By Rebecca Dopp
Times-News Correspondent
After months of litigation, Levan Town has voted to issue a cease and desist order for the trailer park owned and operated by Wayne and Laura Rice.
“The judge ordered them to meet with us and let us know what their intent was for the future,” said Brady Taylor, council member.
W. Rice said they will comply with the town’s ordinances and do what they have to do to bring the trailers and trailer court into compliance, but that it was going to take some time.
Mayor Bob Shepherd asked what had been done to bring the trailer park into compliance since the lawsuit started back in May of 2009.
W. Rice said that they had cleaned up the trailer park and had spent $30,000 to remove one trailer so far. He said this trailer had been too unsafe to move, so they had to tear it down. The previous owner had also been a pack rat and the debris and garbage had to be hauled away in 18 dump trucks.
“Eighteen dump trucks cost you $30,000?” asked Brian Ercanbrack, council member.
W. Rice explained that that included the labor because every time the wind blew, debris had to be cleaned up again. Shepherd asked to see the invoices to prove the costs.
Also included in the clean-up was the removal of a travel trailer that had burned down some time ago.
Out of the eleven trailers in the court, 8 or 9 of them had tenants, but only two trailers were in compliance.
Shepherd stated that there might be liability to the town if the council approved to let the residents stay there while the improvements were being made.
“That worries me if there are still six or seven households that are living in unsafe conditions,” said Ercanbrack.
“I’m not going to tell you [Rices] they can stay there and put the liability on the town,” Shepherd said.
Carol Mattinson, treasurer, said that the Rices had moved trailers in without notifying the town. She said that each time a trailer was moved in, the town should know for emergency services.
“Most of these rules are for the safety of the people living there,” she said.
The Rices were asked if they were a mobile home park or an RV park. W. Rice said they were both. Mattinson asked if those who stayed in a travel trailer were allowed to stay forever, stating that some of the those tenants had been there for two or three years. W. Rice stated that they could stay for 30 days unless they are a construction worker.
“You might have been grandfathered in before, but you’re not now,” said Shepherd.
Stephanie Wood, deputy court clerk, explained what the court’s intent had been by sending the matter back to the town.
“They [the Rices] don’t have a business license. They are not in compliance. You said they have to be up to code in order to have a license. They don’t have a license and are operating without a license. Now it’s up to you,” Wood said.
She said the town could grant them a business license for the two trailers in compliance provided the electricity was brought up to code.
“As far as the courts are concerned, it needs to go back to the town,” she said. “It’s now a licensing issue where you either need to tell them to cease and desist or decide what needs to be done.”
Wood said their business license had lapsed as of January 1, 2009. Letters had been sent out stating that in April. The matter went to court in May.
The council decided that it would be too unsafe for the existing tenants in the trailers to stay put while the changes were being made. They told the Rices they would have to evict their tenants until the trailers were brought up to code. W. Rice said they did not have the authority to evict the tenants. Mattinson said they should tell the residents they are no longer a trailer park.
The council voted unanimously to issue a cease and desist order for the whole trailer park.
L. Rice asked if that meant they did not have the option to bring the trailer court into compliance. Shepherd said they could still bring it into compliance, but they could not keep using it as it is.
“As soon as you bring it into compliance you can come back in and apply for a business license,” he said.
Shepherd said that now the matter will go back to the courts and the judge will need to give a recommendation on how to proceed with the matter of the existing tenants.
