LV might bill Sky-Vue owners for closure costs

Sito Negron

Monday, June 14, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Council will consider submitting a $78,418 bill to David and Sandi DiMarco, owners of the Sky-Vue Mobile Park, to cover the city's closure of the crumbling mobile home court.

The item, on Wednesday's council agenda, is one of several issues left unresolved months after the city began investigating the park, which was closed April 30 when city officials determined the place was a threat to residents' health and safety because of leaking sewer lines, faulty electrical wiring and a lack of fire hydrants.

In addition to the bill -- which includes $28,000 for putting residents up at Budget Suites until they found new housing, $13,000 for moving services, almost $10,000 for security services to patrol the vacant Sky-Vue and $4,000 for sheltering pets that could not immediately be moved -- the city is demanding the DiMarcos fix the 100-space, four-acre park. The park now sits empty, surrounded by a chain link fence and wracked by vandalism.

"We'll be sending them a notice and order telling them to come up with an action plan on what they're doing with the property," Orlando Sanchez, the city's Neighborhood Services director, said. He said the owners were trying to sell the property, at 15 W. Owens Ave., and "what would be a win-win for the city is to get a responsible owner to rehabilitate it and bring it up to code as affordable housing."

The notice, to be sent next week, will give the owners 30 days to develop a plan, Sanchez said. "Let's see if they respond," he said.

John Hanks, a spokesman for the DiMarcos, did not have a comment Friday.

In addition to the city's action, the DiMarcos still face orders from the state and the Clark County Health District to fix Sky-Vue.

The health district, which has also fined David DiMarco $10,000 for illegally disposing of raw sewage in a trench at another of his mobile home parks, the College Inn at 4615 E. Lake Mead Blvd., has three cases pending with the DiMarcos.

In addition to Sky-Vue repair order and the College Inn, the health district has issued eight charges of health code violations stemming from the leaking sewage at Sky-Vue.

Health district lawyer Steve Minagil said the Sky-Vue sewage case is being finalized and has not been sent to the DiMarcos. He said the district was trying to have the case heard by a hearing officer on July 21.

Minagil said that the fines could be up to $5,000 each, at the discretion of the hearing officer, but that his agency was recommending $1,000 fines for each of the eight alleged violations.

"If there's a distinction between College Inn and Sky Vue in our mind, in College Inn they were digging trenches and intentionally disposing of sewage that way," Minagil said. "In Sky Vue, there were more violations, but it was more disrepair, failure to repair, neglect."

The state Division of Manufactured Housing, which has jurisdiction over the mobile homes while local authorities have jurisdiction over the parks, has ordered the DiMarcos not to move any of the trailers from Sky-Vue unless they are inspected first and not to rent out a number of trailers at College Inn and another of their parks, Trailer Vegas, at 3975 E. Lake Mead Blvd.

The county also has ordered repairs to wiring at Trailer Vegas and College Inn. In addition, it has ordered the DiMarcos to hire a licensed plumber to dig up and assess an illegally installed sewer pipe at College Inn.