The Golf Course Road RV Park was closed Monday after its manager and city of Safford officials could not come to terms in reference to its utility bills.

A letter from the owners of the park was distributed to all 22 recreational vehicles that were hooked up Thursday and explained the closure due to irreconcilable differences. The closure was necessary, according to owner Joe Pinsonneault, because the city shut off the water to the park Monday and the electricity Wednesday.

"We cannot have people in the park without water and electricity," he said. Residents were credited for any time left for which they had already paid rent.

Pinsonneault told the Courier his company runs more than 35 properties throughout the state and, while the Safford complex is not the largest, the Golf Course RV Park pays the highest amount for its utilities.

"We are getting charged a ridiculous amount," he said.

According to Safford City Manager David Kincaid, the city decided to turn off the utilities due to continued nonpayment of the park's account. An accounting of the park's bill shows outstanding charges of at least $25,666.27, with about $23,000 stemming from electrical charges. Kincaid said a penalty nonpayment fee of $4,000 that was recently removed will likely be returned due to the park's failure to pay its bill.

LeRoy Kassman, the chief project consultant for the park, does not disagree with the electrical charges but told the Courier he believes the park has overpaid its water charges for the past three years equal to what is owed for the electric. He said city officials have been unable to explain how they have calculated the park's water charges and feels a water availability charge of about $3 per space should not be included.

"They've lied so much because they couldn't give me an answer," Kassman said. "It's just so sickening."

Kincaid told the Courier the city has spent more time trying to explain the billing procedures to the manager and owners than any other customer of the city.

The park has two 4-inch water meters, and two 1-inch water meters that feed into it. Kassman said the 4-inch meters are hooked up to the lines designated for fire protection and have never been used. The city charges a meter fee for each meter hooked up to the park. Kincaid said the meters were placed there due to the design of the system.

"Even though they have 4-inch meters, they say no water goes through, because they have those meters, we have to charge them the 4-inch meter monthly charge, which is $80 and some change," Kincaid said. "We've explained that to them, and what they continue to say is that we're illegally charging them for that, and we're also charging them for water. We bill them and charge them like any other account in the city that's master-metered."

The park is charged by a master meter with the approximate $3 availability charge for each space. The availability charge allows users of the park to immediately have water when they enter the park without having to set up a water account with the city.

Kincaid told the Courier that was the way the park was set up by the developers of the park, and it has been charged accordingly since it opened in 2007. He said the city has given ample time to the park to work out a resolution before turning off the utilities. According to Kincaid, the park has been delinquent in its utility bills for several months.

Kassman said he doesn't believe the $3 charge should be instituted on spaces where there is nobody hooked up. Kincaid said the charge is for every space because somebody could pull in at any time day or night and immediately get water.

"That's how the RV park chose to set themselves up," Kincaid said. "The standby fee has been in place at least since 1976."

Due to the standoff, the RV park has closed, and 22 families have been displaced nearly overnight. The park had multiple groups scheduled to stay throughout the month of October that have now been canceled, and those visitors will not be coming.

According to Pinsonneault, his company has invested about $4 million in the park that Kassman has now said will sit empty with a drained pool and vacant office as its only remaining structures.