THOMASVILLE — A Thomasville RV park’s lack of water for three days caused local law enforcement to respond. 

Residents of City of Roses RV Park, 277 Old Boston Road, reported the unavailability of water and Thomas County Sheriff’s Office responded Thursday. 

Water to the RV park had been off three days before it was turned back on late Thursday, according to Steve Sykes, Thomasville city manager/utilities superintendent. Power was to be turned off Thursday, but power will be extended two weeks, according to Sykes. 

Elizabeth Statler, a park resident, complained about the water outage and said she paid her $r50 rent on Oct. 4, and the water was turned off within the following days. 

“I got it right in my wallet,” she said of the rent receipt. 

Statler, who lives with her daughter Dakota McPherson, said water outages have occurred the past several months but have lasted only one-to-two days. 

“It was never this long,” McPherson said. 

Statler noted other residents have paid their bills but water outages still have occurred. 

“I’m just tired of it,” she said. “I just don’t have the money to up and find something to move.” 

Living in the RV park for close to a year, Statler noted the water outage has caused the bathrooms not to work and having to use plastic bags for bodily functions. 

Landlord Bill Crozier said he paid $3,800 to the City of Thomasville for the water bill late Thursday afternoon. 

“I did have a problem with the water bill,” Crozier said, adding he tried to make a partial payment previously but it was not accepted. 

“The water is on. I don’t have anybody else that’s upset,” Crozier said. 

Sykes said Crozier, who owes Thomasville Utilities $8,600, has been delinquent most of 2017 and has owed as much as $11,000.

All of the past due $8,600 is due in two weeks, Sykes added. 

When RV park residents pay rent, Sykes said, water and electricity are included in the payment.

“The people who live there need to understand the landlord has agreed to pay part today and the rest in two weeks,” Sykes said Thursday.

The landlord, Sykes noted, has entered a contract saying he will pay the full amount in two weeks with the understanding services will end then if he has not paid. The challenge is that those losing water and power are not utilities customers, so payment responsibility is up to the landlord, the city manager pointed out. 

Sykes also noted residents might want to consider where they will live in the future because both services will end if the landlord does not pay the full overdue amount in two weeks. 

According to a Thomas County Sheriff’s Office incident report, approximately 25-30 tenants were without water. 

Thomas County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Capt. Steven Jones said law enforcement came to the RV park two to three times Thursday. 

“We were asked to investigate, but we are not at this time pressing criminal charges,” Jones said. 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820

Reporter Jordan Barela can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1826.