Rehab program garners gripes

A state legislator plans to meet with Pa. officials Monday to talk about the problems.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Frances Suzow was looking forward to having some much-needed repairs done to the home she and her husband built about 40 years ago on Highview Drive.
But the 80-year-old widow now has a different feeling about the work done in February 2005 as part of the Shenango Township Housing Rehabilitation Program, which is funded by federal Community Development Block Grant money to help low-income and older people.
"It was such a mixed-up bunch of stuff, I wished I'd never had it done," she said.
Last week, Suzow said that air was coming through replacement windows put in her home through the program. That was only the latest problem stemming from the work done on the house, said her niece Joan Gibson, who also lives in Shenango Township.
Gibson said two double-hung windows with oak framework were removed by the workers from Trover Construction, the company hired for the job, and replaced with one window installed at an angle and another a few inches shorter. Nothing was sealed, she added. Another window installed in the kitchen fell out when Gibson and her aunt were cleaning it, according to Gibson.
A new hot water heater was put in place, but Gibson's husband, Bill, discovered about three weeks later that it hadn't been vented.
And when Suzow told the contractor that the porcelain on a new bathroom faucet had chipped, she says he told her to glue it back on.
Contractor's response
When contacted Friday afternoon, Mark Trover of Trover Construction said he never told Suzow to glue the porcelain back on. Trover was the low bidder for the work at $11,700.
"I don't know who would have told her that. If she told me, I would have taken the handle back to where I purchased it," said Trover, who has been operating a contracting business out of his East Long Avenue garage for about three years.
He also contends it's impossible that Suzow's window fell out when she was cleaning it.
"I can't even begin to imagine that happening," he said.
Gibson's husband, Bill, a carpenter by trade, contacted Brian Tanner, the township secretary/treasurer, and the program inspector, Rob Ratkovich, but felt he didn't get the problems solved.
That is when the family called state Rep. Frank LaGrotta of Ellwood City, D-10th, for help.
Several complaints
LaGrotta said his office started receiving complaints last year from Shenango Township residents telling him that work was not being done or not being done correctly.
In addition to Suzow, Sally DePrano called the state lawmaker about her home on Cornell Avenue.
DePrano, who has undergone treatment for two bouts of cancer and has severe rheumatoid arthritis, was to have her roof replaced, as well as get new windows, electrical work, and work on her basement to keep it dry. Glorioso Construction was hired in the spring of 2004 after submitting the lowest bid of $11,239. The township allots $12,000 for each house. Glorioso Construction did not return calls requesting a comment.
"Within six months, the plaster in my walk-in closet was hanging like droopy drawers," she said.
A large chunk of the plaster is missing from the closet ceiling and there are water spots in both upstairs bedrooms from leaking water. DePrano, who lives on the first floor because of her arthritis, said a woman who cleans her home discovered it.
But the problems started even before the leaky roof, she said. DePrano contends two windows installed continually blew open during high winds and set off her house alarm, antique plates behind her door locks were removed and replaced with plastic, and her basement is still wet.
Contacted officials
She also says she contacted the township secretary and the program inspector.
"I called Brian Tanner as the things fell apart. He did come out and look at it. Then that Rob Ratkovich, he took steps to belittle me like I didn't know anything," DePrano said. Ratkovich, who owns his own consulting firm, is the New Castle city council president, maintenance director at the Lawrence County Housing Authority and was a consultant to the embattled Affordable Housing of Lawrence County, as well as the inspector for the Shenango Township program.
LaGrotta said his office received a third complaint from a homeowner who was to have a roof replaced. That person told LaGrotta's office that the roof work started in October 2004, but wasn't finished until July 2005.
Lawmaker investigates
LaGrotta said his office contacted Shenango Township officials and the Department of Community and Economic Development, the state agency that disburses the money.
"I have not made any friends and lost a few over this, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it," LaGrotta said Thursday afternoon.
The state lawmaker said he reported the complaints he received to the DCED, but a DCED investigator visited only the third homeowner who complained and then issued a report that looked at the program from 1998 to 2002. All of the complaints LaGrotta reported occurred after 2003, the state representative said.
"We were making specific comments about specific homes and specific contractors. None of that was addressed," LaGrotta said. "Nobody ever did anything."
Well, that is, until Friday.
Deny knowledge
Tanner said he and Ratkovich visited the Suzow home Friday afternoon and tried to meet with DePrano. They hope to go to her house Monday.
"I've been made aware of this, but only recently," Tanner said. He contends he was contacted by the Department of Community and Economic Development about the problems.
Ratkovich, who was reached by telephone Thursday evening, said he only learned of the problems that day.
"As far as the roof, this is the first I'm hearing about it," Ratkovich said Thursday. "How do I know when the roof leaked?" he asked.
Ratkovich contends he was never contacted by the homeowners about the problems.
Tanner said they are mailing Trover a notice to do more repair work on Suzow's house and he has 10 days to comply.
"We will do whatever it is that we need to do to correct the situation and satisfy the homeowners," Tanner said. Any additional work that must be done will be at the expense of the contractor, he said.
Skeptical
Joan Gibson said she's happy that some work is being done at her aunt's home. But she said she feels action was taken only after The Vindicator contacted Ratkovich for this story.
"They just kind of missed the whole point," she said. "There isn't much they can do to make things right. The whole idea is, why would they pay someone to do work like that?"
Gibson said her husband intends to fix the windows instead of the contractor.
And even though some work is being done, LaGrotta said he's still looking into the matter. He is meeting with Ed Geiger, director of community development for DCED, on Monday to discuss the problems.
"It's just wrong. There's nothing right about this situation. Not how the work was done and the handling of it by the state," LaGrotta said. "This should not happen."