HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Beacon Apartment tenants are dealing with high temperatures and air conditioning units not working properly after waking up with no water just two weeks ago.
Tenants said the problems at the complex go much deeper than A/C units not working properly.
“It’s miserable,” Beacon Apartment Tenant Amy Meckel said. “Absolutely miserable.”
With the high temperatures in the Tennessee Valley, many are finding comfort in their homes. Beacon Apartment tenants said that comfort is nowhere to be found.
“I was outside for a while earlier, and I was really hot,” Meckel said. “I decided to go back inside where it was cool, and it was like, no difference. It’s that hot in my apartment.”
Tenants say their room temperatures are around 90 degrees, despite having set the thermostat to around 60 degrees with the cool setting on. They say no maintenance worker has addressed the issue, and no management personnel have responded to inquiries about the problem.
Meckel said all of her maintenance requests have been cancelled from the resident portal. Other tenants said they cannot access that portal at all.
“After seeing my maintenance requests, I had four that were submitted, and all being cancelled, all hope was lost,” Meckel said.
That feeling of despair is shared among tenants, but Property Manager Steward + Helm told News 19 they’re working on fixing those issues.
“We are working to address these issues as quickly as possible. The property remains short staffed in terms of maintenance personnel. Management is in the process of identifying and hiring qualified applicants for three open positions and will fill those jobs as soon as possible. We appreciate the patience residents have shown.”
Ed Cafasso, On Behalf of Beacon Apartments
Tenants said these issues are just the tip of the iceberg.
“I can’t even feel safe walking to my mailbox, you know?” Kimberly Haynes, a Beacon Apartment tenant, said. “It’s unsafe and it’s a problem.”
Huntsville Police responded to a call at the apartment complex about someone having a gun on the property and threatening to harm someone with it around noon on Wednesday. Sgt. Chris Jackson said that no injuries were reported and no weapon was found or retrieved during the investigation.
Tenants said U.S. Marshals were involved at the scene, but Huntsville Police could not confirm that.
In an email described as shocking by tenants, on-site management said the office would be closing early on Wednesday.
“An email came out saying that they were going to close operation hours today because they didn’t feel safe,” Haynes said. “But I’m just like, well, how do you think we feel? We’re here dealing with this constantly every day.”
“Due to multiple incidents involving verbal and physical threats toward on-site staff, as well as extremely disruptive and harassing behavior that has occurred within and around the leasing office — including incidents requiring police involvement — the office will be closed to walk-in visits until further notice…We understand and acknowledge the ongoing frustrations many of you are experiencing, and we are committed to resolving issues as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, threatening or hostile behavior toward staff will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”
Melissa Humphres, Regional Director for Steward + Helm Property Management
Haynes said she is unaware of the threatening behavior the email mentioned.
“We have people that come in there just to have a conversation, and y’all are running away from us,” Haynes said. “I don’t see how that’s threatening. We literally come in and knock on the door. Y’all don’t answer. We don’t know if you’re there or not, but how is that a threat?”
Tenants said the issues need to be addressed for the property and the tenants to move forward harmoniously.
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