Trailer Park Negotiations
I found myself in the middle of a trailer park dispute the other day. Once Dewy heard I was working for the state down in Olympia, it didn’t take her but a few days to call and complain. As everybody in the park knows, Dewy and the owners have been having it out for the past six months, all due to the fact that once they paved the roads in the park, her carport has been flooding.
I guess this past year, the Attorney General’s office has been in charge of all trailer park landlord tenant disputes, so a few months back Dewy called them to see if she could get some help. From what I heard, it didn’t go all that well with the AG’s office, and after a few rounds of arguments, they had to switch the AG assigned to her case, cause the one she had wouldn’t talk to her anymore.
I talked to her for a while, you know, a lot of this job is just listening to people vent their frustrations, after weeks of dealing with bureaucracies the first chance they have to talk to someone who will listen, they let it all out.
I feel for Dewy though…if it was our carport that was flooding, I’d be pretty pissed about it too. Besides, deep down, she’s a pretty nice gal once you get to know her—a little rough on the exterior, but a downright decent core.
I gave the AG’s office a call and talked to the woman assigned to Dewy’s case. She seemed nice enough, and after we talked about it a little while, I came up with a compromise that I thought both sides could handle. The AG’s office would get the owners to agree that last months patch job of her potholes had to be redone, and that when they did that, they would put an asphalt ridge where the road meets her driveway, to help divert the water. We all agreed that if by the summer that didn’t prove to fix the standing water issue, that Dewy would look into the cost of a French Drain and if it didn’t cost too much, the AG’s office would make the owners put one in.
Dewy didn’t seem all that happy about my great compromise, mostly because I think she really believed that they owed her a repaved driveway with a drain put in. but I also think she thought it was better than nothing, and so agreed.
I guess that’s the sign of a successful negotiation—neither party all that happy with the end result, but satisfied just enough to quit bitchin about it. I only hope that I don’t have to keep getting earfuls after the April rains, when it’s bar-b-que season and the last light doesn’t leave the skies until well after bedtime.
I guess this past year, the Attorney General’s office has been in charge of all trailer park landlord tenant disputes, so a few months back Dewy called them to see if she could get some help. From what I heard, it didn’t go all that well with the AG’s office, and after a few rounds of arguments, they had to switch the AG assigned to her case, cause the one she had wouldn’t talk to her anymore.
I talked to her for a while, you know, a lot of this job is just listening to people vent their frustrations, after weeks of dealing with bureaucracies the first chance they have to talk to someone who will listen, they let it all out.
I feel for Dewy though…if it was our carport that was flooding, I’d be pretty pissed about it too. Besides, deep down, she’s a pretty nice gal once you get to know her—a little rough on the exterior, but a downright decent core.
I gave the AG’s office a call and talked to the woman assigned to Dewy’s case. She seemed nice enough, and after we talked about it a little while, I came up with a compromise that I thought both sides could handle. The AG’s office would get the owners to agree that last months patch job of her potholes had to be redone, and that when they did that, they would put an asphalt ridge where the road meets her driveway, to help divert the water. We all agreed that if by the summer that didn’t prove to fix the standing water issue, that Dewy would look into the cost of a French Drain and if it didn’t cost too much, the AG’s office would make the owners put one in.
Dewy didn’t seem all that happy about my great compromise, mostly because I think she really believed that they owed her a repaved driveway with a drain put in. but I also think she thought it was better than nothing, and so agreed.
I guess that’s the sign of a successful negotiation—neither party all that happy with the end result, but satisfied just enough to quit bitchin about it. I only hope that I don’t have to keep getting earfuls after the April rains, when it’s bar-b-que season and the last light doesn’t leave the skies until well after bedtime.
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