Johnson County Supervisors continue push for public meeting with mobile home park owner Havenpark

IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is continuing to ask for an in-person public meeting with Utah-based Havenpark Communities, owner of mobile home parks across the county, as residents push for a two-year moratorium on rent increases due to concerns over park conditions.

The company and the supervisors have been exchanging letters for months. In the most recent letter to Havenpark, sent earlier this month, the board asked for an in-person public meeting. Havenpark has agreed to an in-person meeting, but has asked it not be public.

Johnson County Residents United, a group that advocates for safe conditions in mobile home parks, has voiced concerns over rent increases, questionable water quality and poor park maintenance at Havenpark-owned properties. The group also has pushed for a two-year rent increase moratorium.

The Board will request that Havenpark be present at the board’s Nov. 13 or Dec. 11 meeting. Those dates were chosen because the board’s meetings are scheduled at 5:30 p.m., whereas other meetings are typically conducted during business hours.

In the most recent letter to the board, Havenpark agreed to an in-person meeting and said they were committed to finding constructive solutions for residents.

“We value your invitation to meet and share your goal of open dialogue,” Havenpark Senior Vice President of Operations Jerry Fenstermaker wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to the board. “At this time, however, we believe that a private meeting with you and the Board of Supervisors would provide the most productive setting for a candid and solution-focused discussion. This format will allow for a direct exchange of information and a clearer path toward next steps.”

The supervisors got involved in May, at the request of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition — which works with Johnson County Residents United (JCRU) — after the groups said communication with Havenpark had been inconsistent.

Throughout the back and forth with the supervisors, Havenpark has said it addressed resident concerns with $2.1 million in improvements, and more on the way, across Sunrise Village, Modern Manor and Lake Ridge Estates.

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“Better than no meeting at all”

While the board wants a in-person public meeting, members of the board have said they’d be open to any meeting format Havenpark would agree to in order to address resident concerns.

However, meetings of the Board of Supervisors are subject to Iowa’s open meeting laws, which limit the reasons a meeting can be held in closed session.

If fewer than three board members attend a meeting, a quorum is not met and an open meeting is not required. The board members cannot vote and no policy decisions can be made in discussions where a quorum is not present.

“I think a public meeting is my preference. But if they will not meet any other way, then I think two supervisors having a meeting is better than no meeting at all,” said Supervisor Rod Sullivan.

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JCRU discussed at its meeting earlier this week that in the event a public meeting with Havenpark was not possible, residents would like Sullivan and Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz to be the supervisors that attend the meeting.

JCRU said it also would craft a written statement for the supervisors to present at the meeting.

“They were happy to hear that they were willing to an in person meeting with you all, understanding that supervisors have the best interests of the residents at heart and would not make any decisions without relaying information back directly to residents and organizers,” Jessica Andino, executive director of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition, said of JCRU’s response to Havenpark’s letter.

Members of JCRU were not able to attend the board’s Wednesday morning work session where the letter was discussed.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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