MOREHEAD, KY (WOWK) – A plan to develop a plot of land in Morehead, Kentucky has left those who live there concerned and upset.
In the North Fork trailer park, residents were given notice to be out by April 30th. Now at the end of May, some of those residents refuse to leave.
City officials tell 13 News a private developer proposed a project that will create 290 jobs and generate $970-million in economic impact for the city. First, the developer has to obtain the land under the mobile home park, but while people live there, that isn’t happening.
As for the residents, Morehead Mayor Laura White-Brown sent us a statement stating that while the city wants the jobs and the development it will bring, they “…also are dedicated to taking care of the 56 families currently living in the area where development will happen…”
See the full statement from the Mayor White-Brown below:
The city and county have offered $1,000 to each resident for relocation, but this doesn’t include homes that are abandoned on the property.
City and county officials, as well as the property owner, are also working with Frontier Housing to raise and allocate more than $30,000 in grant money for the residents which will be given out by application only.
Many of the former residents have already packed up their mobile homes and left. As for the others, they’ll have to leave their homes behind.
Unfortunately for residents like Penny Gozzard, her home is one of them. Gozzard says moving will affect her daily routine significantly.
I have managed to find a place. I’m going from $125 a month to $700 a month and I will be back on the bus life.
Penny Gozzard, North Fork resident
Other residents say they’re not upset with the development itself, but are at how they were informed. Current resident Randi Harper says they noticed visitors checking out the property but, when they asked, the property owner told them “nothing was going on, nothing was going anywhere.”
We reached out to the private developer for a comment but have not heard back yet.
