PINE GROVE - While the co-owner of Mill Race Residences said Saturday that there were no signs of mold in any of the 12 apartments at the complex, the borough's mayor offered photographs taken during the inspection as evidence Monday.
Mayor Kimberly Brown-Zerbe said the problems with the complex originally started in November, when a resident complained to the borough. Brown-Zerbe said they found a mold issue but the owners took care of it and it was approved by the borough's health officer.
Brown-Zerbe said the same resident called again in January with similar complaints. After moving out later in the month, Brown-Zerbe said the resident left a message with the borough to check the building again before the next person moved in.
The borough followed the complaint and found water still in the crawl spaces of the building and mold in the insulation.
Last week, the borough hired Berks Fire and Water Restorations, Reading, to inspect the building and it was condemned.
"These people (the complex's residents) are so sweet and keep the place spotless and then we find this," Brown-Zerbe said Monday, referring to photos taken of the mold.
The photos show black mold in the crawl spaces of the buildings, on a patio door, in a kitchen and bathroom and even in the corner of a room in an apartment.
"This is insulation attached to their living rooms and bedrooms." Brown-Zerbe said. "Six months later, this problem is probably arising from the flood. He (the building's co-owner) should have done the proper cleanup."
The owners of a condemned property have 21 days after a notice is issued to make repairs before being fined.
September's flooding lasted several days, bringing from seven to 15 inches of rain in areas of the county. Several houses in Pine Grove were condemned, private property was lost and several roads closed. The borough was one of the hardest-hit areas in Schuylkill County.
Brown-Zerbe said that while investigating the building, she and other workers became ill due to exposure and discovered they were allergic to black mold.
"I'm just doing all this to make sure they can't call us liars," Brown-Zerbe said. "We identified the problem and told them what to do. It is up to them to clean it up."
Brown-Zerbe said she offered to transfer the contract the borough had with Berks Fire and Water Restorations to the owners of the building, but she said they told her they hired an independent contractor.
"Once the health officer sees an issue that is health- and safety-related, it's safety first and he had to clear out the building," Brown-Zerbe said. "His job is the safety and protection of residents and his responsibility to clear everyone out if he identifies a health concern. I still think he made the right decision and we just want to make sure that the residents are as comfortable as possible."
Brown-Zerbe said she had to get help from the Schuylkill County Area Agency on Aging to convince the residents to leave their homes and they refused to stay at the original hotel the owners offered for three days.
"I was concerned for the 12 elderly people that were displaced and I was worried about their safety," Brown-Zerbe said.
Five residents are staying at the hotel while others are staying with family members. A representative from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency offered to pay for the residents staying at the hotel during Saturday's meeting.
"For as much as they want to go back, we can't let them go back until it is safe," Brown-Zerbe said. "All they have to do is give up proof that it is cleaned but they really haven't made any progress."
Brown-Zerbe said the borough has paid for testing because of the lack of cooperation with the landlord but doubts it will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"The borough has spent $1,500 just to protect innocent residents and have this worked out with the landlord. We will probably never see it reimbursed by FEMA," Brown-Zerbe said.
Chad Nagle, who co-owns the apartments with his brother, Dale, said they do not have flood insurance and did not apply for FEMA aid because there was no flood damage to the complex. He said only a few carpets had to be replaced and a few cars were ruined.
"There were people who were in way worse shape than we were," Nagle said Monday. "We helped clean up and just stayed out of everyone's hair."
Nagle said he is meeting with the borough health inspector today to go over the latest test results.
"They have yet to show us what needed to be fixed," Nagle said. "If there was a definite problem, they would not have called for the tests."
Nagle questioned if the problem was even flood-related and said he inspected the crawl spaces two months ago and everything was dry.
"We have people coming in to replace the insulation in a few weeks," Nagle said. "We decided that we will start doing some work until they tell us what to fix. Until the results come back, I don't feel that anything is wrong. I think they feel the same or they wouldn't have ordered the tests. I just feel they jumped the gun on it."
Nagle said Monday evening he is anxiously awaiting the results.
"If they were trying to be advocates for our tenants, they would have been instructive to us and tell us how to rectify the situation," Nagle said. "It is an uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. We look forward to working with the borough because we have multiple properties in Pine Grove and are not going anywhere. We expect the borough to work with business owners as well as residents."
Brown-Zerbe said the borough has dealt with homeowners who did not apply for FEMA aid and recently experienced problems relating to the September flood.
"I think there are some people who are not aware of all the damage that was caused by the flood," Brown-Zerbe said. "There are some owners who are not from the area and did not expect water to be in their building. Places that normally wouldn't get hit with water were hit and areas that normally wouldn't get damage had damage."
She said when the Disaster Relief Center was set up in Pine Grove, there were residents who claimed they lost everything even though they hadn't lived in the area for many years. She said FEMA did not reward any false claims because the borough inspected all the abandoned property in the borough before the claims were made.
"This is the disgusting part coming from it all," Brown-Zerbe said.
She also said she arranged Saturday's meeting with representatives from Project Keystone, PEMA and the Schuylkill Area Agency on Aging simply to address the needs of the elderly residents. She was unable to attend the meeting because legal advisers said she could not be in the same room as the owners, who have hired legal representatives and may file a lawsuit. She said she intentionally did not invite the owners of the complex and one of the residents informed them of the meeting.