Hot water is flowing once again at the Parqwood Apartments after several weeks, but two Toledo officials are still seeking answers about the apartment complex’s out-of-state management company and its response time to fix the problem.
Residents at the complex — owned by Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority but managed by St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Management Inc. — had been without hot water for about four weeks. That ended late Friday after LMHA shipped a replacement part overnight to complete the building’s boiler repairs.
“Obviously we were looking at getting the [hot] water on, but now I want to look at the management company,” Councilman Larry Sykes said Monday. “I have looked at that management company and they have some real problems.”
Mr. Sykes cited an August lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general against McCormack Baron and the St. Louis Housing Authority for conditions at a public housing complex in that city. Residents there reported longstanding rodent and pest infestations, mold, and structural damage, according to the lawsuit.
Both Mr. Sykes and Councilman Yvonne Harper want a meeting with LMHA officials, local and Missouri-based management, and residents to determine what delayed repairs at Parqwood and whether management there should be replaced.
For Parqwood residents like Brenda Wells, it was welcome relief just to have hot water once again.
Ms. Wells, 50, who has lived at the complex for about 2 ½ years, said she celebrated with an extra long, hot shower early Saturday morning. She’d been able to boil water for bathing and cleaning but was relieved to get back to her normal routine.
“It was wonderful,” she said. “I think I stayed in there for an hour. It felt so good.”
She said she was grateful to LMHA for her apartment, but believed it was a lack of communication between the housing authority and the property managers that led to delayed repairs.
Mr. Sykes on Monday played several voicemails from residents describing their relief to be able to bathe at home and thanking him for bringing public attention to the issue. He and Ms. Harper met with residents and news media on Thursday at the complex, located at 2125 Parkwood Ave.
“It’s despicable,” he said of the management company’s response. “I think the fact that it took a month to get the water fixed and it had to have outside influence, it tells how callous they are to people.”
But not everyone was as thrilled about the councilmen’s intervention.
Demetria Simpson, LMHA president and chief executive officer, sent a letter Friday to Mr. Sykes and Ms. Harper, criticizing their involvement.
“I would suggest and hope in the future that you would please reach out to me directly to understand the situation before you take matters into your own hands. We should work together as community partners and support one another in order to do our best for our community,” Ms. Simpson wrote to the councilmen.
“Informed action is much better and can help to mitigate the situation — not stir it up further. Bringing the Housing Authority’s reputation and care for the community into question can have far-reaching undue negative impact on LMHA and does nothing to help build the reputation of LMHA.”
Ms. Simpson conceded repairs should have been completed sooner and said LMHA stepped in to expedite the process after learning McCormack Baron had taken “no action” for nearly two weeks.
“We can all agree that it has taken way too long to restore hot water to these residents and we are sorry that the situation occurred,” wrote Ms. Simpson.
A representative from McCormack Baron previously deferred comment to LMHA when asked about the Parqwood repairs.
Ms. Harper said Ms. Simpson had the right to share her thoughts with her and Mr. Sykes to defend the organization she runs.
“She has the right to express her concerns just like we had the right to respond to the tenants that are in District 4,” Ms. Harper said of the district she represents. “We’re going to meet, we’re going to talk.”
First Published December 3, 2018, 10:23 p.m.
