The St. Louis Housing Authority's executive director recently said that Attorney General Josh Hawley’s recent lawsuit against the agency over conditions at the Clinton-Peabody Housing Complex was unexpected.
In addressing the 41-page petition against the agency and McCormack Baron Management Inc., SLHA Executive Director Cheryl Lovell told the St. Louis Record that she was only made aware of an investigation about Clinton-Peabody when she received a demand for documents by the attorney general's office in April, when Hawley launched an investigation.
“In our response to the demand, we offered to provide any additional information the attorney general’s office needed and to cooperate in any way we could,” Lovell said.
Hawley claims Clinton-Peabody residents have been plagued with rodent and pest infestations, black mold and severe water damage for some time. “No Missourian should be forced to come home to the intolerable conditions that Clinton-Peabody residents face each day,” the petition reads.
Since April, SLHA has been fully cooperative, according to Lovell. “We are disappointed that the attorney general chose to file suit without any communication about the issues involved,” Lovell said.
Lovell does not deny that the housing complex has issues with mice, saying SLHA and McCormack Baron Management have been very active in attempting to resolve the problem for many months. “SLHA consulted with the city of St. Louis Department of Health to establish actions to abate the issues,” Lovell said.
In the last year, Lovell noted, SLHA has worked to improve more than a dozen issues at the complex, including installing seals on over 400 exterior entry doors, replacing 70 damaged exterior entry doors, cleaning ductwork and radiators in all units identified in the health department’s inspections and replacing stoves in 64 units where pest activity was found.
“To date, the estimated cost of the corrective action is approximately $325,000,” Lovell said.
But the measures taken are not enough, according to Hawley. “Missouri law gives tenants the right to live in a safe and properly maintained home, and I am committed to ensuring that this vital right is vindicated,” Hawley said in a press release.
The lawsuit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, describes conditions at the complex and includes photographs, including one showing roach feces and a roach in the door frame of a resident’s closet.
Lovell said the health department began inspections of at the complex in December 2017 and returned in February, March, May and August.
“With each inspection, the number of units infested reduced,” Lovell said. “As of Aug. 10, 2018, the health department reports six units that show signs of mice and eight units that show signs of roaches.”
But roaches and mice are only some of the issues, according to the lawsuit, which shows photos of black mold, holes in the wall and substantial gaps in windows and doorways. Lovell said affected families have relocated to other units while the remediation is in process.
“Both SLHA and McCormack Baron Management will continue working diligently to resolve any remaining issues at Clinton-Peabody,” Lovell said.