Hiawatha mobile home owners upset about plans to sell land

Sue Herbst knows she is losing her home in Hiawatha. She just doesn't know when.

And neither the buyer of the land nor the seller has told her anything.

“It just kind of seemed like they don't care,” said Herbst, 46. The buyer is the city of Hiawatha. Last week the City Council agreed to buy the 12-acre Oakbrook Mobile Home Park at 115 Robins Rd. The seller is Peter Spindler, who represents owners Terry and Helmer Myhre, according to Linn County records. All three have addresses in Minnesota.

“It's up to Mr. Spindler to take care of the residents, to notify them,” Hiawatha Mayor Tom Theis said. “It's not up to the city to do that.” Spindler's attorney, Jonathan Wilson of Des Moines, said he's not legally required to notify the residents immediately because the sale isn't final. Once it is final, Wilson said, the sellers have to give 60 days' notice. All of the residents lease the land monthly.

Wilson said it's up to the residents to remove their homes.

“My home is 48 years old,” said Herbst, who has lived in the unit for 10 of those years. “I assume if they tried to take it off its foundation . . . it wouldn't survive.” Oakbrook residents pay $175 a month in rent.

However, Herbst said the park's roads are falling apart.

City Administrator Gary Rodgers Jr. has told The Gazette that the property has had some compliance issues with the city.

Wilson said the city had expressed interest in buying the property in the past, and this year the owners decided to sell after considering their significant upkeep costs.

Theis said the land is part two of a four-part revitalization effort in Hiawatha. Because Spindler had turned down so many developers in the past, Theis said the city was just planning around Oakbrook. Now it's included in the planning.

The city is paying $750,000 for the land, pending the outcome of tests including an environmental assessment.

Wilson said the sale could go through in as little as three months. As for the letter explaining what is happening, he said, “It's in the mail.”

-- Justin Foss, KCRG-TV9