CONSTANTIA -- Oswego County has become a landlord.
The county recently took title to the Holly Park Mobile Home Park in the town of Constantia. The reason the county took ownership was because the former owner went bankrupt and owed $99-thousand dollars in back taxes. According to County Treasurer John Kruk, the county decided to manage the trailer park rather than force the eviction of a number of tenant.
Oswego County is in the process of collecting rent and spending money from the rent on minor improvements such as sewer modifications, garbage pickup and snow plowing.
The ownership is only temporary. The trailer park is scheduled to be auctioned off on March 12th. Kruk says "we're trying to get this auctioned off as quickly as possible." He hopes the sale will pay off the back taxes owed to the county.
Holly Park comprises 76 acres and offers 24 lots for mobile homes.
A number of residents are wary of the pending sale. Lorieann Atwood told CNY Central, she's afraid of becoming homeless after living in the park for 6 years. "I don't know where I'd go." she said.
Her neighbor Michael Wescott complained that the park has been "mismanaged and not maintained" since he moved there in 2009. The former owners could not be reached for comment.
