Problem Solver: Building Without Air for Weeks

By Dianne Derby
Anchor
Published: August 5, 2008

If you think you’ve had it tough in this hot weather consider this…a government housing building in downtown Greenville has had problems with their air conditioning for nearly 3 weeks. Residents there are so heated up about it they’ve asked 7 On Your Side to help. Dianne Derby finds out what’s being done to get it fixed and keep them cool. It’s a 7 On Your Side Problem Solver.

It’s tough to stay cool during these dog days of summer especially for residents of Greenville Summit in downtown Greenville. JP McKittrick and Robert Vaughn can hardly stand to be in their apartments for more than a few minutes. They say for nearly three weeks the air conditioning system at their Section 8 housing hasn’t been working.

“It’s been miserable,“ said McKittrick. “I’m hot, I’m sweaty, people get aggravated.“

McKittrick says instead of the Gatorade and cookies they’ve been given by management they want answers. So he called 7 On Your Side for help. At first he says he was scared to interview with us…worried his involvement in our story would get him kicked out. But he said he was so fed up he knew he had to do something for himself and the other 100 plus people who live here.
“Downstairs they can’t raise a window,“ said McKittrick. “That’s the handicap floor they don’t have any circulation.“

While we were inside McKittrick’s apartment we noticed his thermostat registered at nearly 90 degrees he says the only thing he has to keep him cool are the few fans inside his apartment.

Ambling Management Company spoke with us by phone. We worried most about the people on the ground floor who can’t open their windows. 

“If there is something they’ve requested we’ve responded to every request the best that we can,“ said Ambling Management Company’s Angie Waller.

They gave us a timeline for the 19 days they’ve spent trying to get the problem solved. We counted only 3 days the air actually worked all day. The rest of the time they battled with everything from failures with the first company they hired to do the work to discovering new leaks.

“We have done everything we have been able to do,“ said Ambling Development Company’s Rusty Snow. “We have gotten the correct people out there we have given them free reign through the building to try and get this problem solved as fast as possible.“

Good news by Tuesday afternoon the system was back up and running…beginning a cool down for a building that been a hot mess.
“I hope and pray it will be fixed today,“ said Vaughn.

We also tried to contact the state Department of Housing and Urban Development Director, Jim Chaplin, to find how he could help with the problems at Greenville Summit but he would not comment.