The city of Tallahassee remains tightlipped about whether there’s an investigation underway into its handling of a HUD grant to remove lead paint from low-income housing, but it appears that the Tallahassee Police Department has intervened.
City commission candidate Max Herrle interviewed a resident at a Holton Street apartment complex who said TPD officers were going door-to-door asking her and her neighbors questions about the replacement of their lead paint contaminated doors.
“I thought that they were out here asking questions about a shooting that happened over the other side in my parking lot, but no,” the woman said in a video posted on social media. “When (an officer) walked up, he knew my whole name … He had a sheet and they were just going door-to-door and talking to everyone that had their doors replaced.”
She said officers asked her if she saw the workers who replaced her door, how many workers were there, how long it took, the level of professionalism they exhibited, who went into the apartment to clean it after the removal and more.
City Hall and police spokespeople declined to comment on the woman’s story about officers visiting the apartment complex and wouldn’t confirm if an investigation exists or if an investigation is closed or ongoing.
City Manager Reese Goad directed a reporter to TPD. The agency then said City Hall would be answering questions about the HUD matter. After asking the city again, city staff directed the Tallahassee Democrat to City Attorney Amy Toman’s statement she made at the May city commission meeting.
“If there is a criminal investigation or other investigation related to whistleblowing, those both would be considered confidential and not to be discussed,” Toman said during the meeting. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to acknowledge or not acknowledge whether there is a criminal investigation.”
HUD auditing lead paint abatement program in Tallahassee
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began an audit on the city’s multi-million dollar program to reduce lead paint in older public housing after concerns were raised, including concerns over the amounts paid to the contractor.
The program is funded through a $4.4 million HUD grant, which the federal agency has deemed “high risk” once it caught wind that replacement doors cost more than $8,000 each.
HUD is now demanding the city pay back over $1 million in grant money, saying that the city’s documents were “insufficient” to establish compliance with federal requirements, statutory eligibility standards, grant-specific requirements and program regulations.
More details about how the project unfolded came to light once a former city employee filed whistleblower retaliation complaints, alleging she was fired after notifying officials – including Kimball Thomas, director of housing and community resilience – about high costs and other problems with the program.
The grant required the city to follow U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and HUD guidelines, including a requirement for any contractor to register with the EPA and have an abatement certification.
The former city employee’s complaint said the company who replaced the doors, Chief Cornerstone Construction Company, never registered with the EPA and “safety issues were ignored.”
Despite her objections, the letter says, the employee “was told that it wasn’t a big deal because the EPA wasn’t a real agency.”
The woman Herrle interviewed say she thinks the crews that did the work “could have been way more professional.” She said a guy pulled up in a regular, unmarked truck and a trailer. The workers didn’t have uniforms or any other identifiers that would tie them to a specific company, she added.
“It seemed like the city had hired somebody from off (Facebook) Marketplace,” she said.
This article contains previously reported material. Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Did TPD investigate after HUD audited lead paint grant? City tightlipped
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
