Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Mobile Home topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carbondale mobile-home residents urge help to buy park after owner lists property
Summary
Residents of a trailer park behind Garcías in Carbondale told the town—s Latino Advisory Committee they face displacement after the park owner listed the property and that a cooperative buyer would raise monthly fees they cannot afford.
Resident María Quesada Quesada told the Carbondale Latino Advisory Committee she and other families who live in the mobile-home community behind Garcías are at risk after being notified that the owner intends to sell the park. "Somos una comunidad... existen 64 tráilers. El dueño nos dio un aviso de que quieren vender el el parqueadero. Entonces, ... estamos en riesgo de perder nuestras nuestras casas," she said.
Resident Norma Castanón said many people in the park have lived there for decades and that higher rents would be untenable: "el 80 por 100 de nuestra comunidad trabaja en el valle... las rentas hoy en día ya están muy, muy altas." Cinthia Delgado added that some residents still owe loans on their trailers and said press reports that owners would offer $7,000 to $10,000 to some residents applied to other sites and not to their park: "A nosotros no nos han ofrecido que 7 o 10000 dólares. No, ese fue un comentario...".
Speakers described one potential buyer as a cooperative (identified in the discussion as Fisher Rock) that could provide financing; a speaker said that if the cooperative financed the purchase, the monthly space payment would be about "$1600 por mes." As one resident framed it, "Ahorita el 80 por 100 de los que estamos ahí estamos pagando 1000 por el espacio. Entonces 600 dólares para estas personas es demasiado." Speakers said that financing would be amortized over 30 years and that residents are planning fundraising and outreach to local nonprofits such as Community Foundation, Voces Unidas, Valley Settlement and Roaring Fork Development Corporation.
Residents said an attorney advised that an earlier listing had conditioned sale of two adjacent parks together; the attorney told them that restriction was not lawful and the seller later revised the listing to permit separate offers. One speaker said a third-party buyer already has an offer for the park; residents also said they understood, "por ley tengo entendido que les tienen que dar a los clientes 120 días," referring to a statutory window they believe gives tenants time to organize an offer.
Committee members suggested residents raise the issue with the town board and local organizations and offered informal help connecting residents to resources; no formal town action or vote was taken at the meeting.
Ending: Residents said they plan more fundraising events (rifas, food sales and yard sales) and requested continued help from community organizations and the committee while they pursue purchase options.
