Violations found in Hampden mobile home park inspection

HAMPDEN – Roommates Tracey Lee and Crystal Young keep their trailer home tidy – as tidy as you can with three children ages 3 months to 4 years – and say Crestwood Mobile Home Park owner David Luce has been quick to make repairs when needed.

That response may be put to the test after an inspection Thursday by town officials who found violations – from minor to more substantial – at just about every one of the approximately 18 homes they visited. The park contains about 30 homes. Some residents weren’t home while other trailers are privately owned and weren’t subject to the inspection.

A final report detailing the violations is expected next week and is likely to recommend that two deteriorating buildings be demolished as well as the removal of many unregistered cars that are strewn about the Route 2 mobile home park.

It’s not just cars that have been left by the wayside. Even with an extensive cleanup in recent days and weeks, furniture and appliances serve as lawn ornaments; a stove with two car tires on it sits near the steps of one home.

And a park official said a growing mound of furniture and trash is the result of tenants discarding them under cover of night because they can’t take the items to the town dump.

That pile is dwarfed by the clutter that Luce has amassed near his home in the far corner of the park. Bicycles, refuse, tires, three tractor-trailer cabs, automobiles and even a kitchen sink or two lay about.

The violations also included improper wiring in the homes and weakened floors and ceilings, according to Hampden Deputy Fire Chief Mike Andersen.

With two large trailers out front, junk cars and the bleak, sagging ruins of a wooden house nearby, the front of the park stands in stark contrast to the upscale homes in the neighborhood. It’s a fact that is not lost on some park residents who suspect that the town has other designs for the property.

“They just want the land so they can build some more of those pretty houses,” said one resident, who didn’t want to be identified.

“I think everything went as smooth as it could,” was Andersen’s overall assessment of the inspection.

There were some bumps that had to be smoothed over along the way.

Starting early on, the inspectors – police officials, a building inspector, code enforcement officer, a hired licensed electrician and a licensed plumber – had to overcome resistance and resentment from residents. Some of it was insurmountable, but in some cases, the easygoing disposition of the inspectors helped ease the situation.

The inspectors initially were refused entry to the first mobile home they visited, No. 2, by a woman bristling at what she said was the fifth inspection in a year, the most recent being in February when Luce received his delayed permit good until May 1, 2003.

It’s been a painful process, the woman said, concurring with Public Safety Director Joe Rogers’ assessment. Her Siberian husky-wolf-chow dog named Pooh stood guard on the steps.

The woman, who didn’t want to be identified, relented and Pooh, who turned out to be more bark than bite, retreated from his defensive stance.

At another trailer, the resident came to the door prepared with a video camera and also balked at letting the inspectors in.

Andersen was sympathetic, but knew he had a job to do.

“I understand it’s inconvenient,” Andersen told the camcorder-toting resident. “I wouldn’t want people walking into my home all the time.”

The resident eventually agreed to let in three of the small entourage of people outside.

Another half-dozen trailers will have to be revisited as the residents weren’t home and five are privately owned and but required to be inspected. The plumbing inspector also likely will return when he can have access underneath the trailers.