MADOC – The saga of Crystal Beach is degenerating into a miasma of garbage, fear and spilled sewage

Last year Crystal Beach Resort owner operator Yiyu (Frank) Ye sent out a notice of eviction to all of the permanent residences, he also was charged with assaulting a woman with a tractor in another park of his parks — Ringtail Camp located north of Peterborough.

The eviction was met with cries of outrage and legal action. Today, residents at the Madoc lakeside property have resigned themselves to the fact they must leave.

But last week in a new development at the embattled trailer park, the Ministry of Environment was called in to oversee the cleanup of a sewage leak on the property. At least one resident said the leaking sewage has been a problem for some time.

According to a resident who said she feared repercussions if she spoke, complaints had been made to Ye regarding a sewage leak. A pump house where sewage is stored, then pumped into another elevated pump house, had been leaking for more than two years, sending gallons of human waste into Moira Lake, said the resident.

“It’s been like that for years,” said a woman who would only provide her first name for publication. “So many complaints were made, we had to call the Ministry of Environment to get it fixed,” said Debbie.

Not only do residents have a fear of their trailers’ waste contaminating the lake, there’s an aura of fear of speaking to the media about anything at the park for fear of angering the park owner.

Many of the permanent and seasonal residents explained their anxiety at being seen or heard talking to media, as they believe they will be kicked out of the park with a moment’s notice.

“When I walked by here I thought it was a fountain going, that’s how much was coming out of there,” said Debbie of the leak.

Len Sheeran, maintenance manager said angry residents, upset at being evicted, may have had a hand in the problems with the sewage system.

Sheeran, who has worked for the park for more than 27 years, said rags had been put down toilets, clogging the pumps and in turn burning out the pump. He also pointed out a red light that signals a full tank or issues with the pump itself had been disconnected by someone.

“It’s not the first time. Because people put rags in it, it just burns the pump right out,” said Sheeran. “It’s possible for the residents to be causing this, without understanding (the damage it might cause). Then again it could be straight forward vandalism.”

Linda Lavellee, a long-term permanent resident of Crystal Beach disagrees.

“There isn’t one person on that stretch of the park that would ever do anything like that,” countered Lavallee, who said she now has a mortgage after being evicted from her home. Lavallee lived just up the road from where the sewage pump house was located and, as the president of the Crystal Beach Permanent Residents Association, she said had made many calls to the trailer park head office that went unanswered.

“That (warning) light wasn’t working, they burnt out all the time and were hardly checked on.”

The last year and a half has been stressful for the whole community, and according to Sheeran, more vandalism has been cropping up. Now that the residents are attempting to pull out of the park, often barbecues, tents, trailer contents and more items are left for tenants to move the next day after moving their main trailer. But when tenants come back, their belongings are gone.

But, the entire park, say t’nants, has been left to neglect. After three court orders under the Landlord and Tenant Act, the roads are still rutted and pot-holed. The smell from the sewage pump, even though it had been cleaned up, is an assault on the senses. The garbage is heaped in places — a massive pile surrounds the office, full of insulation, freezers, fridges, old toys and trailers and construction waste.

By now many of the permanent residents have moved out, no longer able to handle the stress of living in what they term a hostile environment.

“I’ve lost 30 pounds from the stress of this …,” said Lavallee.

Questions directed by QMI Agency to the Ministry of Environment went unanswered last week as did calls to the owner’s office at Crystal Beach.

He was not found on a visit to the park, nor did he return calls.