Deal ends food donation ban for Palmetto mobile home park residents

Followed by two security golf carts driven by watchful drivers, an old white-and-brown conversion van slowly rolled through Carlyn Estates Mobile Home Park delivering donated boxes of food Tuesday to 26 residents.

There was tension in the air at the mobile home park at 5611 Bayshore Road, Palmetto, because many Carlyn residents have already received rule violation notices from the park owner threatening eviction for accepting donated food deliveries.

The rule violation notices accused residents of operating a commercial food bank at the park, but Kristen Theisen of Meals on Wheels PLUS, publicly said it was not possible because there is only one commercial food bank in Manatee County and Meals on Wheels PLUS runs it.

A two-hour negotiation before the deliveries between

Sonya Sonju, mother of park owner Tonia Sonju, and Christie Castro, president of the Manatee County Senior Advocacy Council, helped sort out the issue.

It boiled down to a personal problem between the park owner and a resident driving the food van. It was resolved by using a new team of volunteers, Castro said.

"As long as that one individual is not driving the van the residents will be able to get the food delivered to their doors from now on," Castro said. "The reason for the golf carts tonight is that the owner just wants to make a list of all the residents getting the food."

Castro would not name the person feuding with the owner, but residents said it is Tim McCoyle, former president of the Carlyn Estates Homeowners Association.

Go to Bradenton.com for the full story.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Deal ends food donation ban for Palmetto mobile home park residents."