OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Residents of an Osceola County extended-stay motel are about to lose access to water and electricity.
Some residents of Heritage Park Inn are families who were displaced from the Unno Boutique Hotel arson a couple of days before Christmas.
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Rosanna Zuppa, her husband and their children moved to the Heritage Park Inn from New York. She said water is expected to be shut off at midnight Thursday and electricity will be turned off in a few days.
“The water company came around and put notices on the door,” she said.
Many residents will have nowhere to go.
“Most of us are either unemployed, low income, and the food we do have, we need,” said resident Carrina Pennington. “When it goes bad because the power goes out, we can’t feed our kids. We can’t make bottles for our babies.”
Residents pointed out trash scattered around the property and fire extinguishers that need to be replaced.
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They also said the owners recently ripped out the washer and dryer.
“We have black mold all in our bedrooms,” said Zuppa.
She said about 50 children live in the building and some have been getting sick.
Zuppa said the owners are ignoring the residents when they call.
“I’ve tried four or five times. It’s going right to voicemail,” Zuppa said.
Channel 9’s Lauren Seabrook also tried to contact the owners, but her calls were repeatedly sent to voicemail.
The doors and windows were locked at the front office, but a manager told Channel 9 that the hotel owes $14,000 to the water company and thousands more for electric service.
The manager said there’s no money to pay for either.
Residents said there are many owners of the motel, and each one blames the other for overdue bills.
Cox Media Group
