JERSEY SHORE - The last several months have been an emotional roller coaster ride for Kevin June.
On Wednesday, June, who is one of a handful of residents remaining at the former Riverdale Mobile Home Village, admitted that ride was coasting to a stop.
"We have to leave," he said. "There are no hold-outs anymore."
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DAVID THOMPSON/Sun-Gazette
Work crews were busy Wednesday demolishing vacant mobile homes on the former Riverdale Mobile Home Village property.
Last March, June learned the property's new owner, Aqua-PVR, of Bryn Mawr, planned to build a water withdrawal facility on the property to pump up to 3 million gallons of water per day to natural gas drilling sites in the county.
The company terminated the leases of park residents and gave them until June 1 to leave. The company offered a moving incentive of $2,500 and the services of a real estate agent to anyone who moved by the deadline.
June and several other residents vowed to stay at the park. For the last two weeks, anti-gas industry activists staged a protest at the park to show their support for residents and their disdain for the gas industry.
The activists left the property Tuesday after being ordered off by the state police. Although the activists vowed to continue their support for the residents - and police said they could do so as long as they stayed off the property - as of Wednesday, not one remained.
"All the protesters have gone home. We told them to go," June said. "There's really nothing else they can do."
Fencing surrounds much of the property and a security guard - an employee of a security firm hired by Aqua-PVR - sat at the entrance of an access road which, until Tuesday, had been blocked by activists.
Here and there, evidence of the protest still could be seen. Banners hung from one vacant trailer on the property and a heap of plywood - remnants of the activists' makeshift barricades and signs - was piled near the entrance to the guarded access road. A few other odd and ends, such as paint cans, dried brushes and cinder blocks, were scattered outside the construction fencing separating the property from the outside world.
Soon, all traces of the mobile home park will be gone, too. Work crews were busy Wednesday demolishing vacant mobile homes on the property.
According to June, another crew was draining septic tanks in preparation for the removal of on-lot septic systems.
Homes still being occupied will be unmolested by work crews as the remaining residents at the park begin the process of moving. According to June, work crews and the remaining occupants are the only people allowed on the property.
June said he and the residents - about seven families - are awaiting the results of negotiations between attorneys representing them and the company.
Donna P. Alston, director of communications for Aqua America, the developer's parent company, said an "amicable resolution" has been reached. But, she said she could provide no details about the negotiations.
"The only information I can provide about the agreement at this time is that construction has begun and the remaining occupants have agreed to not interfere with construction," Alston said in an email. "The details of their relocation are being finalized with their attorneys."
As of Wednesday morning, June said he was unaware an agreement had been reached. A call to John Person, of North Penn Legal Services, who is representing at least one resident at the park, was not returned as of Wednesday afternoon.
June said he was grateful for the support shown by the activists, but in the end, residents had to distance themselves from them for fear of jeopardizing negotiations.
June said he harbors no ill-will toward the gas industry or the police who cleared the park of activists.
"The cops were more than kind to us from day one," he said. He added that, while he is concerned about possible environmental impacts by the industry, "it supports a lot of families who make a good living here."
Still, June said he is "heartbroken" that he has to leave the park.
"There are no words to explain how I feel right now," he said. "I knew this day was coming. Some of us have to focus on getting out of here as soon as possible, moving on with our lives and trying not to look back."
