Pittsfield Housing Authority Combats Bedbug Presence
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Housing Authority is conducting thorough pest control on Columbia Arms after bedbugs were discovered in a small portion of the building over the summer.
The PHA just finished its first round of quarterly bedbug treatments to every unit in the elderly and disabled housing complex. The treatment schedule was adopted around July when the bed bugs were discovered.
"We went overboard trying to protect our tenants, that's what it comes down to." Chairman Michael McCarthy told iBerkshires at the PHA's monthly meeting on Tuesday.
"We examined all the apartments with the help of an expert pest control company, and we discovered that there were a couple of small little pockets of bedbug, but it's very important for us to nip that in the bud."
He added that bedbugs can come in with a visitor and it is nearly impossible to control them unless you are being vigilant, which is why the housing authority is leaving no stone unturned.
McCarthy understands how uncomfortable it is for the bugs to be around, he said.
Director of Maintenance William Schrade explained that all of the treatments are done by Braman Pest Control and not by internal staff. For inspections, the PHA is using an on-call contractor.
He said the treatments are mandatory and cannot be opted out of by tenants.
During the meeting, the panel discussed some received correspondence about tenants not being able to prepare their units for treatments because of the physical limitations.
Schrade said his team can move liability issues such as furniture and televisions but the maintenance team is not asked to prepare lighter items like clothing.
"We try to work with them if we can," he said. "Nine out of 10 times it's furniture stuff that has to be moved and we will take care of that."
His crews are provided with protective suits to prevent bedbug transmission.
McCarthy and Director Constance Scott said the housing authority was addressing the issue before there was press coverage about it.
"I think we've been pretty clear as a board and administrative staff that when it comes to the bedbugs or any other issues involving the tenants' safety and comfort and peace of mind, we go the extra mile, we do everything we can to help our tenants, that's what we're here for," McCarthy explained.
In other news:
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The Housing Authority in June applied for a federal hazard grant to update fire alarms, smoke and CO2 detectors, fire suppression cans, and smart burner technologies to reduce grease fires. It was one of the 20 housing authorities that received a grant for around $133,000. It cost PHA $6,000 to work with a consultant to help write the grant. Work has to be bid out and accepted with contracts awarded within one year and work completed in two years.
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PHA received around $65,000 in grants from the state Department of Housing and Community Development to complete a toilet and showerhead replacement project. It originally received a grant for $150,000 for the project but extra expenses came up such as the costs for recycling toilets.
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The panel also approved a bid from Performance Plumbing and Heating in the amount of $184,288 for the toilet and shower head replacement project. It will replace 297 toilets and showerheads throughout the housing authority's properties. The bid was between a local contractor and the Medway company, who bid lower than the local.
- A payment standard for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program was set at 100 percent of the fair market rent. This decision was made to provide the most assistance as possible.
