Jeannette Manor residents demand county commissioners help correct bug, mold issues

More than a half-dozen Jeannette Manor residents appeared at the Westmoreland County commissioners’ public meeting Wednesday to ask for help with what they claim is an ongoing insect and mold infestation in their building.

Residents claim they have yet to receive any acknowledgement from the Westmoreland County Housing Authority — which operates the 95-unit, nine-story apartment building on South Fourth Street — regarding the problems they said have persisted for months.

“It goes to the management and never gets addressed,” resident Sherri Mickey said.

Mickey, 60, a building resident since 2020, said she has seen bedbug infestations in her apartment and others and that she and her neighbors found mold on their walls, in air vents and in common areas throughout the building.

Michael Washowich, executive director of the Westmoreland County Housing Authority, denied the presence of mold on Wednesday but conceded the agency has been working for several months to remediate bedbugs found in as many as 17 units.

“We’re not aware of any mold issues. The building is thoroughly inspected by HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and our staff. (They) would get it checked immediately and get it remediated,” Washowich said.

He said the federal agency requires detailed building inspections be completed every two years. The authority conducts inspections annually, he said.

Jeannette Manor residents said complaints about bugs and mold have been made to building management but not directly to the housing authority or its board of directors.

They said that in addition to bugs and mold, the building’s two elevators are not properly maintained and kept in working order.

“We have to carry cellphones in case we get stuck,” Mickey said.

Commissioners have no direct oversight of the housing authority but appoint members to that agency’s board.

Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said she would accompany Jeannette Manor residents when they take their complaints in person to authority board members at the agency’s next public meeting May 3.

Jeannette Manor resident Diane Fox, 72, said she’s tired of waiting and hopes that complaints brought Wednesday to the county commissioners will force repairs.

“I just want them to fix it so I can breathe,” Fox said.