Residents will use Tracy Church of Christ as shelter during bad weather
Cedar Lane residents continue to find themselves between a rock and a non-existent hard place.
But at least now they have a plan — one that they put together themselves to help ensure their safety during inclement weather.
Two spokespeople from Tracy’s mobile home park attended the Tracy City Council meeting on Monday to present their evacuation plan in case of severe weather, essentially buying time for mobile home park owner Mike Grover to meet with the City and prove that he will move forward with building a shelter to ensure the safety of his tenants.
Grover, who was not present at Monday’s meeting, was brought in front of the Southwest Heath and Human Services Board earlier this year for lack of an evacuation plan and not having a storm shelter in place. He was given 60 days at that time to offer up a plan to be approved by the council — that timeline is set to expire Nov. 23, or his license to operate the park could be suspended or revoked.
Grover’s absence Monday was called into question, as the council voiced its concern over his lack of representation for his park and its residents.
“My concern is, where’s our trailer park owner?” council member Jan Arvizu said.
Cedar Lane resident Jamie Jones told the council that Grover had been made aware of the evacuation plan that was presented Monday, but that did little to assuage the council’s angst.
“All the credit to you guys for coming up with this plan, because you want your place to stay open … but it’s very concerning that the owner doesn’t take the responsibility to be here to fight for his residents and his property,” council member Jeri Schons said. “That concerns me more than anything.”
Arvizu said she would like to proceed with a one-year extension on the timeline for a shelter plan. Schons said it’s not the council’s responsibility to devise a shelter plan; that rests on Grover’s shoulders.
“He needs to do the legwork — all the work to get this in place and bring us the plan,” said Schons. “If this is important enough to him to have a license to continue to operate the mobile park, he needs to show he cares, and he needs to be here.”
According to the plan presented to the council this week, Cedar Lane residents will be able to use the Tracy Church of Christ (109 Rowland St.) as a safe haven during a bad storm. The church sent a letter to the council, agreeing to house residents during these times. The church is unlocked, and the agreement will be in effect until other arrangements are made for the residents.
The council ultimately approved the evacuation plan, but tabled the discussion on the shelter until its Nov. 10 meeting, at which time it will review a resolution requiring Grover meet with the City, review any grant opportunity and/or present his plan to meet the requirements of a shelter.
At that point, the clock will start ticking on when Grover needs to prove he will build a shelter.
Back in May, the council deemed that the VMC was not to be designated as a safe haven because it is not handicappedaccessible, nor could the City ensure that the doors would be open 24/7, especially during a bad storm.
The last council-approved plan came in 2017, and SWHHS’s policy is that the City review plans every two years.
Tracy City Administrator Jeff Carpenter met with the two park spokespeople last week.
“We’re actively collaborating on a plan to build a permanent shelter on the property,” said Jones, who attended the meeting and served as spokespeople for the park with William Taylor, Cedar Lane’s caretaker and maintenance person.
When asked, Jone added that the plan does not include any kind of timeline as to when the shelter will be built.
“My fear is that we keep kicking this down the road and nothing ever gets done,” council member George Landuyt said. “We do not want to put any financial burden (on the residents) for this, but I want to protect the people living there. Seventh-tenths of a mile away is not far, but it’s a long way if you’re walking.”
Jones said all residents were given the plan and agreed it was satisfactory. She believes all those inhabiting the park have their own transportation.
According to Minnesota Statute 327.20, a manufactured home park with 10 or more homes and licensed prior to March 1, 1988, needs to provide a safe place of shelter for park residents or a plan for the evacuation of residents to a safe place of shelter within a reasonable distance from the park in times of severe weather, including tornadoes and high winds. The plan or shelter must be approved by the municipality in which the mobile home park resides.
Jason Kloss of SWHHS said the plan presented Monday does meet the requirements of the statute as long as the City approves it. City Attorney Matthew Gross said the City carries no liability, even if it approves the evacuation plan.
“You’re just approving the plan,” Gross said. “The determinations you’re making is, is this a safe place of shelter and is it within a reasonable distance from the (mobile home) park. You’re not liable should something go wrong — if people are injured getting to that place. The church is liable for the condition of the place.”
One of the issues brought up at Monday’s meeting was how long would the City give Grover to comply and prove that he is moving forward with shelter plans. Council member Dave Tiegs asked Jones what the odds are to have a shelter built if Grover is granted a one-year extension.
“Pretty good — we’re basically lighting a fire under his butt to get this done,” Jones said, “because it’s not fair to any of us, or their children.”
Landuyt said he would be in favor of granting Grover a one-year or six-month grace period, provided there is a more solid plan offered by Grover. Schons offered up the idea of giving Grover six months to come up with a plan for a grant.
If Grover wanted to use a grant to help pay for a shelter, he would have to work directly with the City for support; the tenants cannot be a part of the grantwriting process, Tracy Community Development Director Tom Dobson said.
“He has to cooperate,” Dobson said. “In most cases, those grants aren’t 100% — many times, there is a cost share to that. I would be more than happy to work with (Grover). For most grants, it’s about a year process — you begin doing the application, submit it, they review it, they determine who will be the winner of the grant. Even after you have won the grant, it could be another three to five months before any of that money is available.”
Council member Seth Schmidt questioned the need to open up a sixmonth window, saying that is too long for residents to have to wait for progress.
“I think that in 30 days, the owner needs to come up with a plan and start working with City officials to get the ball rolling,” Schmidt said. “Six months? There’s got to be some urgency here to get something done! We want you to have a safe place to live, and we want you to continue to live in Tracy.”
In other news from Monday …
• The council set a date for a tour of the new airport hangar. The council will open its Nov. 10 meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the hangar.
• The council accepted a $2,500 donation from the Tracy Eagles Club to be used for Central Park upgrades.
• The council agreed to a reduction of $540 for rent of the FFA Crop Lot in 2026; the agreed upon amount of $2,340 will resume in 2027. The agreement indicated the farmed land is tillable 16 acres, when in fact it is now only for 13.1 acres, resulting in the FFA paying too much in rent.
