Williamstown Rent Control Board Ends Spruces Hearing / Williamstown.com

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Williamstown Rent Control Board Ends Spruces Hearing

By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
11:48PM / Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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Jeffrey Kennedy and Edward Rondeau were the last witnesses to testify in front of the Mobile Home Rent Control Board regarding a rent increase at the Spruces Mobile Home Park.

Debate over a rent increase at Spruces Mobile Home Park finally came to a conclusion Wednesday and a decision will be rendered in the next month.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mobile Home Rent Control Board will reach a decision in the next 30 days on Morgan Management's request to raise rent in the Spruces Mobile Home Park by more than $100.

The board concluded its hearing Wednesday and will review the evidence before releasing a written decision. The board accepted revised expense numbers from Robert Kraus, the attorney for Morgan Management, and is requesting a response from attorney Robert Fuster, who represents the tenants, before rendering a final decision.

"We are going to allow attorney Fuster and the tenants association to submit the request and then we will wait for attorney Kraus to review the written statements. We will then take in consideration all that we've heard hear and all the months we've been here and we will come to a decision," Mobile Home Rent Control Board Chairman Jack Nogueira said in conclusion.

"The decision we make can be questioned by both sides. So, we are not free and we may be back here again. We are going to take our time and put everything we have in our hearts forward to make the right decision."

The board allowed Wednesday both attorneys to question Health Inspector Jeffrey Kennedy and Edward Rondeau, water and sewer superintendent, and heard final statements. Both Kennedy and Rondeau were subpoenaed to be at the meeting by Morgan Management using a state law that took the board by surprise.

Kraus attempted to show through questions and statements that the company had not performed a $468,000 water-line replacement because it was ordered to, but rather because it was already planning to fix the system when the line broke. In 2002, the company agreed to not hike the rent until the improvements were completed, but that agreement is disputed.

Kraus claimed the company was living up to an agreement and was still in the planning stages of improving the water line when it broke in 2008. At that point, park management continued its project and just repaired what needed to be fixed. According to Kraus, It then improved the lines assuming it could be reimbursed with a rent increase. The government order to fix the lines was only a stepping stone to hasten the improvement because of the break.

"The perception is always that Morgan Management is a big company and we can afford to take losses. I beg to differ. We're not a company like General Motors that can lay off people or close factories. We maintain this building and this community so that you have a place to live," Kraus concluded. "We're asking for rent and capital expenses that you wanted, that the residents voted on and the board agreed to. We regret that it did not happen earlier but we started to take steps when that agreement was done."

On the other side, Fuster argued that the management had lagged behind in its improvement project and only finished it because it was in code violations and the break forced them to. Kennedy said plans for the upgrade were not extended by the company when the the previous order expired.

"We don't believe the water line should be considered. It wasn't a capital improvement," Fuster said. "I think it is pretty clear this was still an ordered violation. They may had plans to do the work and the plans were progressing for numerous years but the work did not commence, was not complete, until there was a complete catastrophic failure."

"I don't think anyone is disputing that water line work needed to be done but the issue is that it wasn't done," Fuster said.

Fuster also said the company had not followed proper procedure and the request for the rate increase should be dismissed outright. The company did not file the correct paperwork and continues to amend what it did submit, he said.

Kennedy testified that he was aware of the previous plans and said he signed off on an order. Kennedy said he had a good working relationship with the park's management and the replacement when the line broke was the upgraded line they had discussed previously.

"We knew the violations and we had to make a permanent repair for the violations because the temporary repairs, although approved by the Board of Health, were not permanent. A plan was established for the permanent repairs and in order to perform the work, to affect those repairs or placements, a government agent had to order the work to be done and to proceed," Kennedy said.

Rondeau said he oversaw the replacement and that the management provided all information he requested. He also said the work was done without the necessary permits but he did not serve a cease-and-desist order.

Morgan Management had attempted to submit boxes of evidence supporting its arguments in January but was rejected by the board. The company's appeal to Superior Court to force the Rent Control Board to accept the evidence was rejected by Judge John Agostini on Tuesday.

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