Aldermen debate fate of city-owned trailer park

Residents of a city-owned trailer park with failing water and sewer lineswill have to wait until the fall to learn if they will need to move.

The 40-year-old Midfield Mobile Home Park in northeast Calgary needs millions of dollars worth of repairs.

The city has come up with six suggestions on what to do with the park, ranging from doing the repairs to closing the park.

City engineers say repairing the pipes under the park would cost nearly $6 million. Completely replacing them and repairing the roads would cost up to $10 million and mean temporarily moving the 183 trailers and all the residents.

Alternately, the city could sell the 17 acres, which would likely mean closing the park. The land is valued at around $17 million. However, a house on a single lot not far away on the same ridge is listed for sale at $1.2 million.

A city hall committee decided Tuesday it needs more information and legal opinions before it can decide what to do with the park.

Residents facing uncertainty

Many of the residents have lived at the park for 40 years and are seniors on a fixed income.

They say they'd prefer to stay and see the city continue to maintain ownership and fix up the infrastructure. Residents have also set up a co-op so they can buy the property.

Mary Nassey said her neighbours tell her they aren't sleeping well since they heard about the park, and she thinks the uncertainty is hurting their health.

"One lady has gone from walking her pets very slowly to being in a walker. This is not good."

Alderman Ric McIver said it's unwise to lose 183 trailer home spaceswhen Calgary is facing a shortage of affordable housing.

The matter is to return to council by the end of October.

The trailer park was built on leased city land in 1968 and turned over completely to the city in 1973.