Wiscasset resident after Wiscasset resident Aug. 25 described rent hikes in the hundreds of percent at mobile home parks. Some said they had no other option for a home and would have to leave and have none if their rent goes higher.

One woman called for common sense protections from predatory rent hikes, and said park residents do not have the luxury of waiting any longer. One man said he is on disability and so are a lot of others; he gets $994 a month, and his rent is $650, he said. When his wife was alive, she covered the lights and some other bills, and he paid the rent and the rest. Now it's all on him. It's really hard, and he can't afford further rent hikes, he said.

It's horrible to always have in the back in your mind the rent could go up another $100, another man said. 

Before hearing from the residents, selectmen voiced interest in exploring a mobile home rent stabilization ordinance that park owners and lot renters could follow, that would not attract legal challenges, and that town staff would have time to manage. The selectboard was looking at a model ordinance Maine Labor Climate Council (MLCC) sent the town. Town Manager Dennis Simmons had not had town counsel look at it, because that costs $250 an hour and he did not yet know the board's wishes.

According to the discussion, such ordinances have resulted in legal challenges in some Maine cities, but not in towns on Wiscasset's scale, where, Simmons said, the ordinances have been generally successful. 

Chair Alissa Eason wondered if the would-be ordinance was, in Wiscasset's case,  a solution looking for a problem.

And Selectman Sarah Whitfield recalled times an out-of-town group has floated something it turned out the town didn't need. Breaking from the board's usual format for workshops, selectmen, at Simmons' recommendation, said they wanted to hear from the residents who turned out.

Park residents and Alna's John Cabral III thanked the board for that. Cabral has become involved with MLCC's efforts with mobile home park rent ordinances. He said 45 residents of Wiscasset mobile home parks had been going to come to that night's workshop, but he asked that fewer attend, to avoid "bombarding" the board.

"These residents reached out to us ... because they heard we were helping people in other communities. The prerogative here is not to battle people ... There's only so much affordable housing left in the state of Maine. If we ignore the tenants in mobile home parks, what other form of affordable housing is there," he asked.

Wiscasset's Sheila Sawyer spoke from what she called "the other side of the spectrum." For years, Sawyer owned an area mobile home park. She told selectmen, the rent hikes aired that night "are exorbitantly high." But she asked the board to please also consider park owners' burdens. She recalled spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on infrastructure, even though she and husband David, a plummer, did a lot of the work themselves. 

"I sympathize with all these folks ... But people also have to understand that the expenses with running a park can be huge ...," Sawyer said. "And to me it's kind of sad, to pick out one (part) of the rental market ... and tell them that they've got to stabilize (the rent) so they won't make much money ... They've invested the money in the property. So I just feel, it all has to be considered."

Wiscasset's Ed Polewarczyk said the mobile home park residents have a very real problem, one he tried and failed to help with when he was in the Legislature. But he said the model ordinance from MLCC is a nightmare, where the town would be deciding what a decent rate of return is for a business. "I'm not sure that Wiscasset should be a part of that."

After public comment, selectmen still wanted to explore an ordinance, plus they eyed asking voters in November to set a moratorium, or 180-day ban, on hikes of more than 3%.

Whitfield thanked the park residents. She added, "I'm sorry it came to a point where you had to come. I think (this) certainly needs to be addressed."

A draft moratorium in the board's Sept. 1 meeting packet, released Aug. 27, stated recent years' hikes exceed many lot renters' means. "Many Mobile Home Park lot renters do not have the means or ability to move the mobile homes they own to alternate locations, causing a reduction in both bargaining power and ability to avoid the impact of rent increases.

"Residents, especially senior residents, of mobile home parks are uniquely vulnerable to displacement when large rent increases occur, and large rent increases create undue hardship for residents through additional relocation costs, stress, anxiety, and the threat of homelessness due to the lack of alternative affordable housing; and (with) such lot rental increases, some lot renters may be evicted and become homeless," the draft stated.

This would be the second proposed moratorium on Wiscasset's November ballot; the board in the workshop was good with a redraft of the proposed data center moratorium. Participants said each moratorium would give the town time to study the topic and draft rules to offer voters. Anything going on the November ballot would need board approval Sept. 1, Simmons has said. 

The renters who spoke Aug. 25 live at Whippoorwill and Maplewood Hill mobile home parks, both on Gardiner Road. No one spoke for either park. Wiscasset Newspaper reached connections for each. Attorney Michael Harman of Russell Johnson Beaupain in Bangor spoke for Whippoorwill's management company, Maine Real Estate Management.

Harman told Wiscasset Newspaper, "Capping rental fees ignores economic reality, which drives more deferred maintenance and reduces funds available for adding new features and services. As a park ages and deteriorates, capped rental fees sharply reduce the desirability of a park to potential buyers thereby ultimately reducing the stock of available housing as parks simply close at the end of their economic viability. The bottom line is, fundamental economic realities drive the cost of rents in any given area at any given time."

Harman said purchase price, maintenance and repairs, skyrocketing interest rates, insurance premiums and inflation drive costs. "Only after the landlords, tenants, legislatures, city councils, lenders, and everyone else with a stake in the affordable housing crisis recognize all those factors can any thoughtful discussions about solutions occur."

Maple Hill ownership said maintenance needs have driven rent hikes there; that Maine protects park tenants by letting them request mediation for hikes greater than 1% more than the consumer price index; and that, as a 30-unit park, Maplewood Hill lacks bigger ones' economy of scale and must save up for big projects.

Look for results of the Sept. 1 meeting at wiscassetnewspaper.com and in the Sept. 10 print edition.