Wildwood tenets say mold problem growing

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Wildwood tenets say mold problem growing

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By D. Pitman Fairfield Echo

http://www.journal-

news.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/01/12/hjn011306mold.html

Hamilton,OH

FAIRFIELD — Esther Snyder's 4-year-old son, Isaac, and husband,

, have seen a doctor for bacterial infections she believes are

caused by mold growing in apartment 13 of the Villages of Wildwood.

Snyder's husband even had to have his sinuses scraped, she said.

Neighbor Trinity Mills has a 7-month-old daughter, JaLeah, who is

always congested. She doesn't know if it is from the mold; she and

her husband, Tony, have not felt any ill effects. But she's worried.

The Snyders' lease expires in November and the Mills' in March.

they'd like to move sooner, but they say the management refuses.

" All they care about is getting their money, " Snyder said.

Snyder originally complained about the mold problems in November,

and she said property management placed drywall in front of the

window of her basement unit.

An inspector for the County Department of Health on Nov. 29

found " heavy growth of mold on (the) interior walls of the kitchen,

bath, utility (room) and bedrooms. " The inspector suggests

using " crews trained in (the) use of breathing apparatus and mold

removal " because of the extent of the damage.

The inspector revisited the apartment on Jan. 10 and no work had

been performed to remedy the issue.

But Villages of Wildwood property manager Nice said Thursday

that she could not say much about the problem.

" We are complying with all city codes and that's all I can tell

you, " Nice said.

There is not much the County Health Department can do

regarding mold, said Jeff Agnew, the department's environmental

services chief.

" There are no set standards (regarding mold) a person can hang their

hat on, " Agnew said. " Until our legislatures can pass down some

rules for health departments, there's not much we can do. "

Agnew said every place has a little mold, and the department refers

tenets with problems to the Ohio Tenant-Landlord laws.

" The landlord has an obligation to maintain the property where it is

safe for their tenants, " Agnew said.

Rick Helsinger, Fairfield Building and Zoning superintendent, said

any code violations must be taken care of and mold must be removed.

But there have been no complaints filed through the city.

Helsinger said there is an active case on Chapel Hill in the complex

that involved mold and a furnace installed without a permit. The

furnace issue is still being addressed, Helsinger said.

Calls on Wednesday and Thursday to the complex's ownership group,

The Connor Group in Centerville, were not returned.

There have also been mold sightings in another apartment. Corey

Parks lives with friend and her son. He said they had a

flooding issue in October where water had flooded a four-foot-by-

four-foot size section of carpet outside of a bedroom and utility

closet. The property maintenance crew said the flooding was due to a

washing machine, but the flooding happened again recently, two days

after a heavy rain.

The health department inspector suggested property management look

for mold damage, but Parks said no one has. He said some mold showed

on a corer of a baseboard by the washing machine and the property

maintenance crew painted over it.

" The property manager said there was nothing they could do. There

wasn't another basement apartment they could move us to, " Parks said.

Parks and contacted an attorney a month ago and anticipate

leaving in February.

Contact D. Pitman at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@...