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Tenant at Wildwood Off Main urges county action after evacuation and hotel relocations
Summary
A Wildwood Off Main resident told the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners she and neighbors faced conflicting hotel placements, unpaid security deposits and unsafe conditions after a condemnation; she asked the county to help tenants document rights and hold property managers accountable.
Amber, a resident of Wildwood Off Main who identified herself during the meeting’s public comment period, told the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners on June 16 that displaced tenants have faced confusing hotel relocations and inconsistent rent and deposit handling following the complex’s condemnation.
"In the last 40 days, the residents of Wildwood off Main were lied to, coerced into silence, threatened with legal action," Amber said, recounting a sequence of hotel notifications she described as contradictory and a failure to return security deposits. She told commissioners she had moved back into a condemned unit after an uncertain hotel relocation schedule and urged the board to help tenants learn how to document habitability violations and protect themselves from retaliation.
Amber described specific dates and communications she said she received from Wildwood leasing staff and hotel staff that conflicted over whether hotel stays ran through June 22, and said some neighbors had not received security deposits 30 days after leaving. She also said management had not addressed broken stairs for upstairs units.
The board did not take formal action during the public-comment period on the Wildwood matter. Chair Strebs acknowledged the comments and invited the resident to follow up individually with county staff to explore tenant education and enforcement options.
The county administrator later noted resident communications about Wildwood had been received by the commission and that staff would be available to assist with follow-up as appropriate.
