VIDALIA — After losing their residence and all their belongings in a late October fire, one Vidalia family looks to rebound this month after being cleared to return a mobile home to the property.

In December, Alma and Leonard Bowman were told by town officials they could not move a mobile home onto their Alabama Street property, which the Bowmans’ daughter, Felicia Bowman, said was perplexing because the structure that burned down consisted of a mobile home that had been upgraded.

“My mom and dad, with everything going on, felt disrespected by the city of Vidalia,” Bowman said. “They had been living there for 20-something years and were just trying to bring another mobile home onto the lot after they lost everything. My mom still gets emotional about it.”

District 2 Alderman Robert Gardner said what the Bowmans ran into was an ordinance put in place more than 15 years ago which disallowed mobile homes except in designated areas.

For District 3 — which features some $400,000 houses — Gardner said he understands, but in Districts 1 and 2, many are already living in mobile homes.

“It wasn’t beneficial to Districts 1 and 2,” Gardner said. “I live in a mobile home myself, so if I wanted to upgrade, it is showing that I would not be able to bring a mobile home back in. It affects me as well.”

When he heard from the Bowmans about their problem, Gardner said he started researching the law and called many city officials because he thought it was wrong to tell a family who just lost everything they couldn’t bring a mobile home onto the property.

“Going through a total loss like that, nobody understands it but the people going through it,” Gardner said. “Just imagine being told you couldn’t bring a mobile home back on your land? It had to be devastating.”

In the research, Gardner said Concordia Economic Industrial Development District Director Heather Malone knew about a provision that allowed for a mobile home to go back onto a property if a mobile home had been there. Town officials were able to find the provision, which solved the Bowmans’ problem.

Gardner said for too long in Vidalia, people living in $25,000 to $50,000 housing units have been mistreated.

“Anyone, regardless of where they live, ought to be treated fair,” Gardner said. “Everyone still pays taxes.”

After the fire, Bowman said the community of Vidalia has helped her parents greatly.

“Some people within the community came through, giving us donations and helping out with clothing, different stuff like that,” she said. “Some of the churches helped. Some are still helping out, and we appreciate them.”

Bowman said Gardner is also still helping by working to help clear some of the debris still on the property so the family can pour the concrete slab and get the mobile home moved in when the weather clears.

“Alderman Gardner came through — he said he’d look into the situation for us and got it resolved,” she said. “We also talked with Mayor Buz Craft and he was very supportive.”