Kristana Mobile Village residents, owner attend court hearing
ST. JOHNS, Mich. (WLNS) — Two of the living in the in Dewitt Township were at a Clinton County courthouse Friday afternoon, demanding action and change.
Rebecca Jackson and Jason Eldridge claim they're being illegally evicted. During the hearing, they had a few demands—immediate restoration of water access, financial compensation, time to relocate, and a state investigation into , the property owner. They also want Darakjian to be ineligible for public funding or permits for development projects.
The park was shut down on April 1 due to declining occupancy rates and the inability to maintain its infrastructure. Eldridge says they were offered $10,000–$15,000 to drop the case. He also says they were given another option of a water tank pump and 30 to 90 days to vacate their home, but they declined both offers.
'Unfortunately, you know the lawyers and Ara Darakjian and the residents were not able to come to an agreement today,' says Kadja Erickson, Executive Director of the Mid-Michigan Tenant Resource Center. 'So the court hearing has been adjourned. There was no determination made as far as, like, a restraining order to prevent demolition or a court order to have the water turned on.'
Eldrige says they declined the offers because they didn't want to be pushed out in a short period, and want to keep fighting.
The residents and the owner didn't come to an agreement Friday, Erickson says their next hearing is scheduled for June 26.
6 News reached out to Ara Darakjian for comment. A spokesperson for him says the company has been working in good faith with residents to help them relocate. The company also says they're working on a plan toprovide bottled water to the remaining residents until they moved out.
The spokesperson also emphasized that water leaks on the property were costing the company $20,000 a month, so shutting off the water was essential.
You can read the full statement from Darakjian below:
We have been continuously working in good faith with the Kristana residents to help them relocate, including $2,000 offered to each household to offset their moving expenses. Seven of nine households accepted these funds, yet individuals from two of those seven households have returned to the property and refuse to vacate.We are currently developing a plan to provide bottled water to the three remaining households until they are able to move. In addition, we have refunded all rents paid for April and terminated any further rent charges.Despite our continuous efforts to resolve this matter in a way that is fair to everyone involved, our calls, emails and text messages have gone unanswered by the three remaining households.In addition, because there continues to be some confusion on this point, I will reiterate that after acquiring the property in 2023, we discovered serious deficiencies in the water infrastructure serving the property that were causing a massive amount of water to be lost due to leakage, which has been costing our company over $20,000 per month. We had no choice but to turn off the water to avoid having to pass these costs on to our tenants and to protect against possible public health concerns related to the water supply.Our company is planning to make a major investment in redeveloping the property to provide quality affordable housing for area residents, but we cannot move forward until all remaining tenants have secured new housing.We will continue to work in good faith to ensure that they can successfully relocate.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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