NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — Richard Wilson of North Olmsted reports it hasn't been the best of times living with roaches at his two-bedroom unit at the Westbury Apartments for the past couple of months.
Wilson and his wife are soon expecting their first child and said efforts by NM Residential management to take care of the problem have so far not been enough.
“Roaches on our couch, find them in the hallways, on the carpet, little tiny little ones," Wilson said. “I think about my newborn daughter crawling around on the floor, and one of these guys going in her ear and her mouth."
"I just accepted it for the first couple of weeks, months, and then I started to notice this is really bad. And then I started to notice they’re in my food, I wake up in the morning and they’re in my coffee pot."
Rick Haase with the City of North Olmsted's Mayor's office told News 5 bugs aren't the only issue being addressed at the Westbury Apartments. Haase said building management is working with the city to solve structural issues concerning the 19-story building facia, parking deck and balconies.
“We are attempting to work diligently to pursue the work to compile the abatement of violations," Haase said. “There are four different court cases in two different courts, Rocky River Municipal Court and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
There are two cases against the management company and two against Westbury Holdings. “There have been fines issued in the total amount of $400,000. That’s $100,000 for each case.”
Haase said the city has now contacted the Cuyahoga County Board of Health to address the reported bug problem.
Kevin Brennan with the board of health told News 5 that a sanitarian will soon inspect the complex in response to complaints, and said tenants also have to play a role in preventing and controlling bug issues by keeping their units clean.
“We've taken the phone calls over the last day or two and we’re just finding the time in the schedule to get out there," Brennan said. “In our county, we are not engaged in enforcing housing violations, so that’s why we recommend that people deal with the city's building department. If you’re paying a fee to someone, you want to make sure it’s as safe as a living environment as possible."
NM Residential responded immediately to our story and issued the following statement:
"NM Residential is vigilant in its efforts to provide safe and high-quality amenities to our residential communities, and the well-being of our residents is our top priority. We utilize industry-leading pest control specialists who provide weekly pest control within the Westbury complex and additional applications to specific residential units when concerns are reported. NM Residential is committed to addressing any residents’ concerns.
NM Residential and the City of North Olmsted entered into an agreement and we are diligently working to complete these repairs in accordance with the agreement. NM Residential has invested at least $5 million in improvements and to bring the building up to current OBC standards. This includes the current parking deck/garage restoration, which is ahead of schedule."
Meanwhile, Wilson said he and his wife are now in the process of trying to find a new place to live.
“There’s cockroaches on every single one of those traps, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room," Wilson said. “Oh I’m out of here, we’re gone, we’re gone, there is no fixing this and we’ll stay.”
