Andy Schor isn't fit to be mayor

June 6, 2021

Andy Schor should not be re-elected mayor of Lansing. He and his administration have shown they have a complete disregard for human life.

Tammie Arend's roof was replaced in May 2018 through a program financed by HUD and administered by the City Development Office. The contractor, selected by the Development Office, botched the installation. A leak apparently due to improper caulking allowed rain to accumulate and burst through the ceiling three months after she signed off on the work, flooding the home, damaging floors, walls and ceilings and soaking installation inside the walls. A month after that, when a couple of the contractor's employees came to make repairs, they instead added to the damage to the extent it could be considered vandalism.

The contractor, Scott Frederickson Construction of Bath, is responsible and is being sued. However, Andy Schor and his Development Office failed to insist that that Frederickson repair the damage and is still using him for other projects. (See building permits issued in May 2021.) Worse, they know that Tammie, whose income is $770 a month from social security disability and SSI, is living under intolerable conditions and they will not lift a finger to help her. They know that the excess humidity, mold, and disturbed asbestos are making her sick. They refuse even to talk to her. All she wants is temporary housing to get away from her toxic living conditions.

Her hands are turning red/purple. She has headaches and ocular disturbances when in the house and feels noticeably better when outside. She cannot walk 10 feet without shortness of breath. The stress has aggravated her agoraphobia. Sleeping on the floor or an air mattress and not having furniture to sit on has caused severe back pain.

Her complaints about the water damages were dismissed from the beginning. She talked to Dennis Graham, an inspector with the Development Office, a month after her house was flooded, and his solution was to keep the windows open and run fans. He never talked to her again. After several calls to the Development Office and not being able to get through, she used a borrowed phone and called giving a false name. She got through to Donald Kulhanek, Development Manager, but when she told him who she was, he said he was in a meeting and would call back. He did so, but turned the phone over to Barb Kimmel, who told her that they were not going to do anything for her because she'd filed a complaint against the contractor with LARA and her warranty was no longer valid. She said they were done with her and hung up.

Soon after, she received a letter from Kulhanek dated December 19, 2019. He pointed out that on May 30, 2018 she had signed a document stating that she was satisfied with the work. This, of course, was over 3 months before accumulated water from the leak burst through the ceiling and flooded her house. Kulhanek went on to mention a November 19 inspection attended by himself, inspector James Bennett and another man, the result of which was a report in which Bennett found no substantial evidence of a roof leak. This is what he said in his conclusion:

So in his expert opinion, the "flood" that occurred September 18, 2018 was a figment of Tammie's imagination.

The air was so bad inside the house during Bennett's inspection that the men had to step out from time to time for fresh air. We know that only because of an account written by Tammie's Facebook friend Melissa Quon Huber, who attended the inspection. Two City employees whose names Melissa did not know were there along with Bennett. The "tall gentleman" was Donald Kulhanek. Here are some excerpts from Melissa's account:

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It is clear from Melissa's account that the purpose of the visit was not to do a thorough, objective inspection but to prepare a report to shield the City and the contractor from responsibility.

In June 2020, she received a letter from Heather Sumner of the City Attorney's office saying that since she had retained counsel, all future communications regarding the problems with the house should be directed to the Office of City Attorney.

Tammie emailed Heather Sumner on June 29 denying she'd retained counsel:

All I have asked for since DAY ONE was help to get out of this house because no one should be left to where no matter what the weather was outside the windows have to be left open 24 hours a day. . . All I want is help so I don't have to live like this, I have not had a shower in 2 yrs now, I have no furniture in my home that can be used, I have been sleeping on the floor all this time and have only one office chair that has been given me this year to sit in, I have lost everything because of the mistakes and what seem to be deliberate actions from the people the contractor brought in to do the work.

She received a reply from Heather on July 8 in which she was told that "Based on our analysis of the facts and the law, the situation you have described is a personal, private legal matter and the City of Lansing has no liability associated with your claims."

No legal liability, perhaps, but a moral responsibility to help a disabled, low-income Lansing resident injured by a City program.

Tammie has in been in contact with U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin's office and they have been trying for months to set up a meeting with HUD and the City. ($10,000 of the of the $12,900 cost of the roof replacement was a HUD grant.) The City can't seem to find the time - either that or they are hoping she will die before they have to do anything. This is from an March 2 email Tammie received from Representative Slotkin's constituent services director:

My chief of staff has tried reaching out to the city of Lansing I believe 3 times in the past week. I spoke to her yesterday and we may go ahead and have a meeting with HUD without the City of Lansing if they don't respond very soon.

The City gets money from the federal government for administering these HUD programs. How much they got from Tammie's roof replacement is unknown, but they did not spend a penny on her. The $2,900 of the $12,900 total cost not covered by the $10,000 HUD grant was a loan from the City, and Tammie paid it off from a bank loan she obtained to repair damages to the inside of her home. Even though her credit was good, she had to agree that the bank would use part of it to pay off debts and liens on her home. That did not leave nearly enough for painting and the replacement of carpet, sub floors and household items.

On October 22, 2020 I sent this email to Mayor Andy Schor:

Dear Mayor Schor,

Tamara Arend needs a place to live and needs it soon. As I said in my October 5 story, her home was made uninhabitable by Frederickson Construction when they replaced her roof and repaired the chimney in May 2018.

This work was done through the CDBG loan program funded by HUD and administered by your Development Office. The faulty installation allowed water to leak in, flooding the home. Furniture and belongings were ruined and mold began growing. Frederickson's one attempt to correct the problem did further costly damage.

She still lives in the home, but can use only portions of it. Conditions have continued to deteriorate. The shower has not been operable for over 2 years. She has to leave the windows open and run the heat constantly to keep the humidity down. She is facing her third winter under these ever-worsening conditions and it is affecting her already precarious health.

Ms. Arend's income is from SSI and Social Security disability and amounts to around $770 a month. She cannot find a place she can afford. She needs some sort of emergency housing voucher so she has a place to stay until this matter can be remedied.

She has offered to sign a waiver to release the City from any liability and hold the contractor solely responsible.

Obtaining any legal remedy from Frederickson Construction will take time. The immediate need is housing. Since this all occurred under the supervision of your Development Office, I hope you will agree that it is the City's moral duty to come to her aid.

He did not respond.

On Facebook, he says he has a housing plan for Lansing:

My housing plan for Lansing includes housing for all areas of the city and for residents of all incomes. In my first term, we have created both affordable and market rate housing. We will continue to provide these types of housing, alongside workforce and multiple bedroom housing in our downtown, business districts, corridors, and neighborhoods so that we have a walkable, vibrant city so people of all ages and incomes can live comfortably in Lansing.

If he can't - or won't - get Tammie Arend out of the hellhole she is in, do you really think he will deliver on this grandiose housing plan for the city?

Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text me at 517-730-2638. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.

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