Approximately 30 residential homes in Briarwood Estates on Hoham Drive in Plymouth ended up with no water on Tuesday.
According to Plymouth City Attorney Sean Surrisi the Phoenix based management company Lendterra Inc. requested to have the water service shut off in the development Monday afternoon. Surrisi said, “In response to that request, the Water Department shut off the service this, Tuesday morning.”
The Briarwood development only has one master water meter and then privately owned water lines on the other side of the meter serving the individual homes. Consequently, the City has one customer, the management entity, and only sends one monthly bill. The management entity assesses the homeowners who are all members of a condominium owners association a monthly fee to cover utilities and other property expenses.
Surrisi said he spoke with several residents today who were frustrated and learned that the management entity raised the amount of their monthly assessment recently from approximately $117 per month to approximately $250 per month. Surrisi said, “Apparently, a group of residents have been paying the increased assessments and a group of them have not. The management entity asserts that because of that nonpayment it has been forced to cover the utility costs for some of the residents. The management entity got tired of covering those expenses and decided to shut off the water service.”
The city attorney also spoke with attorney Richard Helm of the Warsaw-based firm Rockhill Pinnick who represents a group of residents that have filed suit against the management last week seeking a variety of measures of relief. Mr. Helm told Surrisi he plans to file additional court papers soon seeking an injunction regarding the water service.
Surrisi told WTCA, “The City has great sympathy for the residents of Briarwood and the difficult situation that they are currently in. While the resolution of the private dispute between the condominium owners association and the management may take some time to resolve, I’m confident that a resolution to the water service issue will occur more quickly, whether through court action or otherwise.”
WTCA will continue to follow this issue.
