PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Olha N.M. Rybakoff, Deputy Attorney General
Director, Consumer Protection Unit
Phone: (302) 577-8513
Date: August 23, 2002

Council on Manufactured Housing to Meet
Re-activated group will advise Consumer Protection Unit of Attorney General's office

(Dover, DE): Attorney General M. Jane Brady today announced that the Council on Manufactured Housing has been re-activated and will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, August 28th at 10 a.m. at the Dover office of the Department of Justice, 102 W. Water St., 3rd floor. Brady will address the group on Wednesday.
The mission of the Council, set forth in Title 29, Section 2519(b) of the Delaware Code, provides that the Council shall advise the Division of Consumer Protection on matters relating to mobile home owners and tenants, manufactured housing and mobile home parks.

The Council, whose members include representatives of the manufactured housing industry and both renters and owners of manufactured homes, is appointed by the Governor. Non-voting, ex-officio members from the Consumer Protection Unit and the Department of Justice are appointed by the Attorney General. Deputy Attorney General Ralph K. Durstein and Susan Draper, Consumer Protection Unit Intake Investigator, will serve as the Department's representatives.

Attorney General Brady commented, "This Council will provide the structure to continue the less formal, but productive, discussions that have been occurring between landowners and tenants. It is my hope that the members will inform my office and other public policy leaders in Delaware regarding the matters within the purview of the Council."

Edwin K. Speraw, president of the Delaware Manufactured Home Owners Association is heartened that the advisory council has been reactivated. He said it is a step toward dealing with the concerns of both homeowners and landowners. But, Speraw said, "The advisory Council is not a replacement for legislative matters concerning manufactured housing and should not be."
Jerome S. Heisler, Jr., Managing Partner of The Reybold Group, which owns eight manufactured home communities in New Castle County, stated, "This is a positive opportunity for both landowners and tenants. With the support of the Governor and the Attorney General's office, a constructive dialogue to help improve the relationship between tenant and landowners can occur and we can develop better management practices to ensure the longevity of a valued housing resource in Delaware."
Members of the media and the general public are welcome to attend the Council meeting.

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