City officials say they’ve helped all they can, but are still getting some push back over the closure of the Midfield Mobile Home Park in northeast Calgary.

Back in May 2014, the city made the decision to shut down the park that contains about 173 homes, citing costs over the water and sewer lines that are over 40 years old. The park is scheduled to be vacated by the end of next month.

Since then, many of the homes have been or are in the process of being removed. Mayor Nenshi says a number of residents have been reluctant to leave. “There are some folks there that have not been particularly interested in the city’s assistance of developing a plan to move forward, but we are there to continue to help and we will continue to help and make sure everyone has a safe and decent place to go.”

The city has offered $10,000 to residents to help in moving mobile homes as well as an additional lump sum payment of $10,000. The park sits on 17 acres of land, owned by the Calgary Housing Company.

Once vacated and cleared, the land will be redeveloped as a mixed use commercial, office and residential development, including affordable housing.

Several residents have indicated they will not leave Midfield without a fight. On Wednesday afternoon, City of Calgary officials issued the following statement addressing the situation:

“The decision to close Midfield was not taken lightly and The City of Calgary understands why a Midfield tenant may not want to go, it has been their home and community.

Tenants at Midfield Mobile Home Park have had three years advance notice of the closure and still have approximately five weeks left to find suitable housing arrangements. At this time, The City will not speculate on what we will do, as it is our hope that all tenants will have vacated the park by September 30, 2017.

Right now, our focus is to keep the lines of communications open with tenants, ensure they have accurate information regarding the Midfield Closure Program and have started a moving plan. The City does not want to see a tenant unable to find a suitable housing arrangement by the closure date. We encourage Midfield tenants to take advantage of the support through the Midfield Closure Program and the other on-site resources such as financial and housing assistance to support them with the move from Midfield.”