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County reviews letter to Axi Investments after rent rises at Katrina Lodges
Summary
The Missoula County board reviewed a draft letter requesting Axi Investments respond to residents after lot-rent increases at Katrina Lodges, a 55-and-up mobile home community; the board registered concerns and asked the owner to meet with residents and public officials.
County officials reviewed a draft letter to Axi Investments about recent lot-rent increases at Katrina Lodges, a 55-and-up mobile home community, and asked the company to meet with residents and public officials.
The letter, presented by John, says residents have experienced a nearly 25% increase in lot rent since the property changed hands. "In just the last year under Axi Investments and the previous owner, Katrina residents have seen a nearly 25% increase in lot rent," John said.
Board members and staff discussed the size and timing of the increases. A clarifying exchange in the meeting confirmed that a $50 increase was implemented in September 2024 and that a subsequent $100 increase followed. Meeting participants emphasized that those rises have created affordability problems for residents: "For many people who live there, those kind of jumps create serious affordability challenges that threaten to push their cost of housing out of reach," John said.
The draft letter asks Axi Investments to respond to resident questions, to meet with residents of Katrina Lodges and public officials, and to explain its future plans for the community. The presenters said the park contains roughly 103 lots, and that rents at $650 per lot would be difficult to match with locally available affordable housing options. "It would be difficult to find affordable housing for $650 for 103 people in Missoula County right now," one participant said.
The discussion did not record a formal vote on the letter in the transcript; meeting participants thanked John for preparing the draft and encouraged follow-up contact with the owner. The transcript shows the board expressed support for sending a letter and for staff to keep working with residents to track the situation.
Board members framed the issue as preserving a form of naturally occurring affordable housing in the county and urged the property owner to respond to tenant concerns.
Next steps noted in the meeting: staff will keep working on the correspondence with Axi Investments and check back with residents; no formal timetable or vote on the letter was recorded in the provided transcript.
