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10/08/96 10:12 x$612 483 0484 OPT INC Statement from Homeowners living near the proposed Thunder Bay group home We are homeowners who live in close proximity to the Thunder Bay Road group home that is scheduled to open October 15, 1996. We have come here this evening to express our questions and concerns pertaining to the establishment of this group home. Many of our questions arise simply due to a general lack of information from the people involved with establishing the group home. We first found out about the planned group home only two weeks before it was scheduled to open. As neighbors planned a block party, they discovered by pure accident that the home was purchased by the A.M.E. Corporation. The person the neighbors spoke to at the home was Elaine Buechner, a supervisor for the group home. She stated that the home would be a group hone for four adults with Prader -Willi syndrome. She also mentioned that some of the clients had gone from door to door introducing themselves to neighbors. Many neighbors did not understand what was going on and were confused by the visit. Upon further investigation, the City of little Canada informed us that even the City was not aware of the group home project until they were informed of it by the homeowners! Is it typical to set up a neighborhood group home environment while keeping the surrounding neighbors uninformed as long as possible? Why wasn't more early information regarding the group home given out to the surrounding residents? At the very least, it gives the existing residents an uneasy feeling about the entire professional structure of the group home program. We do not have anything against the people in the group home as individuals. However, we do have concerns about the group home program in the following areas: The re- salability of our homes The safety of our small children The upkeep of the property Our Concerns in detail: We are concerned about how this neighborhood group home will affect the re- salability of our current homes. Although A.M.E. claims having a group home located next door does not affect the actual value of our hones, our concern is that a prospective buyer will not want to pay for that value when finding out that a group horn is located close by. Several realtors have told us that having a group home nearby can have a dramatic negative affect on the ability to sell e.given property. We were told of the possible difficulty in selling a home to a prospective buyer who has small children when a group home is located next door and that we as the sellers, must disclose the fact that a group home exists near the property! Failure to disclose this information to a prospective buyer could result in a lawsuit against the current homeowner. As homeowners, we may not receive full value of our homes because of the close proximity of the group home and be forced to sell at a lower price. This is an overwhelming concern. Page 4 IJ002