Apartment Maintenance Nightmare

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The facilities of student apartment 68 malfunctioned on more than one occasion, causing a substantial amount of property damage and subjecting the residents to potentially dangerous living conditions. John Komarek, Matt Komarek, Justin Ballou, and Mike McHugh have all expressed a serious dissatisfaction towards White Mountain Apartments, sighting a severe lack of prompt and effective maintenance. They feel that Center Lodge turned a blind eye to the “unlivable circumstances” of apartment 68 in order to save money.

In early October, the bathroom sink became backed up with smelly black water. The septic fluid began leaking through the ceiling, forcing the residents use pots to catch the drips and keep things dry. Matt Komarek placed a work order with Center Lodge five times. After one and a half weeks of brushing teeth in the kitchen sink, and a total of three visits from a night maintenance worker who said he couldn’t fix anything, Komarek got his father to call and demand a resolution. Two hours later people came to fix the sink.

In January the heating system failed. According to Ballou, “You could see your breath in the mornings. The thermostat read 50 degrees, but it was obviously colder.” They had the desk clerk at Center Lodge fill out a work order, who said they’d have to wait at least four days to get the heat fixed. Even after four days no people came to fix anything. Kylie Himebaugh, friend of the residents, went every day for the rest of the week to demand help. They got nothing. For two and a half weeks the residents of 68 heated their apartment with their kitchen oven. After persistent nagging, maintenance came and worked for approximately half an hour. With minor results, maintenance told them they’d be back tomorrow, but never came. Komarek says, “After a month of frozen hell and constant complaining, Center Lodge finally gave us a space heater.” A small fan is placed behind the heater to disperse warmth throughout the downstairs; and to this day, the heat turns on every once in a while.

On Monday, February 10th, perhaps the most unacceptable difficulty arose. McHugh noticed the bath mat was sopping with sewage water after stepping on it. Downstairs the rugs were already saturated with the malodorous liquid. “You could see it dripping from five different holes. One hole was quarter sized with poop water pouring out like a faucet,” McHugh said. This ultimately filled their giant trashcan. They informed the desk clerk of the problem that very morning. Fearing the toilet would fall through the soggy ceiling, Komarek advised Center Lodge “To forget the work order, this is going to cause permanent damage.” Two hours later, PSC maintenance came and pulled the toilet off the wall. After taking everything apart, they realized the problem was beyond them. The residents of 68 received a single key to Center Lodge to access shower and bathroom facilities.

The next day, professionals from Concord arrived in a box truck. At one point there were seven individuals working in the bathroom at once. Tools included a giant wetvac and a special camera they sent down the toilet, which ended up coming out of the neighbor’s toilet. After two hours and much demolition to access wall pipes, the trouble was fixed. The professional plumbers never told the residents of 68 exactly what the problem was, but did leave a big mess after putting the bathroom back together.

While the bathroom repairs were happening, sewage water seeped through the wall and underneath the bed of Matt Komarek. Because of the stench, Matt did not sleep in his room for three days. He went to Center Lodge to demand the carpet be sanitized. After two days of persistent nagging, they sent the night maintenance worker to stare at the carpet and say, “I can’t do anything about that.” Komarek eventually sat down with Tom Weeks (director of Student Apts.) and demanded something be done. Only then was someone sent to shampoo and disinfect the carpet.

“We pay $2,200 per semester for a two bedroom apartment. With four residents, that works out to $2,200 a month,” said John Komarek expressing dissatisfaction with the school’s efforts to rectify the situation. “We feel for that kind of money the White Mountain Apartment Complex should be more prompt when it’s a serious health issue like raw sewage or near freezing temperatures.” They received laundry cards, but the school took no responsibility for the damaged electronics, furniture, bed sheets, or other miscellaneous personal effects.

Center Lodge has yet to contacted for a statement concerning this issue.