Brenda Osborn, who has lived in the high-rise for eight years, says her lungs, nasal passages and skin have been severely irritated by mold. She says she has lost 99 pounds in the past few years.
“We have mold in our vents, in our heater units and in our bathrooms,” Osborn said.
Because many residents of the building fear their apartment heaters are spreading mold-laden air, they have opened their stoves and run them at 300 degrees day and night to heat their apartments, even when temperatures dipped below zero during this brutal winter.
GDPM’s executive director, Danyelle S.T. Wright, said the agency recently initiated its own testing for mold. A contractor took air samples from several apartments in the building and the agency is awaiting the results.
Although Wright took the helm of the housing agency just this month, she is well-versed in the history of Wilkinson Plaza. It was built in 1975 and serves as GDPM’s second-largest facility with 200 apartments for low-income residents. Before becoming executive director, Wright served on the agency’s board for eight years.
She said GDPM (formerly the Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority) spent “upwards of $1 million” to fix problems — including mold remediation — caused by a 2011 leak. A mold outbreak in 2010 prompted the agency to spend $100,000 on repairs. The agency’s next step hinges on what the latest testing shows.
“That’s what we’re waiting on, the results from our own testing provider,” Wright said.
In response to residents calling for an overhaul of the building, Wright said she and the board are concerned about safety.
“If we find out that there is a problem in the unit then we absolutely will fix it,” she said.
Problem dates to 2011
The most recent mold problems in the building started when a pipe burst on Dec. 30, 2011. An internal Dayton Fire Department memo, obtained by the Dayton Daily News and WHIO-TV, said water drained from the sixth floor to the first floor. According to the memo, water leakage also could be seen on the outside of the building.
A concern at the time was water running down interior walls containing electrical wiring. The agency said it did repair work and mold remediation, but residents claim the problem persists.
Stephanie Wallace is a cancer survivor who was homeless before she came to Wilkinson Plaza four years ago. She likes her apartment, but fears the mold has made her sick.
“It put me in the hospital for a month,” she said. “They don’t fix anything, They just patch it.”
Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley recently toured the building at the urging of a pastor who has been working with residents. Although GDPM is an independent public entity, Foley has some clout because the county commission appoints members to the housing agency’s board of directors.
Referring to what looked like mold in kitchens and bathrooms, Foley said, “I am not a biologist, but I did not like what I saw.”
Foley said he went into two apartments and was concerned that residents were using their stoves for heat. He also was concerned that GDPM had canceled a meeting with residents in the building that had been scheduled for Jan. 9.
“I fault Greater Dayton Premier Management for not communicating with tenants in the building,” he said.
Rally on Friday
In an effort to find out whether mold exists in the building, the Dayton Daily News gathered several surface samples from a Wilkinson Plaza apartment and took them to a testing and remediation company, The Environmental Doctor.
Company owner Brenden Gitzinger sent the samples to an independent lab in Virginia for testing. One sample returned with a positive result for mold.
“This was identified to be what we call stachybotrys, which is a marker-type spore or marker-type mold,” Gitzinger said.
While the sample showed it was not a high-concentration level of mold, Gitzinger said it was enough to be a concern and one that should be investigated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a little mold everywhere, and stachybotrys and other molds may cause health symptoms that are nonspecific. The CDC says there is no test that proves an association between stachybotrys and particular health symptoms.
Residents remain skeptical about promises from Wilkinson Plaza management. They have contacted an attorney and have begun exploring the possibility of a class-action lawsuit. They also are planning a rally at noon Friday on Courthouse Square.
“We have to go beyond GDPM and their board; they are hiding from us,” Wilkinson resident Darshawn Romine said. “We are coming to the point that we have to take it to the public. We want them to be aware.”
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