Its a very sad looking place – Sault Star

Carl Falls genuinely feels for former and current River Valley Trailer Park residents.

However, the Aweres Township Local Services Board chairman says he fears his hands are tied in terms of offering help to those who have fled and, perhaps most importantly, to those who have opted to stay.

The Aweres park, north of Sault Ste. Marie, was officially ordered closed late last year chiefly due to a failed septic system. Falls said hes aware of at least six families that have stayed put and toughed it out last winter, powering their mobile homes with generators as electricity is no longer supplied to the site. Wood stoves are often used to provide heat.

Its a heart-wrenching story to begin with, Falls told The Sault Star in a recent interview. You have to remember those are real peoples lives that were destroyed there. I know people who have lived there and thats their home and was their home for many years.

Unfortunately, as a local services board, there is nothing we could do other than just stay in touch.

Which is something he and other officials, including Aweres Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Hiiemaa, have been doing for more than a year, occasionally driving through the park and speaking to residents. Fire services are maintained.

Were mandated for anything we can access, Falls said. Even if they didnt have their roads plowed, we would take our Argo back and throw a pump in the river. We are going to answer the calls because we are mandated to, even if the taxes werent being paid. Were there to protect life and limb. And if somebody ever demised in a trailer fire there and we didnt show up We just said, We dont care about the fees or anything. Were just going to answer the call.

Hiiemaa readily agrees.

We help whoever we can when we can, he told The Sault Star. We dont get into the politics part of it. So, if anyone needs help, we do whatever we can.

Along with the promise of fire protection the department has received no serious calls since the Oct. 30, 2018 park closure assistance also includes counsel relating to fire safety.

As a fire prevention thing, we try to make sure they know what they should be doing, Hiiemaa said. They spent one winter there already pretty rugged individuals.

Falls said Local Services Boards essentially have four mandates: 911 service, fire department service, recycling and library service.

Because Aweres is unorganized, forest fires are covered by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and sanitation is also looked after by the province.

Everybody kind of has a role here, he said.

River Valley Trailer Park is eerily quiet during a late morning earlier this week. The elements have taken their toll on abandoned trailers, with some already beginning to collapse. The road throughout the park is plowed in some places, while other sections dont appear to have been cleared since a previous snowfall. Tire tracks are deep in one unplowed stretch.

Smoke rises from chimneys of the few occupied trailers and the only sound throughout the park this day seems to be the low humming produced by generators. Knocks on doors of apparently occupied trailers mostly go unanswered, but one young woman, a resident at the park for the past two years, agrees to speak only on condition ofanonymity.

Life there has been very rough said the woman, who lives alone.

She had shared the residence with an elderly relative until health concerns became too much.

We were snowed in last year, and my nannys sugar went up really high and we were scared we werent going to be able to get her out if something happened, said the woman, breaking down in tears.

She said attempts since last summer to find alternate housing have been frustrating.

Its so hard to even just find a place, she said, but added she believes something positive may be on the horizon.

She didnt provide details about possible new digs, but said shes very disappointed officials didnt step in to assist residents when the situation began to go south.

The government didnt help, she said. Im living without water. Im living without normal power. I have to use a generator. Its stressful. Im up sometimes all night trying to get it to stay going because I need to be able to eat.

A wood stove provides heat, but fuel can be expensive, up to $100 per cord, the resident said.

Its absolutely ridiculous, she said, adding when wood is low, she gathers fallen tree branches from the woods.

Sometimes it gets so cold and I dont have any wood, she said.

It can cost up to $30 a day for gas to run the generator and she pays someone to bring her fuel.

The park is a mess, she said. Its hard to have company you cant do anything.

A faint smile crosses her face as her dog barks from inside the trailer.

Thats the one thing that does keep me going, she said.

Indeed, life at River Valley Trailer Park has been sour for some time.

A July 21, 2018 Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks notice advised residents to remove their belongings from the park by the closure date after its owners opted not to replace the aging, failed septic system that officials concluded posed a health risk to residents. The letter notes ownership is not able to run the operation due to a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care closure order.

Then, on July 25 of that year, MECP advised River Valley Trailer Park its application for sewage works would be considered withdrawn, and the file closed, if additional information was not received by Aug. 10. River Valley Park submitted an application for a new sewage system to MECP the previous October, but the file wasnt processed because the ministry needed more detail from the owners. Financial assurance was also required in case of bankruptcy or closure.

Algoma Public Health also started legal action against River Valley Trailer Park, with documents exchanged on June 27, 2018.

Prior to the closure, APH inspectors continued to visit the park about once a week, the unit confirmed.

Contending with park waste, of all sorts, naturally poses challenges.

Residents, Falls said, may take garbage to the dump or have it picked up by a private contractor.

As for personal sanitation, Falls said he did not poke my nose into that one.

Thats the other question , he said, adding that concern is the domain of other authorities, such as APH.

They have the officers with the badge, he said. I carry no badge and I dont carry any authority.

Algoma Public Health confirmed to The Sault Star that following a lengthy period of time and in the absence of repairs, it ordered the closure of River Valley due to health risks to residents from a malfunctioning sewage system and environmental contamination.

At this time, APH is satisfied that the health hazard to the general public has been mitigated and will continue to monitor and respond if new public health concerns arise, the unit wrote in an email.

Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha has kept an eye on the River Valley situation for some time.

He confirmed six families have chosen to stay in the park with generators and some type of outhouse accommodation.

Its unfortunate what (has) happened there, Mantha said in a recent interview with The Sault Star. I thought there was a possibility to get something done. However, there was the finances, securing the finances for the landlord was very challenging.

The MPP said he had earlier communications with the park owners, but contact has since dried up.

The park owner has seemed to have walked away from the park, Mantha said.

An emailed request for comment to River Valley Park was not returned. A contact phone number is no longer in service.

The park resident, who described the owners as immigrants, doesnt place full blame on them.

They became Canadian citizens, which is awesome, she said. (But) they let the park get to this point and our government didnt do anything.

Mantha said he has followed up with APH and MECP, which have no concerns with what is there onsite or what is being done.

APH has been to the site, said Mantha, who was told there are no public hazards or concerns.

There was no evidence of public safety concerns over the course of the summer, he added. If there are issues, if there are further complaints the come, (APH) would be going back and inspecting the park.

Those still occupying the site are, essentially, on their own, paying no rent, the MPP said.

Theyre just kind of there, said Mantha, adding responsibility for the mess must ultimately fall on the shoulders of trailer park owners.

There was a failure of the owner to secure the financial needs in order to make the appropriate investments to bring the sewer system (up to code), he said. When you buy it, you buy it with all the liabilities that come with it.

Winter access to the park is now a chief concern.

Those individuals are staying in their homes and thats their homes, Mantha said. Thats their investment and theyre doing what they need to do to get by.

Mantha said he understands both MECP and APH filed charges against the owner and, for whatever reason, the latter withdrew charges. Mantha said the APH explanation he received basically said having both agencies file charges was kind of a doubt jeopardy. The MPP said he awaits a more thorough legal explanation.

I have not seen that documentation, Mantha said.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks confirmed to The Sault Star that on Aug. 24, 2018, River Valley Park Inc. was convicted of one offence under the Environmental Protection Act and was fined $60,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $15,000, and was given one year to pay. On the same date River Valley Park Inc. was also convicted of two offences under the Ontario Water Resources Act and was fined $5,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $1,250 and was given one year to pay. Also, on Aug. 24 of that year, Harjeet Singh Dusanjh, formerly a director of the company, was convicted of two offences under the Ontario Resources Water Act.

APH told The Sault Star its case against the park was, indeed, withdrawn acknowledging successful conviction and fine by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

MECP says it is aware that some people are staying at the site.

To be clear, the ministry has no authority to deal with persons living without permission at the park, ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler told the Sault Star.

The province says it no longer monitors the site becausethe owner closed the park and all park services, including the large septic sewage system, no longer in operation.

The ministrys role and involvement was related to concerns about the sewage systems that were not properly approved on the property, Wheeler said. As that system is no longer operating and there is no off-site environmental impact, the ministry is no longer involved.

Meanwhile, many River Valley Trailer Park residents merely abandoned their units, most of which were 40 to 50 years old.

They couldnt move them, Falls said. And when they tried to move them, they broke them.

I know people who just walked away. They locked their door, walked away and when they came back, the place had been broken into and anything that was there that was any good was gone.

Its a very sad looking place.

And very bleak this Christmas for those toughing it out.

Christmas is coming and I cant even have a Christmas, the resident said. I cant do anything .. I cant bake. I love baking. I love doing everything like that. It sucks. I cant have a normal life.

jougler@postmedia.com

On Twitter:@JeffreyOugler

Link:

Its a very sad looking place - Sault Star