CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WHAS11) -- Boarded up homes are taking over the Pleasant Ridge subdivision and William Johnson fears his will be next.
"This right here was the only notice that I got," he said as he showed us his water disconnection notice.
He said his water was disconnected in April despite paying his bill. The city told WHAS11 he was delinquent and the city shut it off. When he called the city, Johnson said nothing could be done.
"No matter if I pay it or not, they're not going to put the water meter back in because this is one of the properties that's going to be demolished," he said.
The city of Charlestown wants to redevelop his subdivision for future projects. Those renting homes are being told they have to leave and homeowners are digging their heels in.
"I have no intention of moving, whatsoever," Josh Craven.
He grew up in Pleasant Ridge and says the treatment of his neighbors is one of the reasons he sued the city to stop them from forcing people out. Craven says the community is united to save the subdivision and is hosting a summer carnival Saturday to celebrate the neighborhood. "Bring smiles on people's faces up here in the neighborhood. bring everybody out and unify them even more than what we already are," he said.
More homes are slated to be boarded up in the next few weeks. Johnson says he was given a vacate notice to be out by the end of the month and is currently looking for a new place to live. "I don't ever want to go out - you don't have no water. You can't take a shower or a bath. Have to take a bird bath," he said.
The summer carnival runs from noon to 4 p.m. at the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church Saturday.