and the idea that they are subject to eviction if they don’t pay is unacceptable.”Logic would be to have separate water meters for each home and the town manager is open to looking into that,” Kelleher said.But he said that might take time and, in the short term, he wanted to do something else by way of forming a committee.He also asked that the board contact the park’s landlord and ask him to cut the residents a break on the Feb. 15 deadline while the town looks into the issue.Selectman Stephen Horlick said he agreed something should be done, but reminded Kelleher that the trailer park was not the only group affected by the change. Horlick said he received calls from several condominium associations in the same boat.”If you’re going to take care of one group you have to take care of all or they’ll be in here next,” he said.Mobile home owner Joe Steinbrecher was less than thrilled with the board’s plan.”They will form a committee to look into it,” he said, “It’s like we’re absolutely nothing.”Louise Finn was also a little put off by how fast the board dealt with the issue.”Most people don’t even know what just happened,” she said. “They shouldn’t have sloshed right over it. They should have explained it.”Finn said she worries about her neighbors most of whom she fears can’t pay the increase.Janet Potheir, however, said she felt better knowing that the board was at least trying to help.”I knew nothing would be resolved tonight, but it’s a start,” she said. “A lot of people can’t afford this. The fact they’re looking into it is something.”