Lafayette Place Neighborhood Association

SUN COMMUNITIES AND PARK MANAGEMENT KILLED A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

My name is Mike Whitty, Director of Lafayette Place Neighborhood Association within Lafayette Place Mobile Home Park, Warren, Michigan. I’m 74 years old and have been retired for 12 years.

I started the Association in October 2022 and have experienced massive frustration and push-back from Management (Dale Stokes, Park Manager and Nicolette Chamberlain, Office Manager) and Sun Communities Corporate (Kevin Bennett, Division Vice President.) Sun Communities is a 16b publicly-traded company.

From what I’m being told, I am the only Neighborhood Association in a Mobile Home Park in Michigan for sure, and I believe nationwide, so I wanted to make sure that everything I created was professionally done, so if anyone wanted to start one in their Community, they could have a proven template to follow. I didn’t ask Sun Communities for any financial help, so website, business cards, brochures, signage, newsletters were all paid by me personally.

Retaliation #1 started right from the beginning when Sun ordered Park Management not to Endorse, Acknowledge, or Communicate with myself or the Association. Every move I made in it’s development was totally transparent to Sun. I would send frequent updates whenever I made a change. They never responded. I tried to convince them that working with the Association would be good for everyone. I don’t think they saw it that way. What they saw was guy who was getting into their business. My job as Director was to work for the Neighbors, not Sun. So when I recognized a policy they created or decision they made that negatively affected my Neighbors, I brought it up. When they tried to sneak fines and penalties past my Neighbors, I brought it up. When they asked my Neighbors to pay for something that was the park’s responsibility, I brought it up. They claimed this caused a rift between the park and Management. If they didn’t want a rift, they should have tried to create a resident-centric philosophy instead of sweeping these issues under the rug.

For over 2 years, I painted the homes where Neighbors moved or were evicted. Not bragging, but I was awfully good. Since my Neighbors don’t have a lot of disposable income, I received very few donations. My monthly newsletters cost me $100, so the money I made from painting went to pay for Association expenses. Being that Dale knew, he told my employer that “either he fire me, or he’ll fire his whole crew.” That was retaliation #2.

Retaliation #3 just came a few days ago. It was a Cease and Desist letter from Paletz Law mandating that I shut down the Association. I’ve enclosed a copy of the letter and my response. I’m sure the next one will either be a lawsuit or eviction. I can’t afford either.

Since I couldn’t help finance the Association with my painting job, I started doing lawn cutting. In the Cease and Desist, they mandated that I stop cutting grass or asking for donations, eliminating that income stream. They claim it could be construed as running a business in the park. Hmmmm.

Retaliation #4, to get back at me even more, Patrick Nelson, who hired me, and Dale decided to fire an individual I recommended, who actually has more skills then I have. What's worse then firing me, Patrick waited till T welcomed a newborn, and bought a house before he fired him, and wouldn't even give him a reason and told him he wasn't even allowed to step into the park. That's how Patrick and Dale treat people. Disgusting!!

Sun Communities took something so good and made it so bad. They thought nothing about how these penalties will affect my Neighbors. For a year I’ve tried to create a Culture of Neighbors, not just renters. And I can’t stop now. I actually have kids and adults that look up to me for the help I’ve provided. I can’t quit now. What kind of example would I show if I made a commitment to be a voice for my Neighbors, and at the first sign of adversity, I run away. I can’t do that. They need to know that I won’t quit on them. I need to show them that when you believe strongly in good, that you stand up for your beliefs.

Please help me save my Association, and from being evicted.