Photo by Eric Ayres Windsor Manor, a senior/affordable housing high-rise apartment complex on Main Street in downtown Wheeling, last week was “condemned as dangerous and unsafe” after a cockroach infestation was reported to the City of Wheeling Building and Planning Department, as well as the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department.

WHEELING — The Ohio County Health Department was also called to investigate allegations of a cockroach infestation last week at Windsor Manor, which was condemned as dangerous and unsafe by the City of Wheeling’s Building Inspection Department.

The 11-story high rise apartment complex at 1143 Main St. in downtown Wheeling was permitted to remain occupied, but the property owner was given until Feb. 9 to “have an extremely aggressive exterminating plan implemented by a professional exterminating company for any and all infestations.”

Meanwhile, residents of the 109-unit apartment building are hoping that the issue is resolved soon. Tenants like Katrina Trimmer, who has resided in Windsor Manor for about a year, said most people who live there will have nowhere to turn if the building is completely condemned, forcing occupants to be displaced.

“Then we’ll have no choice but to move, and that wouldn’t be right,” Trimmer said, adding that the infestation problem is no secret to those who live there. “They have bugs — lots of bugs.”

Howard Gamble, administrator of the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, said they received a complaint and had gone to the Windsor Manor just before the City of Wheeling Building and Planning Department got involved.

“We were there the day before,” Gamble noted. “When it comes to apartments, county health departments typically don’t have a lot of jurisdiction. “When general complaints are received of a problem that’s going to cause a nuisance affecting public health — and that’s actually in state code, we can go out and inspect.”

Gamble said a complainant at the apartment high rise reported an infestation of roaches, particularly in one room on the fifth floor. In a case like this, an inspector from the health department would meet with management, ask them if they were aware of the situation and inquire about a plan of action to resolve the problem.

“We got documentation as far as what was being done for the problem, by way of treatments or documentation that says treatments weren’t able to be done because of whatever issue,” Gamble said. “Because the person was moved to another room, the inspector finished his complaint.”

On the day after the health department inspection took place, the city inspector arrived in response to a complaint.

“The city did more inspections of a broader area of the apartment complex than our original inspection — our complaint was for one room, which that person had already moved out of,” Gamble explained. “They have the ability to condemn. County health departments do not. I can rule properties uninhabitable until corrected.”

City building inspectors have more authorities over situations like these, Gamble noted. He said it is fortunate that the city of Wheeling has a building inspector, because not all cities or counties in the state have them.

Under public health rules in West Virginia, issues like these can eventually go through court in the case that officials deem an owner or property manager is causing an obstruction in the enforcement of health regulations or if there is a nuisance affecting public health. Cases can go through Circuit Court or Magistrate Court, Gamble explained.

But pest issues are not uncommon in facilities like this, and owners must demonstrate that effort is being made to manage the situation.

“It’s not unusual, but that’s not a good excuse for tenants and the residents,” Gamble said. “They deserve an apartment that’s clean and safe. However — will there be bed bugs and roaches every once in a while? Yes. But as long as management is trying to fix that problem by way of treating, or if the individual in an apartment needs help beyond just treatment — that’s great. But it’s tough — not cleaning up an apartment, leaving food out, you bring that element of problems into a facility.”

Roaches were observed during the Health Department’s inspection, and information obtained during that visit was forwarded to the City Building Department, which took the action to initiate the notice of condemnation.

“I completely understand, and as we’ve told the city, ‘we’re behind you'” Gamble said. “We provided the city with the information that we collected the day before. Hopefully, it gets corrected.”

Gamble said it was the city’s call on whether or not a facility remains habitable or if new tenants can be accepted in the wake of the notice. But he added that the management company for Windsor Manor — Cleveland-based J&S Management — had already begun addressing the issue, but apparently ran into a snag.

“They had done some treating,” Gamble said. “But there apparently were individuals not letting pest management into their apartments to do treatments.”

This is not the first time the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department has had pest complaints at Windsor Manor.

“In the past, we’ve had complaints for pests, including bed bugs and roaches for that facility,” Gamble said, noting that reports of bed bugs in buildings — from apartment complexes to hotels and even movie theaters and private residences — are not unusual. “It doesn’t take much for that to be a problem. That apartment complex has had issues in the past with pests, including bed bugs.”

Efforts to reach members of J&S Management for a comment about the action to condemn Windsor Manor have been unsuccessful.