Outstanding water bill could put Kissimmee hotel residents out on the street

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Some residents living at the Heritage Park Inn in Kissimmee were upset when the water was shut off Thursday at midnight, but a manager said they were able to come up with $4,200 to keep the water on, for now.

That amount is only a small portion of what the inn owes.

Some of the residents are families who were displaced from the Unno Boutique Hotel fire that happened just couple of days before Christmas.

Video: Flames engulf hotel

"The water company came around and put notices on the door," resident Rosanna Zuppa said.

But the water was later turned on.

Former Heritage Park employee, Javier Sanchez says he was recently let go for letting Channel 9 see the conditions at the inn.

"I showed you guys around," he said. "I got fired for that, for sticking up for everybody else and myself.

"We feel helpless here. We feel like we just got to take what's coming and that's it."

Residents said they are afraid that will happen again.

"Lights have been off already. Now our water is getting turned off. It's not safe for the kids to play in," Zuppa said.

Residents said they paid $700 to $1,000 a month to live at the hotel.

“We have black mold all in our bedrooms,” said Zuppa.

Photos: Mold, issues at Heritage Park Inn 

Officials said the water was shut off because of an outstanding balance of $14,000, and the power might be next.

The electric bill is due next week, and a manager told Channel 9 they already owe thousands of dollars to that company.

She said it will likely not be paid and they will probably lose their lights.

Residents said there are several different owners and they are blaming each other for money problems.

“They need to put us somewhere. This is their fault. They need to help all these families in here. There's over 50 kids here," Zuppa said.

Many people are worried they will soon be out on the streets, with no place to go, because code enforcement will shut the property down if it goes 24 hours without water or electricity.

A resident said she was told that the inn will most likely be shut down by the end of February.

"It's not fair to us who live in this hotel," Zuppa said. "To have to suffer behind them, fighting all the time."

Cox Media Group