‘Makes me sick’: Water shut off at Madison County mobile home park due to landlord’s outstanding bill

ALEXANDRIA, Ind. — A Madison County mobile home community is in its second day without water. The city shut it off yesterday after claiming the landlord of Alexandria Mobile Home Park has gone months without paying bills. 

Now, sinks run dry and residents are left facing a new, unwanted reality.

”It makes me sick,” said resident Thomas Perry. “It’s disappointing to me. It hurts my heart … How are disabled people like me going to survive out here?”

Alexandria Mayor Todd Naselroad said the residents have been paying their water bills to their landlord, but the landlord hasn’t been passing along the money to the city. 

“Today’s account balance, as of today, is $97,358.60, and for a small community, that’s huge for us,” Naselroad said. 

Naselroad said the last time the account was paid in full was in February of 2023. The last partial payment came through in January of this year.

He said there were 13 attempts at a repayment agreement prior to the water being shut off — something the landlord has largely ignored.

“They didn’t reply to any of them,” Naselroad said. “We wanted to work out an agreement with them to make the regular payment and then another payment to catch up. [It] never happened.”

Park Place Communities, a company based in Arizona, manages the mobile home community. Residents got an email from the company on Monday apologizing for the situation and saying they’re working on an interim solution.

We are genuinely sorry for the disruption of water service. We will be in touch with more details. We are working with the city on an interim solution to get the water back on immediately and simultaneously working to acquire the resources to get the ongoing issues resolved. As you may or may not know, we have been through major transitions in the last 18 months and we are getting to a resolution that will allow the capital to be invested in the community. Bear with us today as we work through this and get it resolved for you, your families and the community.

Many in the mobile home park said the email, sent a day after their water was shut off, is too little too late.

“There are kids out here, there are elderly people,” said resident Amanda Davis. “The [kids] don’t understand. They just want to be able to take showers and baths and wash their hands and brush their teeth.”

Resident Katrina Rushing filled her tub with water before the shut off to be able to flush her family’s toilet. She’s mad that she and her children are stuck in the situation at all. 

“It’s not like we have the money to just be like, ‘We have no water, we’re just going to move,’” Rushing said.

Naselroad said the decision to shut off the water wasn’t taken lightly, but he feels like he didn’t have a choice. 

“These are our people,” Naselroad said. “We don’t want to have to shut anybody off, but we can’t sustain a $100,000 bill.”

Many of the residents sympathize with the position he’s in, especially since he has been leading the charge in making sure people are informed about the situation. Rushing said he went door to door a few weeks ago, letting residents know of the looming water shut off and handing out water ahead of Monday.

”He was incredibly sympathetic,” Rushing said. “He explained the city’s position and where they were at in terms of something has to be done.”

Residents said the email from Park Place Communities is the first time they’ve heard from the company since the water issues started. Although the email said the company is trying to get things resolved immediately, Naselroad said there’s no definite timeline on when the water will be turned back on. 

Naselroad said restoration of services can only happen once payment of no less than $50,000 is received or the company enters into a repayment agreement.