Trailer park owners face fines

Sito Negron

Friday, April 16, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Sky-Vue Mobile Park has been without a business license since October, and its operators are being fined by Las Vegas for each day the park operates illegally, starting Tuesday, business licensing manager Jim Difiore said.

The operators -- Sandi and David Dimarco -- face fines of up to $1,000 for each day of operation and up to six months in jail. They can appeal the citations to a municipal court, which would set the penalty, Difiore said.

The Dimarcos, owners of at least two other trailer parks outside the city limits, were not available for comment Thursday.

They have said that they are trying to fix the problems at the park, which they blamed on former managers. They also have said they didn't know the full extent of the disrepair, which they said is being exaggerated.

The Clark County Health District, Las Vegas Neighborhood Services, and state Division of Manufactured Housing inspectors have found leaking sewer and water lines, faulty electrical wiring, holes in floors and walls, and broken windows.

The Dimarcos have been involved in running the park since 2002, when a corporation owned by David Dimarco's father bought it and, although ownership is unclear because it has shifted several times since then, city officials consider them responsible for the park.

The Sky-Vue Mobile Park is in such bad shape that state, county and Las Vegas health and safety workers have issued immediate repair orders and moved some residents out until the work is completed.

Those residents have been staying at Budget Suites on vouchers supplied by Clark County Social Services that were secured by the city.

Las Vegas Neighborhood Services Director Orlando Sanchez said he will ask the council on Wednesday to consider an emergency $40,000 expenditure to pay the county back.

Sanchez said that 42 households have left Sky-Vue for Budget Suites since last Friday, when the city went to the park and told residents they had a choice to leave while repairs were under way.

Tuesday, when Municipal Judge Bert Brown extended the Clark County Health District order that requires immediate repairs to leaking sewage lines and water pipes, holes in walls and floors, broken windows and other conditions, he told the city that it had to make sure residents either were not displaced or had a place to go.

He said that the city could come back later and argue in court that the Dimarcos should be responsible for the cost. A court hearing in which he will assess the progress toward fixing up the park is set for May 4.

The Sky-Vue does not have a business license because the Dimarcos failed to install fire hydrants and make other fire safety improvements ordered by the city. They had received temporary, six-month licenses since 2002, and the last temporary license expired in October.

Councilman Lawrence Weekly, whose Ward 5 includes Sky-Vue, said the city has the option of sending the Dimarcos to court, "or we can bring them before council. I'd like to bring them to council so the Dimarcos can say what they're doing. And in the interim, we can help them if possible. We have to make a decision what's in the best interest of the residents."

He said the situation is so complicated, because of the ownership issues, the condition of the park, and the number of city, county and state departments involved, that it will take some time to sort out.

As that process moves along, Weekly said, he wants to make sure "the people who really need the help are being taken care of ... we're going to see it all the way through."

Mayor Oscar Goodman, during his Thursday press conference, alluded to the problem. Although a number of inspectors from different jurisdictions -- the state, county and city -- had been to the park, nobody was able to connect the different reports to find what now is a neighborhood in severe disrepair.

"Everybody should have been a little more attuned to what was happening out there before it got to this point," Goodman said.

When asked whether he thought this may be only one example of what may be endemic substandard housing in the area, Goodman said, "I hope not. I would hope the city and (Clark County) Health District are looking around now that they've learned a lesson as to what can happen so that it won't happen again."

He said there was no specific program under way to identify and target places that may be in a similar condition as the Sky-Vue.

In an interview earlier this week, Weekly said the response from valley residents to the story of Sky-Vue has been overwhelming.

"People do care, they really do care. It's just a matter of education and people needing to know," Weekly said. "I got so many phone calls from people (offering help)."