At 12:30 I noticed that I hadn't heard from The Club about my AC. This seems strange since it got up to 100 degrees yesterday with high humidity and it's looking like the same for today.
I placed a new work order at about 1:10 pm to tell them I've taken my dog to my son's house and they can enter at any time.
The mice are back I moved in to my apartment on February 1st, 2019 and immediately started transitioning my food in to air tight, glass containers that mice can't get into. In very early March I got a cat in hopes of keeping the mice off the kitchen counter. Kramer caught his first mouse on March 3rd. Good kitty.
After that, I started setting live traps and letting the mice go near the stream in the park across the street. On March 16th, the first day I started video documenting their release I caught three at one time.
I caught a mouse every day until March 24th when, in response to the next door neighbor, who didn't have mice until I got Kramer, complained to the office and I assume they put poison out. Or maybe the weather got nice and the mice quit coming back after their relocation.
Until two days ago. I hadn't been checking the trap; in fact, I don't recall there being food in it before shoving it to the very back of the cupboard. But Kramer was showing much interest as I was moving pots and pans around and I found a dead mouse in the trap. Ooooops. Not a live trap anymore. I reset it and based on Kramers midnight behaviour I'll be making a trip to the steam this morning.
I don't know why, but I persist in trying to effect positive change here. On Thursday, 8/2 I called and left a message with Robbi Parker, the Director of Facilities for BH Management, the company that owns The Club at Indian Creek. I thanked him for getting the leaky washer fixed when I had had no luck after six months of trying, I told him I was excited about the upcoming gutter and downspout repairs, and that I was still concerned about the non-existent recycling program. I pointed out that both the BH Management and The Club websites advertise on-site recycling, but that I continue to photograph my recycling in the trash dumpster after leaving it out, per instruction, for Valet Trash Service. I'm pretty sure I used the word fraudulent somewhere in that message.
The following day, after speaking with a friend, I called an apologized for that message explaining that I was (and still am) upset because I actually care about this issue. I assured him that I have no interest in suing anybody and if I came across that way, it is not what I intended. I then shared information about The Department of Health and Environment's Green Business Program and thanked him before ending the call.
The following morning Amber Pettijohn (515-410-9336) left me a message saying they are interested in hearing more about the program and to call or email her. I also received a message from Crystal in The Club office.
“Hi Helen! I wanted to let you know that I am working with and reviewing this with my upper management team. We love this idea and would like to arrange a time to meet with you and discuss. Would you have some time next Tuesday or Thursday to come meet with us or chat on the phone?”
On Thursday, 8/8 I responded by email to amber.pettijohn@bhmanagement.com and MGR.IndianCreek@bhmanagement.com saying that I would love to meet on Tuesday, but that I was unavailable on Thursday and that I was excited to work on this with them. I sent a 2nd email on Sunday with how I would response to the Green Business application question of “What are your green goals?” if I were the owner of The Club.
We want to make recycling easier than throwing trash away.
Our lower level apartments have spacious patios. We want to give residents tools to maintain their own patio spaces. Currently, there is no easy way for residents to dispose of weeds, grass clippings, and general garden cleanup.
We’re looking for an easy solution for residents to dispose of large furniture items when they leave instead of filling the trash dumpster and leaving items next to the dumpsters.
Our overall goal is to make it so easy for residents to take care of all waste appropriately, that they don’t have to think about it. The most logical choice will be the best choice for everyone. As an apartment complex, we can’t control our residents behaviour. But we can put systems in place that let residents participate in maintaining our grounds without them even realizing it. We would like to identify those systems.
On Monday, I hadn't heard from either, except that Crystal closed the work order. I called Amber at around 2:00 to touch base and again mentioned that Crystal had requested a Tuesday or Thursday meeting. She emailed back and said that Crystal would be my point person and that she would get back with me next week. So I wait.
I can't tell if I'm being harassed.Someday I'll tell you about the July 10th newsletter. For now . . . on 8/6/19 I was notified via a letter on my door that staff would be entering my apartment to label the breaker box. They came on Wednesday 8/7 and Brea took a fairly intimate tour of my entire apartment, entering my closet and checking out the patio area. She commented “that's cute” as she left my bedroom.
I did show Brea where I had just that morning discovered the large living room window was leaking and the gentleman from maintenance said he would open a work order and appeared to do so on his phone, although there was not ticket open on the website.
8/13/19 I woke up around 1:30 to discover the AC is out. It's currently 76 degrees and yesterday it was still 98 at 6:30 pm.
I realize I sound paranoid, but I'm wondering if this new problem with my AC isn't really a coincidence. At first, I was confident they were here on Wednesday gathering evidence to try and evict me. They got plenty, for a have a hospice foster dog that I had thought would have passed by now.
Now, I can't help but feel like they're trying to make it so unpleasant that I give up and break my lease. As I sit here sweating and listening the familiar sounds of mice chewing something, I admit, I'm thinking about it.
I've been continuing to harass my apartment complex about the non-existent recycling, but haven't done a good job of documenting because I really, really believe lawsuits should be the absolute last resort after every other possible solution has been investigated. I'm committed to seeking a positive solution, but I don't understand where the company is coming from and I haven't been able to stop focusing on what's been happening instead of what can happen.
I was explaining to my good, super-smart friend Polly what's been happening, why I care, and how scared I am of potential retaliations and eventual eviction from an apartment that I love.
There's an article in the Summer 2019 JoCo Magazine about businesses that have adopted green practices. “All of the 2019 awardees started by working with Johnson County staff through the free consultation program offered by DHE as part of their Green Business program. In addition to the free consultation, the department offers $500 in financial assistance for eligible projects . . . .” I was saying to Polly that I want to take a copy of the article to the office. “You do it” she said. “They're just doing their jobs and they've got bigger fish to fry. So you do it.”
Told ya! Polly is brilliant! I care about recycling and would so much rather spend my time working to install a robust program in my community than snapping pictures of dumpsters and harassing people.
I've sent the article to the apartment management and have asked that they let me work with DHE on starting and maintaining a recycling program.
Ball's in your court B&H. I hope you're willing to play.
We've heard “closed work order” before, but this one is exciting because the issue has finally been fixed. There have been nine closed work orders since February 1st regarding the leaky washing machine. Even after the leak was fixed it still took one more additional work order to get the job completely done. That's just how we roll at The Club.
Here it is: 7/12 Closed work order “Found a 4” floor clean out had it's cap laying off to the side and sewer gas coming out. Reinstalled cap and sealed it. That should help.”
Ya think? Snake and Rooter supposedly came on Friday 7/1, which means my neighbors and I had been subjected to this smell that vacillated between unpleasant and horrific for eleven days. And not a single one of my neighbors thought that reporting it to the office would result in the problem being fixed.
If you move to The Club you can expect to be your own property manager, only you won't have the power to take care of anything yourself.
Work Order
7/12/18
Per Crystal's request on 7/11 I have attached a photo of my recycling in the trash dumpster. As we discussed, I have documented several instances of my recycling being thrown in the trash dumpster while the recycling dumpster remains empty or containing bagged trash. This is not an isolated instance.
While I appreciate the invitation to speak with Valet Trash at the annual Luau Pool Party, I was unable to leave my job where I work some evenings. And even if I were available, talking with Valet Trash about their poor service isn't how I want to spend my free time. I feel strongly that that is your job and am happy to leave it to you.
Again, as we also discussed, I appreciate you for having the leaky washer fixed and hope you will investigate the resulting smell of raw sewage.
7/3/10 Work Order Hi Brea, Thanks for the phone call. I put my mostly empty Valet Trash receptacle in the hallway next to my recycling as instructed. This morning, it has still not been picked up. Please advise.
UPDATE 7/2/19 Brea called to tell me that I have to put my Valet Trash Service trash can out with my recycling, even if it's empty so that the trash guy knows I'm receiving the service. I asked if I could cancel the service and she said, no because it's a required service across all B&H Management properties.
7/2/19 Work Order: My neighbors trash got picked up last night, but my recycling is still sitting in the hallway. I believe it is properly contained. Will you please investigate why it didn't get picked up?
Thank you.
3/6/19 Work Order: Will you please either pick up my recycling, or communicate why it's not getting picked up? It's been in the hallway, at the designated time, in clear bluish bags, just like what you told me to buy, for three nights. It's still sitting there.This is the third time either my trash or recycling hasn't gotten picked up, while my neighbors trash/recycling has been. They'll sometimes pick up one, but not the other.
7/2/19 Work Order: My neighbors trash got picked up last night, but my recycling is still sitting in the hallway. I believe it is properly contained. Will you please investigate why it didn't get picked up?
Thank you.
I haven't used the Valet Trash service and instead have been taking my recycling to my sister's. I haven't been to visit her for awhile and would like to use this service that I pay a required monthly fee for.
3/6/19 Work Order: Will you please either pick up my recycling, or communicate why it's not getting picked up? It's been in the hallway, at the designated time, in clear bluish bags, just like what you told me to buy, for three nights. It's still sitting there.This is the third time either my trash or recycling hasn't gotten picked up, while my neighbors trash/recycling has been. They'll sometimes pick up one, but not the other.
Work Order Closed: Helen, I just researched to find out why your pick up has not been happening. It looks like they are stating that the bags are not securely tied and this needs to be done so carriers can carry them without the risk of waste getting all over.
7/1/19 Voicemail to Robbie Parker, Director of Facilities at B&H Management saying I've submitted eight works since 2/1 regarding the leaky washing machine. The most recent has been closed, saying that Snake n' Rooter would be out the same day. Nothing has changed and I don't believe they were actually called. I asked if this is typical B&H Management practice, or are they just not paying attention to what's happening at The Club and requested a call back.
Update: 9:58am Crystal from the office at The Club called to let me know that she personally saw Snake and Rooter on Friday, they were there when she left, they had contacted to ask her which building they were to work at, so maybe they worked a the wrong building. But it should be fixed and that if it continues to be a problem I should reach out to her personally.
I used the washing machine on Saturday 6/29 after the following work order was closed:
6/27 – Work Order: The washer in the basement of 10308 still leaks. Not a dribble. It's a serious leak. Work Order Closed: Crystal J Jun 28, 2019 Snake n Rooter has been called. They will be out today. Closing out work order since work is scheduled with a vendor and will not be completed in house. Thank you for notifying us!
On the 29th there has been no change to the leak, no evidence that Snake n Rooter has been out. Since the work order has been closed, there has been no communication either way.
On June 24th Christopher Campbell was served with a 14/30 Day Notice to Vacate because they neglected to collect vaccination and license information on Mugz, Chris' dog. On Friday June 28th I took Mugz to KC Spay and Neuter to get his vaccinations up to date. I also got his Overland Park Licence updated and delivered those documents to the office where Ashley (I believe is her name) accepted them.
2/11/19 Work Order: The Washer in 10308 is not draining properly and the floor has standing, soapy water. Work Order Closed: No washer in this apartment.....
3/26/19 Pulled from an email regarding other issues: The work orders I have submitted have included the slow bathtub drain. I ended up snaking it myself, as I never received a response. It was nasty with not only hair, but caulk and paint. This could have easily been taken care of during apartment cleanup. The shared washer in the basement still leaks, leaving a lake each time it's run. That work order was closed without resolution because “there is no washer in that unit”.
4/6/19 This is a PS to another issue I contacted the office about via email: PS The washer in the basement still leaks. If the company you contract that service out to has been to look at it, they didn’t address the issue entirely. Maybe they’re waiting on a part?
4/22/19 Work Order: The washer in the basement of 10308 Conser St. still leaks. It's not in an individual apartment, it's the shared washer in the basement. Work Order Closed: Ran drain clean through drain. 4/24/19: Resident response to closed work order: Thank you for working on this. I did a load last night and the washer still leaks a little bit, but nearly as badly as before. Now, the washer is out of order. The LED says “EnFlow Out of Order”.
5/5/19 Work Order: The washer in the basement of 10308 is out of order. 5/6/19 Work order response: Will be assigned to Jetz. 5/7/19 Called Jetz. They have put this on the schedule and should be out sometime before Friday 5/10/19. Closed work order: Closing this work order as work will be completed by the vendor that owns the machines.
6/15/19 I went to the office to add money to my Jetzervice account. Before leaving I stopped and talk the office assistant that the washer 10308 still leaked. She said she would open a ticket with Jetzservice. I responded that they had been out and that maybe it’s a plumbing issue. She responded that she would also have maintenance come look at it. I asked if I should also open a ticket and she said no, she was doing it.
6/27/19 I did laundry on 6/25/19. The washer still leaks, there has been no ticket opened, nor any communication regarding action taken. New ticket opened: The washer in the basement of 10308 still leaks. Not a dribble. It's a serious leak.