Hampton Township apartment complex officials, tenant at odds over black residue

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Hampton Township apartment complex officials, tenant at odds over

black residue on walls

The Bay City Times - MLive.com - Bay City,MI*

Posted by J. Stanton | The Bay City Times

April 22, 2008

http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/04/a_fine_mess.html

Seventy-year-old Hutchins says she's fed up with a " black mess "

that's plaguing her apartment in Hampton Township.

Inside her otherwise kempt third-floor dwelling, a peculiar black

discoloration is evident on the ceiling and tops of walls in the

northeast corner of the living room, and on the drywall in the

bedroom closet.

A fine black residue lingers on the sides and bottom of her sofa.

" It's a mess, " Hutchins said. " It's coming right through the

ceilings and through the walls. It's in my microwave oven. It's in

my cupboards. Even my lamp shade has little black fuzzy things on it.

" I'm 70 years old, this is ridiculous, " added Hutchins, who has

lived in Pineview Apartments, 854 N. Pine Road, for six years.

Hutchins believes she may have a serious problem on her hands,

possibly black mold, which an environmental study supports.

Apartment Manager Connie Townsend, however, says it's Hutchins'

fault for burning " cheap candles " in her apartment.

" The woman is about on my last nerve, thank God she's moving, "

Townsend said, calling Hutchins " a landlord's nightmare. "

Hutchins was cited for defaulting on her rent last month after she

decided to hold back on paying $271, demanding that her apartment be

cleaned. Property managers now are threatening to refer her to a

collection agency and asking her to pay to fix the mess.

Barton, regional property manager for Preservation Management

Inc. in Maine, informed Hutchins in an April 14 letter that the

apartment " will need to be primed and painted due to the carbon

black on your walls determined to be from candle burning. "

Barton adds: " You will be responsible for the full costs involved

with this process. Your security deposit will be held for this

purpose. "

According to Hutchins, the problem began after renovation work -

involving new roofing and siding - about three years ago. Even after

cleaning it, the " black mess " seems to come back every winter, she

said.

Last month, Hutchins shelled out $300 to have Freeland-based

Priority One Home Inspections Inc. investigate. A mold analysis -

based on air samples taken from her apartment - was completed by Pro-

Lab in Weston, Fla., showing a concentration of 134 black mold

spores per cubic meter, nearly three times higher than outside.

According to Pro-Lab, the levels are less than serious in terms of

health implications, but there are black molds evident, including

alternaria, cladosporium, penicillium/aspergillus, smuts and

myxomycetes. Some are harmful pathogens that, in sufficient volumes,

can cause asthma, pulmonary emphysema, edema, bronchiospasms, skin

infections and carcinogenic toxin production.

The analysis also shows an elevated level of " cellulose fiber, " an

attic insulation.

Kurt E. Deming, a certified inspector with Priority One, said the

mess is not coming from candles, but rather a confluence of factors -

including poor temperature control in the attic, and the fact that

Hutchins lives in the top northwest corner of the building, which

gets colder in the winter.

" What she has going on there is filthy air condensing against cold

materials, " he said, adding that Hutchins, in his

opinion, " absolutely " should not be required to pay for cleanup.

" For them to ask her to pay to clean up or repaint a ceiling that is

filthy - because they were not taking care of their apartment -

that's absurd, " he said.

Deming said Pineview's staff was rude during his inspection.

" Their management is absolutely immature, irresponsible and

unprofessional, " he said. " It is the worst case of oversight on a

home supposedly designed to protect the elderly that I have ever

seen in my life. "

Townsend defended Pineview, saying management paid to have Hutchins'

room repainted last year and did ventilation work as well as cleaned

the sofa, but it's on Hutchins to pay for the mess this time.

" We have done everything, " Townsend said. " We've had about $1,100

worth of tests done and the Michigan State Housing Development

Authority finally said the reason behind it is her burning candles,

and she does not want to take responsibility for that. "

Hutchins says she's tried seeking help from her representatives in

government only to hit dead ends. She's planning to move, but she's

not going to leave the problem unresolved.

" I just don't want to see anyone else move in and have to deal with

this, " she said