DALTON, Mass. — The request for hefty rent increases to a Valentine Road mobile home park seems unlikely following the Mobile Home Park Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday night. 

 

A number of Lake Onota Village residents attended the meeting expressing their disapproval of owner M.H. Communities request for a 29 percent, or $153 per month, rent increase over the next three years.

 

M.H. Communities had initially requested a 63 percent hike, or more than $200 per month, spread out over three years. However, on the morning of the board meeting, the owners updated the application to lower the amount.

 

"It's been almost 12 years since the last rent increase for Lake Onota Village and, as you can imagine, much has changed financially over 12 years," Jeffrey Scrimo, attorney for M.H. Communities, said. 

 

"Obviously, naturally, increased costs over that timeframe … As of this morning, we submitted an updated application. The original appeared to have an issue with one of the formulas that we use. So, the number has dropped from our original application. It's come down a bit." 

 

The paperwork originally provided by the owners said the total site assessment was a little over $831,000. 

 

The new application says the total site assessment for the 28.6-acre park is about $3,803,000. Both applications state that the assessed value per unit is about $29,000 and that there are 131 units. 

 

The company takes in total of about $521,000 in rent per year, with residents paying between $3,960 and $4,560 annually.

 

A $21,000 expense for vacancies was cited and the owners have proposed a $14,500 capital project for mailbox lighting and electrical work.

 

Even with the decrease in the original request, not one Lake Onota Village resident in attendance approved the rent hike, citing issues in the park including potholes, flooding, tree damage, trash and illegal dumping, speeding, sewer issues, sinking trailers, lighting, and a water main issue. 

 

City ordinance entitles the owners to a certain rate of return but the current request is 4 1/2 percent more than what is allowed. Based on the net income, assessed value, allowable income, prime rate, and number of units, the company is entitled to a rent of $422 per unit, park resident Michael Hubbard said. 

 

Ward 7 City Councilor Rhonda Serre, who attended the hearing, agreed with Hubbard, adding that the owners are requesting more than the national increase of 4.2 percent even though they only have one capital project on the books. 

 

The project was for a $14,000 investment, which was slated to happen in 2023, but residents are still complaining there is still poor lighting around their mailboxes, she said. 

 

Resident Joseph Zelinsky said the only light that works in the park is his, which he has been covering the cost of for six years and has not been compensated. In the past when, he turned off the light he received requests from neighbors to leave it on, because it's too "dark" and "scary. He has left the light on. 

 

The park owners are aware of the issues surrounding lighting and have taken steps to improve it, co-owner Richard Baldwin said. 

 

Their first attempt to improve lighting was to install solar-powered lights because there wasn't electricity close enough. However, due to "minor issues," it didn't work, Baldwin said. 

 

They have since hired a contractor to bring electricity from the nearest source over to that set of mailboxes, he said. 

 

The project should be done within the next "couple days" and then Eversource will have to visit the location to inspect it, Baldwin said. 

 

The owners are claiming they deserve a retro hike back to 2012.

 

Serre listed a number of issues residents raised from the lack of snow plowing, the illegal dumping and trash collection, and the claiming of loss of revenue from vacancies. 

 

"I'm not sure what [profit and loss] ledger you all are familiar with, but I never saw an opportunity to reclaim lost revenue twice on the same general ledger," she said.

 

If they are short $21,000 for vacancies they should clean up and resell the abandoned properties in the park, Serre said. 

 

"That's on them, not on their tenants. In summary, this increase request is outrageous, even at 29 percent it's outrageous," Serre said. 

 

"Looking at the rate of return origin of 8 percent … there is 4 percent there that is pretty discretionary and not valid. So, therefore, I would like you to consider a reasonable rent increase at the national average of 4.2 percent." 

 

Of the 131 lots in the park, two of them are vacant and abandoned, residents said. 

 

The owners are working on removing the abandoned trailers, Scrimo said. It is very hard to take a trailer off a lot, even if it is abandoned, in Massachusetts. It is a multi-step legal process that they are currency working on. 

 

Board member Kenneth Ferris said he can not support an increase this high considering the amount of concerns that were raised and questioned the $51,551 management fee. 

 

The management fees allocate funds to a portion of the rent for the Nashua, N.H., office and two employees that do the company's bookkeeping. In addition to that, $13,000 of the management fees goes to the owners, Baldwin said. 

 

The owners also budgeted for salaries and wages for $33,244, which pays for the park's attendant.

 

The board can consider approving a smaller rent increase for this year and reviewing additional increases next year and the following year based on the improvements made to the park, Chair Alisa Costa said. 

 

Before the board makes a decision, it wants to see documentation supporting the costs provided in the application and a list of capital projects to improve the park.

 

The board continued the hearing until April 4 at 6:30 p.m. The board also voted Costa in as chair and Nate Joyner as vice chair.