HOT SPRINGS – Prior to going into an Executive Session to discuss legal matters pertaining to an wastewater property lease agreement with landowner Gary Romey, the Hot Springs City Council heard from Zach Dixon via telephone during Communications from the Public.
Dixon is the owner of the Colorado-based company Dixon Builders & Property Management which owns/ operates a pair of trailer parks in Hot Springs, including the El Rancho Court across the street from the Baymont Inn, as well as park surrounding the water fill station between S. River and S. 9th Street along Houston Avenue. He noted that the El Rancho Court park is fully occupied with good tenants, but the park near the water fill station is in rougher shape and has a known drug-use issue.
He assured that council that he is working with Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer Wesley Foss on getting the latter park cleaned up, but expressed his concern about a city ordinance which requires mobile homes being placed in the city limits to be 20 years old or newer.
Dixon said they have plans to tear down and remove five to seven homes Houston Avenue trailer park, but the requirement of homes being 20 years old or newer makes it very difficult to maintain affordable homes in his parks. Dixon then asked the council to consider modifying the requirement to allow for trailer homes built in the 1990s, provided they are in good condition.
When asked by the council what his timeline was for cleaning up the dilapidated trailers in the Houston Avenue park, Dixon replied by saying his company was in the process of refinancing both of the trailer parks in Hot Springs. Once that was completed, he said they would have the financial resources to start taking out the aforementioned five to seven homes. Then, within the next two to three months, they would like to start bringing better mobile homes, but in order to do that cost effectively, he said they would like the city to consider accepting 30-ish year-old home which are in much better shape.
While describing how they have already begun cleaning up the trailer parks, Dixon said, “In the one park by the Baymont Inn & Suites, we have a pretty good tenant base. I don’t think we have any problem tenants there. We’ve evicted quite a few from the other park, which actually puts quite a hit on income. But the way I like to run stuff in all of our parks, I’d rather have less income and less issues.”
Dixon then reiterated their plans to remove the bad tenants living in dilapidated homes, cleaning up the lots and then bringing in newer and better looking housing.
“In my experience, it’s hard to get good tenants in a park that is in that type of shape,” he said.
After Dixon spoke, community member Martin Malenke also spoke during Communications from the Public in regards to the city requirements for trailer homes. He was then directed to speak with Foss but that the city council was also still contemplating how to move forward with some of the new requirements, including the 20-year-old mobile home requirement. On the subject, Malenke said he agreed with Dixon’s request to have the city allow 1990s-era trailer homes, provided they are in good shape.
Following a council update from Librarian Mary Terrones, the council went into Executive Session for about an hour. When they reconvened, an added agenda item to discuss the wastewater lease with Gary Romey was addressed by Mayor Bob Nelson. He asked Romey, who was in the audience, if he would be available to meet with the city at a later date to discuss some of the details of the lease agreement. Romey then came to the microphone and agreed to the meeting and expressed a desire to primarily just work through some of the terminology in the agreement.
The first item addressed under New Business was to hear a nuisance appeal from Malissa Niles, who lives at 341 S. 14th Street near Butler Park. She said she had recently received a letter from the city in regards to a pair of vehicles that they park in the boulevard in front of their home. She said they are parked their to avoid putting them in the street which would narrow the roadway. She said both vehicles have historical plates, which prevents from the driving regularly, but they are both licensed and insured.
Niles said the letter they received from the city stated the vehicles were abandoned and/or inoperable which is not true, nor was their an ordinance which prevented them from parking their vehicles in the boulevard, which was actually their property.
After some discussion amongst the council, it was agreed that there was not significant evidence to show the Niles were in violation of any city ordinances, so they voted unanimously to dismiss the nuisance notice.