Melrose 'Irresponsible' After Sewage Disaster, Residents Say

MELROSE, MA — It's been nearly three weeks since a sewage crisis on Brazil Street displaced the residents of four homes, and the disconnect between Melrose and those affected appears as deep as ever amid allegations the city has tried to rush them back into homes that appear unfit for living.

Time has already run out for one couple and their young daughter. The city this week stopped paying for a hotel for the family after city Health Director Ruth Clay told them their home was ready to be lived in late last month. Since she said that, dozens of roaches have skittered along the bare floor and incomplete walls that don't reach the ground.

The newlyweds across the street convinced the city to extend their hotel stay another week after Clay revised her go-ahead to move back in after a home restoration company telling her there was more sewage in the heating and cooling unit beneath the living room.

In both instances, the residents said Clay only gave a quick eyeball test of a couple of affected rooms before saying the homes were habitable. They said she didn't stay in either home for more than a minute before giving the green light, with no tests being administered to check for toxicity or bacteria.

Patch was unable to reach the residents in the other two homes — an elderly man in one and a non-English speaking couple with three young children in the other.

The city on Wednesday stood by Clay's inspections and touted her qualifications to determine habitability.

Mayor Gail Infurna's administration, meanwhile, has appeared more reactionary than proactive throughout the sewage saga.

The residents of at least two of the affected homes only were invited to come sit down with city officials immediately after Patch informed the administration of questions for this story Tuesday. Ward 5 Alderman Shawn MacMaster, who lives just houses away on Brazil Street, said he received a response to questions he asked more than two weeks ago, but only after Patch's inquiry.

The Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran who lives at 9 Brazil St. is sleeping on an air mattress in what appears to be the nicest room on the first floor — mostly because it actually resembles a finished living space. His wife and 5-year-old daughter are sleeping at her mother's house. The family, who asked their names not be used, are doing what they have to since Clay told them the house was "good to go" and the city stopped paying for their Wakefield hotel Monday.

"The hotel bumped us out last night," the woman who lives there told Patch Tuesday. "The city said they'd stop paying since the home is habitable. I said we've had a bug problem — I don't feel like it's comfortable. I have a 5-year-old; there's holes in the walls, there's no floors."

The bug problem involved dozens of roaches just days earlier. Roaches that had never been there before. Roaches the family had to remove after smoking them out.

The Health Department said it never received complaints of roaches, though the city said the restoration company told the homeowner that their presence is normal following such a cleanup. The city insists the homeowner provided them with a different picture of the situation.

While the home may be habitable, it's tough to say it's fit for living — particularly for a young child.

"The City would never allow a child (or anyone else) to live in unsafe or unhealthy conditions, but 9 Brazil Street has been thoroughly evaluated and found to be safe and habitable," City Solicitor Robert Van Campen told Patch.

State law only requires heat, running water, electricity, a toilet and locked doors. The home at 9 Brazil St. checked those boxes.

Silvana Ortiz and her new husband Chris Doherty have been taking it day by day — they don't really have much choice.

They have until July 15 to fix their home. They almost didn't even get that long; Ortiz said her home was deemed ready to live in by Clay on June 28.

"She came in — it was less than a minute — she walked through, didn't ask any questions and said 'OK that's good,'" Ortiz said.

The restoration company working on her home said there was still sewage trapped in an heating and cooling line under the living room; that could potentially mean toxic air when the system would be in use. The floor vent is covered by a trash bag right next to the front door.

"The fact that all of that went without question and she deemed it livable - that blows my mind," Ortiz said. "It's irresponsible on their part."

Ortiz sent an email explaining the situation and telling Clay she needed to come back and reevaluate. Clay said she didn't need to, Ortiz said.

She again messaged Clay, who asked for the restoration company's number. Clay talked to the company, then called Ortiz back, saying Ortiz was right and work still needed to be done because there was still sewage there, according to Ortiz.

Van Campen said Ruth revised her assessment after getting the information from the restoration company.

"Ruth inspected the house and found that all pervious surfaces had been removed and all impervious surfaces had been cleaned and disinfected," Van Campen said. "She confirmed this with ServPro. Unfortunately, ServPro did not inform her that the vent pipe beneath the floor potentially contained hazardous material, and she only learned this from the tenant - sometime after the tenant had been told by ServPro."

The work still hasn't been done. The city stops paying for their hotel early next week.

MacMaster has been an advocate of his neighbors since the beginning, whether helping the older man at 18 Brazil St. move his belongings through sewage water the night of the incident or trying to drag information out of the administration for those affected. He's not an opponent of city hall, but knows he works for the people of Ward 5 - his neighbors.

When asked what communications he's had with the Mayor's office, he acknowledged it has largely been a one-way street. An email he sent June 25 asking about how the city planned on testing for toxicity and bacteria before deeming the homes habitable went unanswered, as did two subsequent efforts to reach them, until Tuesday, he said.

"The concerns that I raised with the administration 14 days ago have since been validated by problems that have surfaced at two of the homes," MacMaster told Patch.

He is pushing for an independent environmental specialist to inspect the homes in a scientific manner, as well as the hotel stays being extended for those who need them.

"To me, due diligence and the spirit of public service calls for more than a superficial inspection, especially considering the extent and severity of the sewer backup and what these residents have already gone through," MacMaster told Patch Tuesday evening.

There's still the matter of who is paying for what. The city has not committed to paying for all related expenses, though residents have been told to submit receipts for "expenses incurred as a result of these sewer surcharges as part of their individual insurance claims against the City," according to Van Campen.

"As you know, the damage that occurred on June 20th is being comprehensively reviewed as part of a consolidated insurance claim with the City’s insurance company," he said.

The city has paid for the hotel stays up to this point, as well as storage pods on the properties. The city later committed to covering costs associated with the cleanup and demolition.

But with the hotel bills piling up and repairs still to be done, Van Campen said "the City of Melrose cannot commit to continue using its limited financial resources to pay for ongoing expenses here." The city has already spent thousands helping those affected, he said.

The city said it's waiting on cause and liability to be determined, saying it was securing an independent firm to investigate what happened when a sewage backup turned into a filth explosion.

That firm is Weston and Sampson, thought it's not clear how independent it is. Van Campen said it was retained by Melrose to review the situation after it happened, but also it uses the firm "for studies, design work and construction inspection related to projects and improvements on the sewer system and sewer pump stations throughout Melrose ... They have extensive knowledge of the Melrose sewer system."

Several residents of Brazil Street have said DPW workers told them soon after the incident they caused the blowout by exerting too much pressure in an effort to fix the backup. The city has not confirmed that.

The last public update on the situation was June 21.