Facing a suspension of his license for lack of severe weather plan, shelter
A hearing held in Marshall this week will, in one way or another, play a role in the future of the Cedar Lane Manufactured Home Park in Tracy.
Park owner Mike Grover appeared before the Southwest Health and Human Services Board and its attorney on Tuesday to defend himself in the hopes of preventing having his license suspended.
At issue is Grover’s apparent inability to devise a severe weather plan and construct a storm shelter for his residents, which has resulted in Southwest Health and Human Services’ pursuit of a suspension of Grover’s license.
“This is not something we take lightly,” said Jason Kloos, environmental manager for SWHHS. “I would like to see steps taken for the construction of a storm shelter and a plan that would satisfy the needs of the City, so we wouldn’t have to go through this process.”
Grover and the park have been in the news before when he was late paying his water bill last year; he also questioned the City about, what he called, undrinkable, unsanitary drinking water. This time, he’s been called to the carpet because there is no emergency plan or storm shelter at the park.
The Veterans Memorial Center has been made available for Cedar Park residents, but only during regular business hours during the work week. The topic was addressed at a Tracy City Council meeting earlier this year, and it was determined that the only way the doors to the VMC could be opened after hours is if members of the police department were available to unlock it, which the City deemed to be doubtful when there is tornadic activity in the area.
“To deny my people access to that building is ridiculous,” Grover testified. “You’re putting people’s health at risk by doing that, because I don’t have 2 million dollars to build a storm shelter. If the City of Tracy was concerned about the residents why wasn’t a storm shelter built before? I’ve never been treated with such disrespect for trying to help people with lowincome housing. If (the City) is so concerned about the welfare of my people, why don’t the City of Tracy give me a key to the (VMC) gymnasium? I’ll open it up if there’s a severe storm. It’s a simple solution.”
SWHHS Environmental Manager Jason Kloos (left) and Cedar Lake Manufactured Home Park owner Mike Grover both testified at a hearing Tuesday to determine whether or not Grover’s license should be suspended. Photo / Per Peterson
City of Tracy Development Director Tom Dobson testified Tuesday that the city council was contacted by Kloos, asking that if Grover submitted a plan, would the council approve it.
“It’s tough to say whether we would approve it or not without anything being submitted,” Dobson said.
Dobson added that the VMC is not handicapaccessible, and that the doors automatically lock at 5 p.m. After that period of time, only one policeman would be on call, “and if this is a severe weather event where they are out watching for tornadoes, the council felt uncomfortable taking the responsibility that absolutely he would make it there to open the shelter in time.”
Guaranteeing the opening of the VMC after 5 p.m. and promising it would be a safe haven after hours would open up the City to liability.
SWHHS Attorney Bill Toulouse opened questioning Tuesday, directed at Kloos. The questions covered the recent history of SWHH’s efforts to correct the situation and uncover the circumstances of how the potential license suspension came about. SWHHS is designated by the State Department of Health to license and inspect lodging, including mobile home parks. State statutes give SWHHS the authority to not enforce rules set forth by Public Health but to revoke and suspend one’s license. The agency, Kloos said, has policies regarding the requirement to conduct routine followup inspections for re-occurring issues. Those regular inspections, Kloos said, noted a lack of compliance and lack of a permanent, on-site storm shelter building, per Minnesota Statute 327.20, which covers hotels, motels, resorts and manufactured homes.
“The main issue we had with Cedar Lane (during inspections) is the requirement for obtaining an approved severe weather plan; that order was initially issued on June 6 of 2023,” Kloos said. “We asked them to submit a severe weather plan to the municipality for approval. We have park owners revisit this issue every two years.”
Kloos said SWHHS sent a letter of noncompliance to Grover in June 6, 2025, which cited the two concerns; that letter was submitted to the SWHHS board as evidence. Kloos testified that he also had a face-to-face conversation with Grover about the issue. At that time, Kloos said Grover told him the City of Tracy had offered the option of using the VMC as part of the park’s safety plan. Kloos said Grover requested an extension by email on June 25, 2025.
“I did speak with City of Tracy officials and asked them if Mike Grover had submitted a plan for approval, and they replied that they had not received a plan,” said Kloos. “They stated that they couldn’t guarantee that the (VMC) would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so it appeared the city council was uncomfortable with approving that plan.”
Grover testified that the park hasn’t had a storm shelter in 55 years. He said the 1970 Conditional Use Permit he has says park residents can use the VMC. Toulouse said he has not seen a copy of the CUP; he said it’s his understanding that there isn’t one, or at least one that hasn’t been recorded. He added that even if there was a CUP, it would’ve override Minnesota Statute 327.20.
“They’re open — a public building — from 8 to 5, and my people are not allowed to go in the building after 5 p.m.,” Grover said. “That’s the way it stood for 55 years. There is an evacuation plan. I presented a new plan for severe weather to my residents, and everyone who moves into my park. Safety is the utmost concern — it’s the most important thing we can talk about, especially when we get kids involved.”
Grover’s new severe weather plan, he said, includes using local church basements, but as of Tuesday, he had not reached out to any Tracy churches.
SWHHS does not approve severe weather plans, it just requires mobile home parks have a plan approved by the municipality.
“We don’t have documentation (since 2019) that any plan was approved by the City of Tracy,” Kloos said.
Grover, who has run mobile home parks in Minnesota for 30 years, said he has never been sanctioned by the State of Minnesota.
“My reputation is unblemished in High Low Precip
Minnesota,” he said. “I bought this park with a partner back in 2019. Jason Kloos got involved last year with some controversy over some excessive water billing — I paid over $40,000 in water bills to the City of Tracy last year. It escalated to trying to shut off water to my residents without notice. It’s been a fiasco ever since. It’s been a long battle.”
Grover testified that he never had problems under his previous inspector.
“The excessive water billing is a way to squeeze me out of Tracy,” Grover said.
He added that he has nothing against building a shelter, but no State aid is currently available to help him do that.
“There’s no money available in 2025 — (they say), ‘Talk to us in December; we’ll re-route it for 2026 and see if we can put you on the list.’ I don’t have 2 million. I don’t see how you can make me retroactively go back 55 years and tell me I have to build a storm shelter.”
Tracy City Administrator Jeff Carpenter testified that the City has not seen the plans. Grover said the plan was submitted to the City in 2019 when he and his partner bought the park. An Aug. 22 letter to Grover from SWHHS indicated that SWHHS had not, at that time, received a City-approved evacuation plan.
The SWHHS Board did not make a final decision Tuesday on whether or not Groves’ license will be revoked or suspended. It was unclear whether or not that decision would be made this week.
