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Jun 15, 2009 5:31 pm US/Central
Some Euless Apartment Residents Left Without A/C
EULESS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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Bear Creek Apartments in Euless
KTVT / KTXA
Imagine having to endure the North Texas heat without air conditioning. Unfortunately, that's a reality for several Euless residents, including one mom who's trying to keep her baby from getting sick in the heat, and says her apartment complex isn't helping.
There are at least five families without air conditioning at the Bear Creek Apartments and one took extreme measures to keep cool. Over the weekend, the Velazquez family bought a pair of a/c units, from a pawn shop, because they couldn't handle the heat.
"We just kept going to talk to the old manager and she's not willing to help," claimed Velazquez. "She has like no sympathy at all."
The storms that hit North Texas last week blew the roof off of Amy Velazquez's apartment. Amy says she was at home with her husband and 15-month-old son when the straight line winds hit. "It was terrifying and real scary," she said.
Complex management did moved Amy and her family to another apartment, but the unit doesn't have a/c. "I just wish it [the storm] hadn't happened so we didn't have to move all our stuff, because I liked this apartment better," Amy said of the different units.
To make matters worse, the Bear Creek Apartments is in foreclosure and the property hasn't been purchased. The old owners left a week and a half ago, leaving the leasing center vacant, and the apartments held up in the courts.
"We're still waiting on the court to take its final action in order for that property to go into receivership and a new property management firm come on site," explained Euless Planning Director Mike Collins.
And air conditioning isn't the only thing the new Velazquez apartment is without. "It [the apartment] had no a/c, no refrigerator [and] no stove," Amy explained. "I went back over there and told her [the manager] and she said they couldn't do nothing about the a/c because they don't have a certified maintenance person to do it."
With her husband unemployed, Velazquez says she is barely making ends meet and she doesn't know how long her used a/c units will hold out.
While CBS 11 News was at the complex code enforcement officers showed up and said new management will be on site by Tuesday morning.
The new receiver for the apartments came to the property late Monday afternoon. The receiver is not the new owner, but is court appointed to take care of the property and any residential needs, until the courts decide what to do with the complex.
The receiver said his goal is to help affected residents get into a safe place by nightfall.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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