This story has been updated with additional information.
Mold is now on the list of issues plaguing Akron’s Spring Hill Apartments, another problem the city said it’s working with building management to fix.
City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said via email mold complaints were made by residents at another Spring Hill building at 1180 Rentar Lane over the weekend, after the city issued orders to address pest problems and more at the Spring Hill building at 1221 Everton Drive. She said the city inspected the Rentar Lane building on Jan. 3 and issued the mold remediation order.
Marsh said the owners agreed to temporarily relocate the tenants affected by the mold until this issue is resolved.
“We are not aware of mold issues in any of the other units,” Marsh said, “but the owners advised us they are inspecting/evaluating the other 10 or 11 units on the same floor of that building (1180 Rentar) this week.”
“The city has already issued orders to comply for the pest control problem, trash in the compactor areas, a broken elevator, and mold found in two units,” according to a Feb. 5 news release from the mayor’s office. “These orders include finding a source of the mold and remediating that issue so as not to cause future problems. Building management has recently switched pest control providers and is addressing that concern in the immediate future.”
Summit County property tax records state that the Sherbondy Hill building on Rentar Lane is owned by Michigan-based Spring Hill I 2014 LLC, but its mailing address is listed in Dallas, Texas. The Michigan Business Registry lists J. Chad Krueger as the LLC’s agent. Spring Hill II 2015 LLC owns the Everton Drive building, and shares the same agent.
Marsha Andrus, a 20-year resident of the building and president of the Spring Hill Residents Council, said previously the cockroach issue has been active in the Everton building since June. It’s so bad that it led the U.S. Postal Service stop delivering to the building.
Blake Hunter, vice president of the Michigan-based Independent Management Services — the firm managing the property — said previously it’s unfair “to say the building is infested with cockroaches.”
“Roaches are on all 13 floors,” Andrus told Akron City Council on Jan. 2. “There are people spending their own money to get them away. We need the city inspector to inspect more often and hold the landlord accountable.”
“Akron officials have also met with building management in person to discuss the conditions of the complex, connect them with USPS to expedite the return of mail delivery to the complex, and create a flow of communication with residents,” the city said. Additionally, officials have shared tenant inspection request forms with the building’s tenants so any unresolved maintenance or repair issues in their units can get an inspection conducted quickly.
When Andrus finished speaking, Council President Margo Sommerville told her and fellow tenants to join her after the meeting for a closed-door discussion alongside Mayor Shammas Malik. Sommerville represents Ward 3, where Spring Hill is located.
What did Spring Hill residents discuss with Sommerville and Malik?
The discussion, Sommerville said, centered on updating residents on what’s been done so far — asking them if any other units required inspection and sharing next steps.
By the time they met the evening of Feb. 2, she said, the city already had placed orders to comply on the building following inspections.
“I think they were comfortable and they were just pleased to know that action had been taken,” she said.
Since Monday, Sommerville said she’s been in touch with Spring Hill residents, keeping them in the loop and checking in to make sure that inspectors have come through the building as promised.
“I just want to make sure that we’re doing what we said we’re going to do, and so far we have done that, and so far the owner has been receptive to making the changes,” including addressing the mold problems, Sommerville said.
“The city has been very aggressive in saying, ‘Hey, listen, we don’t deal with mold just by painting over it and cleaning it up,'” she said. “We need to really bring in someone who can evaluate to figure out where is the water coming in and it needs to be addressed.”
In a prepared statement, Malik said his administration is concerned by the conditions at Spring Hill and appreciates “the willingness of building management to work aggressively to address these concerns for their tenants.” Malik said housing inspectors will continue addressing the orders to comply “as a high priority concern until all issues have been resolved.”
“Everyone in our city deserves safe, stable housing free of pests and other nuisance issues,” Malik said.
Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron says Spring Hill complex battling mold in addition to insects
Reporting by Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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