If good fences make good neighbors, what does a bad fence do?

EDITOR:
Taxpayers in Austintown are primarily a well-intentioned bunch. We didn't bat an eye when our school board agreed to pay 600,000 for artificial turf for the high school football field. Sure, I thought it was insane. I got over it. And now I need something.
A sizable area just east our new middle school is in escalating peril. My backyard abuts the federally funded Compass West Apartments and for years my wife and I maintained a section of chain-link fence that separates 24 townhouse units and the complex parking lot from our property. This winter took its toll on the fence and it has collapsed. All of the fence posts rusted off their concrete foundations as a result of Compass West's clogged storm sewer system which, like the fence, has not functioned properly for years.
While the fence is hideous, a bigger problem exists. Compass West caters mostly to young single mothers and with the warmer weather their children find fascinating this broken fence. The kids jump on the rusted, collapsed metal and some now venture over into neighboring yards, at times even using the fence as a ramp over which they jump their Big Wheels. After bringing this grave matter to the attention of the Federal Management Company, which oversees Compass West, its "Special Project Administrator" sent a surveyor to my home to assess the situation. She reports that despite the collapsing fence running the entire length of three sides of the complex property, the southernmost neighborhoods of South Edgehill Avenue and Forest Hill Drive as well as a northern field owned by the township, the portion of rusted fence that separates my property from the complex is on my land. As a result, Compass West claims any injuries suffered by its residents will be covered by my homeowner's insurance. So, my good neighbors, if I am liable for injuries suffered by trespassers, and your collapsing backyard fences attach to mine, you will be held accountable too.
Meanwhile, the fence around Compass West's heated swimming pool (for which taxpayers also pay) appears to be in reasonably good shape.
Recent crime at Compass West includes two murders, arson, kidnappings, weapons violations, drugs, burglaries and chronic domestic violence including a 9-year-old boy pinning and holding a steak knife to the chest of a 6-year-old girl. Each week the police blotters feature arbitrary crime at the facility, such as last November's report of three masked men robbing a Pizza Hut delivery driver, stealing 5 and her pizza bag. It seems only fair that neighboring homeowners whose taxes support public housing at Compass West be provided with an adequate barrier through far more reliable fencing.
I brought this matter to the attention of Austintown Township administration (which claims the matter is out of its jurisdiction), Mahoning County officials, Congressman Tim Ryan, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, and three HUD representatives in Cleveland. State Sen. John Boccieri replied that this is a federal matter. I also sent letters to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson and HUD's Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse, the division which oversees bad landlords in federal housing. Hundreds of landlords have been fined and barred from doing business with the federal government as a result of failing to provide safe and decent housing for the poor, while enriching themselves on taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Let's make some noise.
TOM PITTMAN
Austintown