WAYLAND, Mich. — In July 2021, elevated levels of arsenic were found in multiple wells supplying Yankee Springs Meadows Mobile Home Park. Residents say they were not told by management about it until news coverage from 13 ON YOUR SIDE brought it to the public eye.
During that initial coverage, many residents only spoke to us if they could remain anonymous, fearing retaliation from park management. One resident who did not ask for that anonymity is Brandon Downing. He did fear backlash from management at the time, and now believes it's coming to pass.
"We got a letter in the mail yesterday stating that our lease was up March 31," said Lyndsey Cook, Downing's girlfriend, "and we were unable to renew it."
They say they've asked Dawn, the park's manager, for a reason, but claim she has not given them one. When asked for a comment or a reason, she told us "That's not news, that's just standard practice."
"I honestly believe it's because back when we had the water problems I was the one who got things moving," said Downing. "She knows that I was on it, and I think that’s exactly what this is—backlash."
Downing and Cook were hoping to go month-to-month as they searched for a home to buy, but now aren't sure where they will go. They worry moving will mean being forced to pull their daughter out of her current school district and place her in another in the middle of the academic year.
They claim the non-renewal is unfair. According to Professor Florise Neville-Ewell with Western Michigan University's Cooley Law School, it's not unlawful.
"If the lease is terminating and the landlord opts to not renew the lease," she said, "the landlord is well within his rights to simply not renew the lease."
When asked if a landlord is required to give a reason for not renewing, her answer was a simple but emphatic "no."
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