HomeMy WebLinkAboutgr00090_000042_pg280September 27, 1976 Page 12
Councilmember Hodges stated that June and May are the worst times for
storms. He feels the cost should be bore by the home owner and not the
park owner. He would not mind tabling this to get more information.
Councilmember Baumgartner stated we should definitely table this. He
felt Mr. Haggerty brought up some interesting points, like the November 2
meeting and he would like to see what comes out of their meeting. Also,
since we are not in the storm season now we could table this until the
State acts on it. Councilmember Baumgartner stated he would certainly
consider Mr. Haggerty's comments.
Councilmember Rowley stated she felt the Council should table this. Mr.
Haggerty has some very good points. There were some residents from mobile
homes that also had some very good points and she would like to go back
and look at some of those arguments. Councilmember Rowley suggested that
this be tabled until after the November 2 meeting and the Council has a
chance to look at their recommendations.
Joe Casseopee from Grand Rapids Minnesota stated he represents one of the
tie down manufacturers from Stacy Minnesota. Many States have enacted laws
putting the burden on the home owner, which his company agrees with. The
cost could get up to $600 if everything was wrong with the home, but realis-
tically the cost would be $250 to $300 installed. Ideally, the time to put
in the ground support system is when the home is bought and can be added
into the total cost package. The engineering tests of the tie downs in
different types of soil is approved by engineering firms. State Farm
Insurance Company has done extensive tests to prove that tie downs work.
If you ask the home owner if they would like tie downs
during a storm, they would probably want them. He felt it would be
important for the Council to take on the responsibility of informing the
mobile home owners,through a seminar with representatives from the State
and insurance companies, as to what tie downs will and will not do. As
of November 1974 all homes coming into the State or manufactured in the
State must have an intricate system of tie downs but you will find that
not more than 25% of these homes actually tied down by the owners.
Mayor Pickar questioned the cost involved. Mr. Casseopee stated that if
the trailer already has the straps, the cost would be from $200 to $250,
if the home had no straps about $400 and the cost could get up to $600
with a poor blocking system.
Councilmember Shelquist asked what type of tie down system he represented.
Mr. Casseopee stated they distribute many types of tie downs. The majority
of the tie downs are the screw -auger type that can go into the ground and
the owner can take them out. Councilmember Shelquist questioned the
effectiveness of this type. Mr. Casseopee stated there is an average of
17 tornadoes which go through the State per year and tie downs will not
protect against a direct tornado, but on each side of the tornado there
are strong winds. The total cost for the tie down system is about one
third for the straps, one third for the tie downs and one third for the
installation.
Councilmember Shelquist stated the Council spent many hours because of the
last storm and a lot of City expenditures to rectify damage from the storm.
There also was a threat of a law suit from the Health Department to clean
it up. Councilmember Shelquist stated he did not want to see this thing