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MARION, Ark. — People who live in a mobile home park near Marion, Arkansas are worried it’s not going to be around for much longer.
They say the negligence on the property of the Lakeshore Estates is starting to make it unlivable.
Now, after a public meeting Saturday, state agencies are looking into conditions there.
This is the same mobile home park where a massive amount of dead fish popped up in the lake a few years ago.
Overgrown lots, burned-out trailers and trash piling up are just a taste of what you’ll see at the Lakeshore Estates.
“It’s been going on for about 20 years and it seems like every year it gets worse,” said Cassandra Meyer.
Meyer has lived in the mobile home park outside Marion since the ’70s.
She says what started out as a retirement community is turning into a crime-ridden and unhealthy spot.
“We can’t get any answers for what the problems out here are and where the money is going that this community is spending, because it’s not being put back into this community.”
Everyone used to have a club fee of $5 a month to go toward keeping the place up.
But after some homeowners wrote a letter to management in November asking to see where those fees were going to, it suddenly dropped off their bill.
Instead, the monthly sewage charge went up by $5.
“Our tax dollars are being spent, our dues are being paid, but we’re not getting represented,” said Marvin Lee Tucker, who also lives in the community.
That’s when they started calculating how much money the community was paying for no noticeable results.
“We found out this community is funding $100,000 a year somewhere, but it’s not here. We want answers,” said Meyer.
We went to the addresses listed for the people who oversee these funds and repairs.
No one answered at the first person’s home and the other is in a gated community.
We also called the business line and were told they’d pass along our message. We haven’t heard back.
The mobile home park has a history of violations.
Last month, the state Department of Health found a sewer pump station was being covered with a tire, wasn’t up to security standards, was short on pumps and had a sewage leak.
In 2016, the state Department of Environmental Quality found untreated sewage was going into the lake.
And more violations have been reported in the past.
“We’ve been on the phone with people in Jonesboro, Little Rock, local authorities and they’re restricted to what they can do, but at the same time, if they worked together they could close the loopholes that’s plaguing this community,” said Meyer.
She’s hosting a meeting Saturday where she’s invited county, state and federal authorities and agency representatives.
Everyone who lives there is also invited to come and fight for the community.
“It’s home to them. They don’t have another option, they don’t have somewhere else to go,” said Tucker.
They’re hoping someone will want to stand up for them.
“This is a great community and people are good. We deserve to be treated just like the people who live in the rich houses,” said Meyer.
The meeting is at 2 p.m. on Saturday at 485 Estate Drive by Marion.
Crittenden County officials say they’re aware of the problems at the community, but it’s up to the individual who maintains the park to fix the health issues, not the county.
UPDATE:
The meeting Saturday was standing-room only because so many people showed up, and residents were thanking WREG for its coverage.
They’ve since heard from state leaders and even the governor’s office about the conditions at this mobile home park.
