Montgomery City Council addresses neglect, safety at apartment complexes

Safety and neglect at two apartment complexes were addressed at the Feb. 3 Montgomery City Council meeting.

The city council voted to support a lawsuit against the owners of Woodley Terrace Apartments. Councilor Oronde Mitchell implored his fellow council members to close Woodley Terrace Apartments indefinitely.

The apartment complex was damaged by a fire in December that resulted in the deaths of three tenants. About 30 tenants still live in the complex.

“I have already talked to the United Way, Salvation Army and also Red Cross, so we will do a collaborative effort to make sure that we place those residents somewhere that will be suitable and affordable for them,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said that he has been at odds with owners EEG Management for four years and has never been able to have them come before the council to answer questions.

“We have chased their lawyers,” he said. “We have made a settlement with them that we thought was in good faith. That settlement was not done in good faith. We did have to refile a suit against them.”

The council unanimously agreed to support the lawsuit.

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Mitchell said the lawsuit “is an opportunity for the city of Montgomery to stand for their citizens and make a statement to those out-of-state landlords that we will not take what we’re seeing in the city of Montgomery.”

The property manager of Sherwood Apartments was brought before the council for a business license review. Councilor Franetta Delayne Riley stated that she has received complaints from tenants of Sherwood Apartments regarding water problems, pest infestations and the lack of smoke alarms. She said tenants reported that eviction notices were served to those who reported complaints.

Representing the apartment was Property Manager Brittany Perry, who said the complex is owned by Ari Rothman based in New York. Perry said that the issues occurred under the previous manager, and she was doing what she could to make improvements. She admitted that she had seen neglect while working as an assistant to the manager, and she is herself a tenant there.

Perry further stated that she was complying with tenants, visiting them and giving work orders to address complaints.

Riley and other council members and urged to come up with a “plan of action" as well as to meet with fire officials on further actions.

The Montgomery City Council meets at 5 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of the month at City Hall on 103 North Perry Street. Recordings of meetings can be found on YouTube and Facebook.