Gallatin neighborhood properties posted for safety violations
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Mary Ann Carr, center, stands across the street from her apartment at 24 Millview St. in Uniontown which was cited for code violations Thursday. She’s holding a puppy that she was watching for her next-door-neighbor whose house was also cited for violations.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Mary Ann Carr, center, stands outside her house, on left, located at 24 Millview St. in Uniontown which was cited for code violations Thursday, including a faulty furnace.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Scott Chapple, Uniontown code enforcement officer, discusses various code violations with property owner Rusty Mechling at his properties on Millview Street Thursday afternoon. Chapple gave Mechling two days to fix the problems, including a hazardous furnace, or the houses will be condemned and the tenants evicted.
Several homes on Millview Street in Uniontown’s Gallatin neighborhood came under the scrutiny of the city’s code enforcement officer following a police incident at one of the homes Thursday.
Police executed a search warrant at 22 Millview St. Thursday morning, literally opening the door for Code Officer Scott Chapple to conduct an interior inspection of the property. While no charges were filed as of Thursday evening regarding the search warrant, Chapple did post the building and two others on the street with notices that they would be condemned if corrective action wasn’t taken within two days on safety hazards found at the structures, all owned by Russell B. “Rusty” Mechling III.
“I take advantage of these situations when they occur,” Chapple said of the raid that gave him access and uncovered furnaces that had been red-tagged for safety violations but were back in service without repairs being made.
“The gas company red-tagged the furnaces, but somebody pulled the red tags off and was running them. A red tag means it’s unsafe to run the furnace,” Chapple said.
One furnace at 24 Millview is missing the front cover and has wiring that Chapple said doesn’t meet the building code.
“You have to have a cover on this. Without a cover, the draft to draw the exhaust up the chimney doesn’t work properly and half the gas goes into the living quarters,” Chapple said.
“On my watch I’m not going to have people living in unsafe conditions,” Chapple said.
Chapple Thursday posted notices at 22, 24 and 57 Millview Street, giving Mechling two days to take corrective action.
“These are houses I’ve sent letters on weeks and months ago. They come in and fix one thing and say ‘we’ve got it done.’ Well, no you don’t,” Chapple said.
Mary Ann Carr, who lives in one of the three apartments in the 24 Millview St. house, said she has lived there two years and there is a list of items that need repairs, including the front porch where a leak is causing a corner of the ceiling to crumble. Carr said she is familiar with the code enforcement officer.
“He’s been here off and on because there’s a bunch of stuff that needs to be done,” Carr said.
Mechling met with Chapple on Millview Street Thursday afternoon to discuss the properties. Mechling said he had not received prior notices on the properties, but would address the issues immediately. A furnace repairman was on the scene Thursday afternoon within an hour of being called by Mechling. Columbia Gas also had a representative on site. Mechling said the furnaces were found to be in working order.
Mechling said he doesn’t know who removed the red tags from the Millview Street furnaces and contends there was no red tag at 24 Millview. Chapple handed him paperwork listing code violations at 22 Millview Thursday.
“I’ve never seen this list. If I had, it would have been done,” Mechling said.
“I’ve never received this. It’s not dated,” Mechling said. “He could shut down every house on this street. There are issues with every house on this side of town if you go and inspect them.”
Mechling said he owns 10 houses on Millview and has owned rental properties for the past 35 years and has always worked with the city to make needed repairs.
One of Mechling’s tenants, Lisa Bobrick of 33 Millview, said Mechling has always been responsive when she’s had problems at her house.
“I understand I own more properties than anyone in the county. A small percentage of them have problems and they’re taken care of immediately. What about the other places that have problems that you never hear about? And they never give me credit for cooperating,” Mechling said of city officials.
Mechling said he never received a citation for his properties prior to this year, when Chapple was hired by the city as a full-time code enforcement officer.
“I don’t want to antagonize anyone. I don’t like conflict. I’m trying to get along with the tenants and with the city,” Mechling said.
“My taxes, my sewerage, my garbage are all paid on time. I owe no one.”