In a recent meeting held on Wednesday, April 24th, the Pittsfield Mobile Home Rent Control Board reconvened to address the contentious issue of proposed rent increases at Lake Onota Mobile Home Village. This follows a prior meeting in March, with the Board requested MH Communities to revise their proposal, specifically aiming to lower their originally proposed 13% rate-of-return to 7%.
Rick Baldwin, co-owner, outlined the rationale behind the proposed rent hikes for the 131 units under discussion. “The purpose of our request now for a rent increase is not only that we haven’t had a rent increase in 12 years, but the main reason for our request is that our current expenses along with a fair market rate of return show that the fair market rent is higher than what we’re charging.”
However, the meeting was not without its share of resident concerns. Kevin Brazee, who spoke on behalf of his daughter, a resident at Lake Onota Village, voiced worries regarding issues such as waste management, noisy disturbances, and the overall living environment within the park. “My daughter, today I went to put her garbage out. She puts one bag out. The thing was full, garbage all over the ground. Paper towels, everything just scattered everywhere. Plus the noise. Neighbor runs his Jeep early in the morning for at least an hour. We had talked to George about it to go talk to him. Nobody’s talked to the kid, they’re still doing now. They got a motorcycle out there, and he sits there rubbing his motorcycle up. Isn’t it kind of a noise pollution on Sundays and different things? I mean, it’s just a lot of things that are going on that just don’t seem right.”
A pivotal aspect in the Board’s decision making process was the issue of outstanding debts. Board member Kenneth Ferris questioned Mr. Baldwin on this matter during the proceedings:
Board Member Ferris: “Going back to the bad debt. That’s not money that the property owners have taken out of their pocket. That’s just a tax write off.”
Mr. Baldwin: “No.”
Board Member Ferris: “You didn’t spend that money.”
Mr. Baldwin: “No, we did not spend that money.”
Board Member Ferris: “I just want to make sure it didn’t come out of your pocket. All the other expenses came out of your pocket.”
Subsequently, during deliberations, the Board reached an agreement on the necessity of clearing the outstanding debts and agreed to a 7% rate-of-return for the upcoming year. Speaking to the Board, Member Ferris said “I think that 7% I could support. However, the application as is drafted the miscellaneous expenses that the bad debt. I don’t think that should be in there. I’d have to see the bad debt removed. And probably at that point, I think that the application is in a form that that would be acceptable to me.” Continuing the discussion, City Councilor and Board Member Alisa Costa said “I tend to agree on the bad debt that that’s a loss. It’s not an expense.”
Following a brief recess to determine the course of action, MH Communities opted to amend their application in accordance with the Board’s stipulations rather than proceed with the original proposal. This led to a mutually agreeable resolution between MH Communities and the Board, a decision formally presented by attorney Jeffrey Scrimo who revealed the revised figures. “If we take out the bad debit, we would ask for 7%, which would be $30 per month. So we are reproposing that as the rent increase.”
Responding to a question about future increases, Councilor Costa responded “they’re able to come back next year or the year after and request an increase again.” In the end, the Board voted unanimously to accept the revised rent increase proposal set by MH Communities of $30 per month for the next year.
