DRIPPING SPRINGS — More than 30 families who live in the Gateway Estates II Mobile Home Park, just east of the Dripping Springs city limits, are searching for new homes after receiving a letter that their lease has been terminated.
The letter that the residents received from the mobile home park’s owner, Gateway Development LLC, on July 29 stated that the tenants have 60 days to vacate their homes. Because of this, several residents pleaded their case to Dripping Springs City Council, hoping that the city would intervene in some way at the Aug. 6 meeting.
One of those was Chuck Lemmond, who is a founder of Hometown Missions — a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensure all Dripping Springs residents live in safe, healthy housing. He explained that the group is familiar with Gateway Estates, as for the past 14 years, they have aided that community, including recovery efforts following a tornado several years ago.
“All 36 residents in that community have received what amounts to an eviction notice, giving them 60 days to move their mobile homes off the property or they will be destroyed as trespassing,” said Lemmond. “This letter is shocking and just a terrible thing. It may be correct by lease standards or by the lease that they signed, but to give anyone 60 days to vacate a mobile home from its property, much less find a place, [is] impossible.”
Another representative from Hometown Missions, board member Janice Englehart, said that she wanted to put a face to the situation by sharing the story of an elderly couple who has lived in the mobile home park for 28 years.
“It’s an elderly couple, they are in their late 60s with serious health issues. The woman is not able to work at all because of her health issues [and] the gentleman is able to work part-time and he works currently 10 minutes from his house,” Englehart said. “These two elderly people take care of their daughter, who is in her mid-40s with special needs. You are talking about three people who [have lived] in a mobile home for 28 years and they are barely scraping by. They have no place to go and 60 days is just ludicrous for them to try and figure this out.”
Jim Luketich, a resident for 12 years, also appealed for the city to intervene: “These folks need more time. I think it would only be reasonable for y’all to see if you can make an arrangement with them to at least give us all until the end of the year.”
Dripping Springs Mayor Bill Foulds said that he was made aware of the situation in late July through email. He stated that currently, there are no permits filed with the city for development in that area.
Council member Sherrie Parks shared a personal note following the public comment period.
“You may hear terms like in the city versus [extraterritorial jurisdiction]. I just wanted you all to know [that] you are my neighbors. You're an important part of this community,” she said. “I don't know what we can do to help, but we're going to give it our best shot.”
Community Response
Multiple ministries, nonprofits, organizations and county/city officials have banded together to facilitate and support a smooth transition for the families of the Gateway Estates II Mobile Home Park.
This includes Project Connect’s fundrasing effort called Gateway for Hope, which allows for community members to make a singular donation that goes directly to the residents in need. Project Connect is a nonprofit organization that coordinates and funds charitable activities within Dripping Springs ISD and surrounding areas.
“Historically, this community has been outstanding in helping fellow neighbors in need,” said Martin Garza, president of Project Connect. “Thus, the public needs to know this situation and ways they can help.”
Hometown Missions Operations Manager Chris Kelker-Newlan said that they are asking the community to raise funds to help the families and residents — 50-60 of whom are students who attend DSISD schools — make the transition to wherever they go next. He explained that moving a mobile home is “not cheap.”
“They're just essential workers in the community. They work in Dripping Springs businesses. They work in the school district. They’re housekeepers [and] tradesmen. They run all across the gambit in our Dripping Springs community. And the idea of moving a mobile home to someplace else that may not be Dripping Springs, that could cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 and a lot of these folks in Gateway Estates don’t have that,” Kelker-Newlan explained.
Garza said the first step in helping these families is assessing the situation individually and then, determining the next steps for each and either soliciting volunteers for those steps or paying for professional help — personal item movers or mobile home movers, for example.
Project Connect has yet to determine a set fundraising goal, but relocating a mobile home is estimated to cost approximately $20,000.
A plan for where these families are going to live has yet to be finalized.
“A couple of businesses have offered spaces, but no plan has been finalized for any of the families,” Garza said.
“There are very few options for these families within the DSISD boundaries where those, especially with kids, want to stay.”
While staying in the Dripping Springs area would be preferred for the families, that may not be a reality depending on housing and space availability, explained Kelker-Newlan.
Those who are helping in the efforts are hoping that they will be able to stay in the community that they have known for years.
“I understand and empathize completely that they want to stay here in the Dripping Springs community, because it's where their family is, it's where their neighbors are [and] their kids are in the schools. How that's going to be accomplished is still unknown at this point, but I have faith that the community will figure something out. I really do believe that; it's just going to take time [and] it’s going to take a lot of effort,” Kelker-Newlan said. “The Dripping Springs community [is] working hard to help in every way we can for these folks, our neighbors, to transition to a new place to live, hopefully in the Dripping Springs community. That's our hope, but we have to be realistic. That may not be the case.”
Donations to Project Connect’s Gateway to Hope are encouraged to help the Gateway residents, but there are other ways for members of the community to show their support.
Those with information on where families can move can share ideas or connections with Project Connect. In time, they might need help packing and cleaning in preparation for a move or finding temporary storage, Garcis said.
“If nothing else, please keep the families in your thoughts and prayers,” Garza concluded.
Developer Response
Gateway Development LLC, which purchased the property in 2022, stated that the tenants have been on month-to-month leases for two years.
When the developer purchased the property, the tenants were informed that there were going to be changes implemented and, while the company was unsure what was going to happen, the existing situation was not going to stay the same.
The company tried to work with the existing infrastructure used for toilets and septic systems, but it was collapsing and failing; there was an enormous amount of money spent over two years maintaining the system, said a representative of Gateway Development LLC.
“In order for us to repair the infrastructure, we have to replace everything and upgrade it with new equipment, new systems and proper engineering. We didn't know that when we bought it, but now we have it. That's the situation we have,” the representative explained. “So, there's no way to allow people to stay there and just repair it because we've tried that for two years and then we failed financially.”
Along with addressing crumbling infrastructure and utilities on the property, the Gateway representative explained that there are some tenants — but not all — who are in violation of their lease. This includes having abandoned vehicles, living in recreational vehicles, building and renting out storage sheds and having people live there who are not on the lease agreement.
The residents were made aware through a letter on July 29 that they had 60 days to vacate their homes, which would be approximately at the end of September. The Gateway representative said that they have been asked if the tenants can have until January to move and they are working to make that happen.
The company is also looking at speaking with each of the families to see what their individualized needs and plans are. It is also working to see if it can donate approximately $5,000-$10,000 to help residents get a transport for their home, get a deposit on a new place or contribute to whatever their needs are.
“We should have been more considerate. We should have been more human [and] more personal, exposing ourselves to more liability by communicating directly with the tenants … We are not charging anybody rent right now. We want them to save their money. It cost me $30,000 a month to own this property and pay the interest payments,” the representative said. “That's not even including the sewer repairs [and] the overdrawing of water. We're saying, ‘Hey, don't pay rent. It's ridiculous. It's not fair to say you need to leave and you gotta pay rent.’ So I said, ‘ Take that rent. Use that money to help you move. Use that money to help clean up.’” The “real issue” is that there is no affordable place to live in Hays County, according to the representative. While they are open to keeping the mobile home park community one that is affordable, the developer is forced to shut everything down and rebuild the infrastructure before opening it back up.
“We were charging $575 a month for rent. We found 17 spots for these people to move to so their kids could stay in the same school district, but the rent's like $1,100 or $1,300 a month just for the spot. I would be happy to build another community offering rent at $700 a month, but the problem is, like with current septic tank, TCEQ and Hays County regulations, I can't buy 10 acres of land, install that and get approval. Even if I was going to build a place to give these people a new place to go to, I couldn't legally do it today and get away with it,” the representative said. “It's a damn tragedy because these people are not bad people. I got some great folks there and I just, unfortunately, can't afford to let them stay because the infrastructure costs an enormous amount of money to replace.”
To learn more, and find where to donate to the residents of Gateway Estates, visit www.projectconnectds. org/gateway-for-hope.
