By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
"Been a long time coming!!" said Misty Livingston-Holmes, resident of the Sundowner West Meadows Mobile Home Park after learning the ownership of the water services has been turned over.
After five years of neglect causes a water crisis within the private mobile home park, residents of Sundowner are now rejoicing.
According to Saline County Commissioner, Joe Hay and Don Teeters of Redi Clean Water Well Rehab, the previous owner Scott Kolling who was "to blame" for the crisis, no longer has control.
Ownership has officially been handed over to Pleasant Hill water company.
Pleasant Hill was started by the water well companies servicing Sundowner (Well Rehab, WaterWise and Walton Plumbing & Heating), and was named after a street at the mobile home park.
The Pleasant Hill board of directors which consists of Teeters, Livingston-Holmes, Jenelle Summerow (WaterWise Enterprises), Scott Walton (Walton Plumbing & Heating) and Curt Bigge (Midwest Assistance Program) will make decisions and have oversight on the services.
"We wanted Kolling out of there," said Teeters.
The ultimate goal is for the ownership to be handed over to the residents of Sundowner. Teeters said this may take up to 12-18 months before that happens.
"We are working on it and it will take some time," he said.
Read more: Promising future for Sundowner Mobile Home Park during its ongoing clean water crisis
A lawsuit was filed against Kolling by the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity , which would allow them to grant the services that is needed by the public and is in the public interest.
KCC was able to successfully receive the Certificate of Convenience of Necessity and therefore, removed Kolling from having ownership.
The court also ordered Bigge to receive ownership, which allows Pleasant Hill as a whole to conduct the services.
Attorneys representing both sides of Kolling and the water well companies have each signed off on the court order of appointment.
Moreover, the Saline County Commission plans to put Sundowner under an improvement district, which will allow the residents to get the enhanced services they need.
However, the Pleasant Hill board of directors would need to make a petition and gather signatures from the residents of Sundowner in order for the improvement district to get started by the Commission.
The improvement district would then need to be approved by the KCC.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) would then conduct water testings and oversee any problems if any were to arise.
Before all this takes place, the water well companies, Saline County Commission, KDHE, KCC and Rep. Dawn Wolf (R-Kan. 107th District) will each meet with the residents to explain the process moving forward.
Each of the water well companies have still not received payments from Kolling on their past conducted services at Sundowner.
However, they have vowed to still provide services without pay for the sake of the residents.
"We are doing it for the people, because it is the right thing to do," said Teeters.
Stay connected with the Salina Post on this story, as we will continue to provide updates.