PINE GROVE — Efforts to keep residents cool at the Pine Grove Elderly Housing complex are heating up.
Several agencies are working together to provide relief, and it appears some residents may be able to receive new, floor model air conditioners free of charge through PPL.
Schuylkill Community Action Executive Director Ted Dreisbach, Pottsville, said William F. Hanley and Pine Grove Mayor Will Shiffer contacted his office searching for a remedy. Hanley is senior economic development specialist from U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright’s office, D-17.
Dreisbach said his office wanted to see if residents were eligible to receive some assistance through PPL’s Winter Relief Assistance Program.
“We are working diligently to get this resolved, and we’re working as fast as we can,” Dennis Worthington, PPL regulatory compliance specialist, Lehigh Service Center, Allentown, said Friday. “It is full cost replacement. We wouldn’t ask the customer to pro-rate that cost.”
As reported in the June 8 edition of The Republican-Herald, residents had letters dated May 6 taped to their front doors from the building’s management, alerting them that if they didn’t remove their window air conditioners and comply within 72 hours, they could lose their HUD subsidy.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted a property inspection on April 26, Ian Miller, a service bureau analyst for Paulhus and Associates Inc., who provides compliance services for Pine Grove Elderly Housing, said. The inspection is required for all properties that receive HUD funding. During that inspection, the HUD inspector reported some tenants had personal window air conditioners in their apartments which were a safety issue. According to HUD inspection guidelines, every apartment must have two means of escape. The door being one, and the window being the second avenue of escape. The business is owned by Mark Halteman and managed by Tanya Brown. The complex, at 15 Conrad Richter Drive, consists of 24 apartments total in three two-story buildings. There’s an air-conditioned Community Center building, but the housing complex does not have central air conditioning.
After the HUD notice, many residents removed their window air conditioners, but some did not have the funds to replace them with HUD-allowable floor models. They could only rely on portable fans for cooling.
Shiffer said the first that he, and members of the borough council, heard of any problems at the housing facility was after he read about it in the newspaper. His late mother had previously resided at the complex, and she had been comfortable there, he said. The mayor, council member Terry Noll, and Pine Grove Police Chief Thomas Trotter recently visited with Brown. Trotter also needed to get a new pass key for the property, Shiffer said.
“I started asking questions. The owner of the property called me and I talked at length to him. He does want the residents to be taken care of and is not a neglectful slum lord,” Shiffer said, noting Halteman was cooperative. “It’s a safety issue and we need to look into it.”
Shiffer said it was anticipated that residents would be filling out their PPL applications Friday, if they hadn’t already done so. He was also going to speak with community service groups like Operation Hugs & Kisses, the VFW, Masonic lodge, and Fish & Game organization to see if they could generate any funds for the seniors if they weren’t eligible for the PPL program. Shiffer said about 14 people had already purchased portable floor models, while about 10 others could not.
According to Dreisbach, he spoke to Miller to obtain additional information.
“We’re working to see if we can do this fairly quickly,” Dreisbach said. “This is a special situation, and there’s a lot of people concerned about it.”
“We’re working with a variety of different agencies right now, and it’s something we’re looking into,” Hanley confirmed Friday.
He said that if the housing complex were run by a nonprofit, the opportunities for grant funding would be greater. However, because the Pine Grove Elderly Housing complex is a for-profit, private business, it’s more difficult to obtain grants, Hanley said.
Certain income guidelines must be met to be eligible for PPL WRAP. According to the PPL website, those income levels are: $23,760 for one; $32,040 for two; $40,320 for three; and $48,600 for a family of four; and $8,320 added for each additional family member. Worthington said residents may call 800-342-5775 for application information or 888-232-6302 if they need assistance in filling out the form.