NORTHAMPTON — Northampton Housing Authority residents raised complaints about crime, cockroaches and poor health and safety conditions at a Monday morning meeting with the authority’s board, its executive director and state Sen. Jo Comerford.
Residents packed the community room of the Walter Salvo House on Conz Street for the forum, which focused on living conditions at NHA properties. Concerns ranged from delayed work orders, ventilation problems and pest infestations to security breaches, drug dealing and other crime.
The quasi-public agency oversees 567 housing units in 13 different buildings across Northampton and Florence. Along with Comerford, NHA Executive Director Sharon Kimble and the authority’s commissioners attended.
“Northampton is one of 25 communities I represent, so I get to see a lot of housing authorities and I get to help push a lot of money into our district, and hopefully change policies that are going to be good for us out here in largely rural Massachusetts,” Comerford said, introducing herself to the crowd. “I believe that government can work in the best interest of everybody. It can and it should, but the difference between government working, and not working, is your advocacy.”
Kicking off a series of questions, resident Sandra Torrence asked the NHA board of commissioners when, if ever, inspection reports gathered from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) on NHA properties would be made public.
Responding to concerns that the Cahill Apartment complex had mold, Kimble explained that reports are shared publicly at NHA meetings and noted that no mold was found at the Cahill.
“EOHLC has been there more than once,” Kimble said. “They went down to all the basements, they went in properties, and they never found mold. There was no report that EOHLC gave me. If they had found mold, we would have fixed it. They said there was no mold.”
Kimble also responded to complaints of exposed asbestos in NHA properties, which residents argued had not been properly addressed. She noted that there was “no problem” with the asbestos, as it was covered up. Some in attendance challenged this claim, mentioning that there was exposed and disturbed asbestos in the tiles of apartments.
Responding to another resident’s concern that the Cahill complex’s fire alarm sounds frequently, and is often triggered by steam from showers, NHA Director of Maintenance Anthony Patterson said he has been in close communication with the Northampton Fire Department to replace the building’s smoke detection system with heat detectors.
Patterson also noted that more than 45 “unnecessary” calls have been made to the fire department from the Cahill building.
At-large City Councilor Meg Robbins and Ward 6 City Councilor Christopher Stratton both attended the meeting, and cited complaints they have received from constituents about crime at the Salvo House as “very concerning.”
“I have heard some very concerning stories. We did have a meeting with one of the officers a couple weeks ago who just said, ‘Well, we don’t have night staff,’” Robbins said. “There was a suggestion that there be more security that walks around the building at night, and there are some really good ideas from tenants about how to make a change, but I don’t know how that gets implemented.”
Kimble responded that between police details and a private security company hired to monitor the Salvo and Cahill homes, the properties are monitored four days a week. She explained that drug dealers and those engaged in criminal activity are often allowed onto the property as residents’ guests, making the issue difficult for property managers to control.
“If a tenant says, ‘Oh no, they’re visiting me,’ they can still visit that tenant,” Kimble said. “I’m well aware we have a problem. Northampton Police Department is well aware we have a problem. At this point, if anyone has suggestions, I’m open to hearing them.”
Others confronted NHA officials about water damage in their units, long-term plans to replace the Salvo House’s elevators, which had been out of commission for months this year, as well as a cockroach infestation.
Patterson explained that while the Salvo House is treated for cockroaches twice a month, instances of trash being left inside housing units make the pest infestation difficult to mitigate.
“We actively treat this building twice a month — if it’s not enough, we’ll have to I guess address that with a Minuteman [Pest Control worker] that takes care of it for us,” Patterson said. “Also, when we go in, there’s a lot of trash in the units themselves too … It is a big problem inside the units themselves.”
In response to residents’ complaints that their work orders have been delayed, Kimble explained that the NHA has been backlogged with work orders. She noted that in the four months she has served at the agency’s helm, maintenance has completed more than 2,100 work orders.
Kimble noted that past budgetary mismanagement has created a challenge in addressing maintenance needs.
“I’m dealing with a budget that wasn’t properly done, and now I’m trying to see how much money I have for maintenance, what I have for admin,” Kimble said. “I’ll be presenting it to the board. I’m doing a reorganization. I’m hoping EOHLC will approve my reorganization and add the people I need for maintenance and admin.”
