Palm Harbor, Florida— Matthew Pinkerton is a single dad
with two teenage daughters. So when he discovered mold growing in the walls
between he and his neighbor’s apartment there was immediate concern.
“It seems like the more we try to complain or bring it to
their attention it gets swept under the rug,” Pinkerton says.
Residents say the problem started back in August with a
major leak coming from an upstairs apartment. After complaining to management,
residents called Pinellas Health Inspectors who reported “extensive
visible mold.”
These photos tell the story, with mold underneath carpet,
near the air vent, and underneath kitchen cabinets. Last week apartment
management ordered plumbing crews to fix leaking pipes within those walls but
with the risk of exposure to mold Pinkerton said not so fast.
“I said for the safety of two children please do not cut
into that wall.”
But on Thursday crews began work anyway cutting into the
ceiling and the very wall where the mold was discovered.
“My main concern is the health risk. Two days ago I wasn’t
sick. Now all of a sudden I’m sick,” Pinkerton said with a raspy voice.
“Any mold that was in the apartment had already been
treated,” said Alicia Dobson, Community Manager for Twin Lakes Apartments.
“The safety and health of our residents is very important
to us. At no time would we begin cutting into someone’s walls if we actually
believed there was some type of mold growing within,” Dobson said.
And while Apartment management says the mold problem was
taken care of, residents aren’t so sure.
“It seems like since they cut into the walls on Thursday,
now all of us are getting sick,” Pinkerton says. His two daughters have been
complaining of caugh and soar throat.
Apartment management is now refusing to renew the lease of
the family of three out. Pinkerton says he’s ready to move out anyway because
no amount of inconvenience is worse than risking the health of his two
daughters.
Click here to see the Pinellas County health inspection
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=72852
