Fitchburg,MA Senior complex residents seek building improvements

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Senior complex residents seek building improvements

By Meghan Bard

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/ci_3735154

Fitchburg Sentinel - Fitchburg,MA

LUNENBURG -- Residents at the Pearl Brook Apartments want

improvements made at their White Street complex, and hope their

meeting with state Rep. Eldridge today will produce some

answers.

Diane Monette has lived at the complex for seniors and disabled

people for 10 years. It is managed by the Leominster Housing

Authority, under a contract with the Lunenburg Housing Authority.

" The buildings themselves are 36 years old, " she said. " And they

have never done anything to these buildings. "

Monette said residents are concerned about mold, which appears to

stain the outside of the stucco buildings. She claimed the mold is

making residents ill.

Cormier, who has been living at Pearl Brook for several years,

echoed Monette.

" The apartments do need a lot of work, " she said. " They're all

moldy. "

But Gene Capoccia, executive director of the Leominster Housing

Authority, said the agency has already investigated the mold claims.

" We have heard about issues of mold a few years ago, " he said. " We

had it tested, and found there was no mold present in the

apartments. "

Capoccia said mold found on the outside of the buildings is found

normally in the atmosphere, but the Housing Authority plans to look

at it again.

" The board voted to have it re-tested, just to be on the safe side, "

he said.

Alice Mancuso said when Pearl Brook's septic system was replaced,

her toilet overflowed in gushes, causing problems with the linoleum

in her apartment.

" It just doesn't smell right, " she said. " It's all brown and black. "

The stairs that run behind the buildings are another problem,

according to Monette.

" The wood is rotting, " she said. " The posts, if you touch them,

they're shaking. "

Capoccia said when the Leominster Housing Authority took over the

management of Pearl Brook, officials informed the state -- which

subsidizes the complex -- of what needed to be done.

" We have asked them to provide funds to renovate the exterior of the

buildings, " he said. " There's lots of things we'd like to see done. "

Capoccia said walkways need to be replaced, and in some places

added. Vent fans and windows must also be upgraded, and the porches

and back stairways should be overhauled, he said.

Capoccia said no applications for money to do such work had been

sent to the state before the Leominster Housing Authority took over

management of Pearl Brook.

" Since no application was submitted on behalf of Lunenburg Housing

Authority, they were not in the queue for anything, " he said. " It is

not an easy process. "

But Capoccia said he understands the frustration of Pearl Brook's

residents.

" We don't disagree with the tenants. We think it should move quickly

as well, " he said. " It all sounds like bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. I

can certainly understand their viewpoint. "

Connelly is the executive director of the Massachusetts

Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment

Officials.

Subsidized housing developments around the state are in need of more

money, Connelly said.

" The housing authorities have had their budgets capped since 2002, "

he said. " Costs, like everywhere else, have gone up like crazy.

They're really in a fiscal crunch. "

Eldridge will meet with tenants today at 4:30 p.m. He also held a

meeting with Pearl Brook residents in September.

The Acton Democrat said when he went door-to-door campaigning at

Pearl Brook, residents told him of problems with the complex.

" It was an issue that came up continually at each apartment, " he

said.

Eldridge said the Shriver Job Corps in Devens, a federal program

that teaches trade skills, has agreed to do some of the repair work

for free.

" We just need to find a way to pay for the materials, " he said.