City council extends trailer court license

The Fairfield City Council extended Mickey Elston?s license for Horseshoe Court, formerly Ranch Trailer Park, through the end of the year.

?There?s no question that more progress has been made in the last two months than there has been in the last 4.5 years,? Mayor Ed Malloy said during Monday?s council meeting. ?I think everybody?s in agreement that more is desired to take place out there, but certainly a really good start has been made.?

Elston said the county treasurer found a law that enabled him to remove the abandoned trailers that had been a point of contention between the city and the park?s previous owners. He has removed 11.

?The only trailers that are going to remain there are owner-occupied, and that will be 15 as of today?s count,? Elston said. He has nine trailers left to remove.

City administrator Jeff Clawson said weeds at the mobile home park are still an issue. He presented the council with 22 pictures of 26 that still show weeds and debris.

Elston said some of the weeds have grown into gas, electric and water lines and cannot be removed until Alliant Energy assists with eliminating the hazard.

Councilman John Revolinski congratulated Elston on the progress thus far.

He was willing to grant Elston?s request, but said, ?Because of the history of the park ? I would like to see some kind of provision that allows us to at least monitor the progress through the next season.?

?The only history with that park, as far as I?m concerned, started July 1 [when I assumed ownership],? Elston said. ?I did not invest my money, my time, my effort, my marriage, my friends, my work to let it go after three months time.

?This is my retirement fund. The last thing you have to worry about is that I?m going to stop,? Elston said. He doesn?t believe continued oversight from the city is necessary.

Clawson said the park, however, has not yet been completely brought up to code.

?There are much less safety concerns now than there were two to three months ago, but there are still concerns,? he said. ?There are still abandoned trailers. There are still trailers with doors and windows gone. There are still all kinds of things that would be a danger to anyone that was around them.?

The council voted 6-1, with councilman Ron Adam opposed, to extend the license through Dec. 31.