JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A disabled veteran living in a Westside mobile home park was once again shocked after she was charged hundreds of dollars for water that even inspectors with the City of Jacksonville said she never consumed.
Kelly O’Neil lives at the Three Seasons Mobile Home Village on the Westside which was recently sold.
O’Neil said she just wants this water bill issue to go away, but instead, she said she’s being billed nearly $1,700 for water in the month of October, according to her online payment portal.
“And there’s no way anybody can use one person, especially use that much water, especially three months in a row,” O’Neil said.
Even under new ownership, O’Neil is facing the same old problem at the Three Seasons Mobile Home Village previously owned by Moore Enterprises. She said her online payment portal shows she has a balance of $1652.88, even though James Moore and Moore Enterprises sold their three Jacksonville properties to another company on Nov. 1.
O’Neil said the balance couldn’t be right because the City of Jacksonville inspectors, independent plumbers and JEA all agreed that she didn’t have any leaks.
The final report from City of Jacksonville Consumer Affairs Manager Jimmie Carter concluded the following about O’Neil’s persistent water woes: “In my professional opinion, I attribute human error to be the possible cause of Ms. O’Neil’s exorbitant water bills. Based on our observations and collaborative opinions. We do not have any other plausible reason for Ms. O’Neil’s experience.”
The City of Jacksonville’s Office of Consumer Affairs and city council members gave Moore Enterprises a mid-October deadline to explain the reason for the high bill. The company never revealed the reason why, but soon sold all three of its Jacksonville properties to companies affiliated with a Dallas Texas company, Oak Wood Ventures.
According to the deed of sale obtained by the News4JAX I-TEAM, Moore Enterprises sold Three Seasons for roughly $18.4 million, Americana Mobile Home Park for $5 million and Orange Park North for $24 million.
O’Neil said the sale came as a surprise to residents who weren’t given any warning about the mobile home park’s future. She paid Moore Enterprises more than $2,200 for water for the months of August and September under the threat of eviction. O’Neil said she is hoping a community meeting on Monday evening will reveal if others are experiencing similar problems.
“Maybe that will convince people that it’s okay to report and show proof. You know, that their water bills have been like my water bills, overly high and that they feel taken advantage of,” she said.
News4JAX reached out to Oak Wood Ventures on Monday for any information about O’Neil’s balance but we have not heard back.
The community meeting is being held at 6 p.m. at the Calvary Chapel Church on the Westside where city council members are planning to talk about Three Seasons and other issues.
The State Attorney’s Office has yet to determine if they have sufficient evidence to support initiating any criminal or civil proceedings against Moore Enterprises.
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