City - Mold infestation blamed for eviction, but some residents say it's a ruse

[Guest guest]

Talk about people who are totally clueless about the potential hazards of

toxic mold....

(go to web site to see photos)

http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/000509mold.html

Mold infestation blamed for eviction, but some residents say it's a ruse

By Garrecht Gassen

Arizona Daily Star

About 270 UA students and their families will lose their homes at

City to a mold infestation that is closing the apartment complex

three years ahead of schedule.

Residents of the sprawling northside complex found a letter in their gates

Friday evening telling them to be out by Aug. 31. City, six

miles from the UA campus at East Fort Lowell Road and North Columbus

Boulevard, is occupied mainly by international students and graduate

students and their families.

The letter, signed by University of Arizona President Likins, says

tests of 20 of the complex's 360 apartments found mold in carpeting, carpet

padding and air handling units.

Some City residents object to the move, saying the health of

their families is fine and accusing the UA of using mold as an excuse to

empty the apartments before selling the land.

UA officials confirmed the school does plan to sell the land. But

Rosen, an industrial hygienist for the UA's Risk Management department,

which recommended the closure, said the mold is a serious threat and that

the cost of removing it - estimated at $2.6 million - would be prohibitive

considering that the complex will be closed anyway.

" If it's safe enough to stay until the end of August, why isn't it safe to

stay until December? " asked Catanese, whose husband is a visiting

physics scholar. They've lived in City with their two sons for

five years.

" It doesn't need to be shut down, " Catanese said.

Displaced students will receive money to cover their moving costs, but just

how much hadn't been decided yesterday, said Associate Director of Residence

Life Pam Obando. Officials hoped to announce the dollar amount today.

" It will be quite a generous financial package, " Obando said. " We're looking

at a recognition of students having to pay more per month for a new

apartment, as well as utility costs.

" We know most students are on fixed incomes, " she said. Students will also

be given an apartment guide and listings to help them find a new home.

The mold found is not the Strachybotrys chartarum variety that has been

linked to illnesses in buildings elsewhere in Arizona and the nation.

Initial tests in November found signs of viable Strachybotrys mold but later

tests disproved them.

" It's a potpourri of molds and bacteria, " said Rosen, adding that reaction

to the mold varies: One person might feel no effects while another suffers

allergy-like symptoms.

Infants and senior citizens are especially susceptible.

The places where mold was found, such as carpeting, are where spores could

easily be disturbed.

A pattern of sewage backups, small flooding problems during the rainy season

and leaky windows also likely contributed to the problem, Rosen said.

The complex was built in 1962 as a retirement home by the Knights of

Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal organization. The complex went bankrupt

and the UA purchased it for family housing in 1968 from the U.S. Department

of Housing and Urban Development.

City has a history of building problems, including repeated

sewer backups and cockroach infestations. Residents complained of the

problems to state officials in 1994.

But things have been improving lately, said resident Toni . A cover

for the play equipment was just put up.

" They've had plenty of time for improvements, " said.

In addition to the high cost of refurbishing the 360 apartments, the work

would have to be done in controlled settings to ensure that no mold was

released into the air.

The UA refurbished 20 apartments at a cost of $78,000 to see if smaller

steps, like replacing the carpet, would eliminate the mold. It didn't, Rosen

said.

Eleven other residents asked for inspections and were urged last month to

relocate, Rosen said. They have not yet left City.

Some residents are planning to resist the move with demonstrations and

meetings to win over administrators.

" We're devoted to resisting and making them change their minds, " said Joe

Staples, who is pursuing his doctorate in American literature. He has lived

at City with his wife, Kim, and two children for about two years

and had planned to keep his soon-to-be family of five there until December

2001.

" It's a great community here, " he said. " Show me another complex where you

can let your children go out to play with other kids and not worry about

them. "

Residents are angry they're being ousted without a place to go, facing an

expensive move and the loss of their community. Catanese said she has

already enrolled her sons in local schools for next year.

" I felt shocked when I found out, because when we moved here five years ago,

they said it would be closing, but not before they had a new place for us, "

Catanese said.

That was the plan, according to Residence Life Director Jim Van Arsdel.

" We expected City to be demolished within three years, " he said

yesterday. In its place would be an already planned 150-unit graduate

student complex on campus and a 150-unit complex on the City

grounds for students with families.

The process of getting the land ready to sell is under way. The UA filed a

rezoning request with the city and is asking for 58 acres of high-density

residential zoning that would allow twice the number of units now on the

acreage, along with eight acres of commercial usage, said Duffy,

director of the UA Department of Campus and Facilities Planning.

The request is scheduled to be heard in June, but the UA may ask for a

continuance, he said.

" We believe it's a ruse, a red herring, because the UA stands to gain a

valuable piece of property, " Staples said. " I'm very skeptical; the mold is

an excuse. "

Van Arsdel said a decision was made in 1995 to not put any more money into

renovating City but instead to replace it. Residence Life tried

to purchase the Casa Feliz apartment complex near campus last year but

abandoned the plan after resistance from students and neighbors.

City was appraised in 1995 at $1.65 million, Van Arsdel said.

" We were providing a low-quality service for a low-cost price, " he said.

" And that strategy proved to be flawed. "