Residents of Harriston trailer park have to leave by 2020

Minto Township deputy mayor Terry Fisk speaks with CTV's Tracy Tong on Wednesday, May 29, 2013.

Officials in the Township of Minto, north of Listowel, say building a trailer park in Harriston may have been a mistake.

The trailer park sits in a low-lying area prone to flooding, and residents have been evacuated twice in the past five years.

After one flood in 2010, the township decided something had to be done, and told residents of the 12-unit trailer park that they were being evicted – but not for 10 years.

“We gave them 10 years’ notice, which we felt was more than adequate,” Minto deputy mayor Terry Fisk tells CTV.

“We’ve been pressured by our insurance company for many, many years to do something about it because it’s a huge liability.”

Resident Ruth Jeffrey, who has lived in the park for seven years, says the $3,000 offered to those who agree to relocate isn’t enough to get her onside with the idea.

“The cost of moving is anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000,” she says.

Jeffrey says even if she wouldn’t move even if she could afford to, because the additions she’s built onto her trailer make it impossible to move without ruining the home.

She says she’s prepared to keep living with the rising waters, which regularly flood out her backyard.

“I endure this along with everybody else in here every year,” she says.

Fisk says the township keeps a close eye on water levels.

“Once it gets to a certain point, then we will be evacuating,” he says.

The trailer park was established along the Maitland River in the 1970s.