GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- U.S. Air Force Col. Matthew Reilman, 17th Training Wing Commander, and Josh Carroll, 17th Civil Engineer Squadron Commander, hosted a town hall to update Goodfellow members and the community about Military Family Housing concerns and answer questions on May 24, 2023.
The town hall sought to bridge a gap in communication between residents and the resident teams. The purpose of the event was to provide open and transparent communication on several issues associated with privatized housing.
Please find the questions that were asked during the town hall below:
Q: What pesticides are used, and are they dangerous?
A: Hunt Military Communities as a contractor, uses pet-friendly pesticides. So, the one caution to keep in mind is while that pesticide has been sprayed, indoors or outdoors if it is still wet, you want to keep your children and your pets away. However, once it dries, it is safe. It's safe, especially when it's dry. If you have a concern, the company is called Rex Pest Control, feel free to ask.
Q: Do all the housing units in a building get sprayed, if a work order is submitted? And if that doesn't happen, can it happen?
A: Hunt Military Communities asked Rex Pest Control to begin spraying the exterior of entire buildings, if a work order is submitted for one unit. But, if you and your neighbors have an interior pest control issue, you will both individually have to submit work orders to get the interior sprayed. So, if you live in a duplex building, such as the Concho Pearl neighborhood, those entire buildings for housing will get sprayed.
Q: Is lead-based paint and asbestos containing materials being used in housing?
A: The answer is no. In the mid to late 1970s asbestos and lead-based paints were outlawed in the United States. It's illegal to use asbestos or lead-based paint materials in the construction of housing. The Rio Concho neighborhoods or the landings were built in 2007-2008 and the majority of the Fort Richardson neighborhood were built during the same time. There are two units in the Fort Richardson neighborhood that were built in 2000. None of those units were constructed with the use of lead-based paint or asbestos; the Concho Pearl neighborhood was built in 1941. So, it was at one time in history, lead-based paint and asbestos had been used. But asbestos and the lead-based paint were abated over the course of time. So, does that exist? It does exist. Lead-based paint exists in some of the housing units in the eaves of the roofs which is the underside of your roof as you walk out your front door. And those eaves have been painted and remediated, so any existing remaining lead-based paint has been encapsulated and rendered safe. And we have the reports that validate that asbestos was remediated from all the walls. The only remaining asbestos that could be present in your home is located in the glue or the mastic that's in the sub floor of the flooring. So as long as that is not disturbed. In other words, peeling back all the layers of the flooring in your kitchen or your living room. It is rendered safe and not an issue.
Q: Is water tested in housing? Also, how often is it tested?
A: The city of San Angelo does annual water testing and has a report available to the public. You can Google the San Angelo water report if you like. The 17th Medical Group also has a report providing information on the quality of the water. It is all safe to drink. Furthermore, environmentalists in the 17th Civil Engineer members test water for lead and copper. If an issue arises the public will be notified.
Q: If all the lead-based paint has been removed, why do we still have to sign waivers when we move in?
A: It is required by law for the Military Housing Office and for all rental property owners or managers to inform you of any possibility of mold, lead, asbestos, or radon. When you sign your lease moving into military family housing, then that information is provided to you. The Military Housing Office, when we provide the military member the MHO brief, that information is also emailed to them.
Q: How frequently are the inside of the air ducts cleaned versus just replacing the filter?
A: We don't do it regularly as it is an expensive process. If you're having an issue, we can get it done for you.
Q: What is the process for cleaning the inside of the air ducts? Are they looked at after a house is rented or every couple of years?
A: We monitor the air ducts and work to repair the worst ones first. If someone rents a house and reports an issue, we see how bad they are. A lot of duct work is flex duct. It is plastic, those systems do not get as dirty as you think.
Q: Is there a reason as a resident we only receive the survey link to the annual feedback report if you have been a resident for 12 consecutive months?
A: We send the annual survey to every single resident. I received it 30 days or so after I moved in last summer, every single resident who has an email on file with Hunt Housing gets the survey.
Q: How do you want normal wear and tear documented? So, when we move out there is not an issue.
A: We will always take into consideration your move-in inspection form when it is given. Along with that, we have pictures of when the house was turned over to the resident. We understand normal wear and tear, but we are also able to identify actual damage. We also keep track of carpet life, which is a big topic. We track that as well. But other than that, we track your move-in inspection form at the time you move in documenting everything. A lot of times what we have issues with is residents not turning them in.
Q: How often are resident teams training and communicating with each other to ensure miscommunication does not happen?
A: I would say we trained daily. Hunt consistently has new policy procedures that they put into play almost weekly. If you are receiving miscommunication on that, I will just ask that you reach out to the community director or reach out to the housing management office for clarification, if you feel that you're not receiving the right communication from the Hunt office, that the MHO office is also up to speed and can get some of those answers to clarify for you as well.
Q: When would bug bombing become an option vs spraying pesticides? In more recent weeks my wife and I have been finding what I would consider to be an unacceptable amount of roaches in our home.
A: Right now, our pest control company does not have options for issues like that. There are other chemicals we can use but you would have to be out of the home for at least an hour to two hours. You would probably want to also take into consideration the other units next to you and we can check in to see and take a look at the whole building and take care of it because they may be transferring back and forth.
Q: My lawn is mostly dirt so when landscaping happens my car gets hit with dirt clumps and covered with dust. Are there any plans to fix the dirt patches in the lawn or can we maybe opt out of landscaping?
A: You can opt out of landscaping. The only issue with that is that you must maintain your lawn care. A lot of what you see is residents who opt out of lawn care. It becomes almost a current bill because their grass has now grown, and it is not uniform with everyone else's. But as far as the debris that's on vehicles, typically what the landscapers do is they come through early in the morning or during the day, and once finished they blow off patios and vehicles. I don't know what neighborhood this is from. For Rio Concho, or Concho Pearl, but in Rio Concho it's West Texas, we don't have a lot of grass. Typically, most lawns are mostly dirt. It’s unfortunately an ongoing issue and we are aware.
Q: Why can't I get a three-bedroom unit?
A: The Air Force has what's called bedroom entitlements. AFI 32-6000. If you live in base housing, we are required to enforce that standard. What comes into play is the family size and the age of the children and your dependents. There is a very specific table on how we determined that for you. Everybody who comes to Goodfellow Air Force Base and any Air Force Base or DOD installation. You get to choose where you live. I tell this to everybody I do the military housing office brief to have two bedrooms because that's what you're entitled to and base housing does not meet your family needs. Then we have folks in the housing office who can help provide you with information to find that three-bedroom unit that you do need. Either you have an issue that you require a third bedroom, or you just personally want that extra space and that's okay too. But just know that initially, the Air Force Instruction instructions tell us what the additional bedroom entitlement is.
Q: Why do people get three-bedroom units that do not need the space like myself?
A: There are also provisions in the Air Force instruction on how Goodfellow Family Housing can offer a three-bedroom housing unit when there is nobody on the waitlist or nobody is available to accept an available house and we ensure that they are following that process correctly. So yes, there are folks that are assigned to based housing when they only have just a couple but also know that there are different categories of housing. There is junior enlisted housing, which is E-6 and below. Then there's senior enlisted housing and chief housing. Then we've got junior officer housing or company grade officers, field grade officers, and then we've got our senior officers that live in Fort Richardson. So, each of those categories has the specific houses that are available to them. This is another provision for Goodfellow family housing to offer a house to somebody who is not an appropriate grade structure. The catch with that one is Goodfellow Family Housing group must contact my office to get approval to make that offer. For instance, a master sergeant who has no houses available gets offered a company-grade officer house and vice versa. There are very strict rules in how the veteran entitlement comes into play and then exceptions to that. And then having said all that, if you decide you want to go off base, you can do that too. And we can help you plan that house as well.
Q: When I first moved here, I was told that during covid all the utilities bills were going to be covered. Is that going to be changing in the upcoming months?
A: Currently, we have no update. There's what's called a department defense utility allowance program. Approximately three years ago, it was suspended DOD-wide. So, they are reviewing how to put it back into place. I have not heard a specific date and it will be placed back into effect. But currently, all existing Goodfellow Family Housing residents are living in your house and your utilities are part of your BAH. So, you should not be getting a bill, however, you may until we switch to another utility company. The previous energy company was sending out what's called mock bills. The mock bill's sole intent is to let you know what your energy usage was for the month. It was not a bill and you're not required to pay your utility balance. When the utility allowance program is put back into effect, you will be given an allowance, let's say just hypothetically $50. If your bill goes over $50 for that month. You will be required to pay the difference. And if you go under that bill, the previous program, you could potentially earn a credit. I'm hoping for the residents that that'll be the case again, but I haven't heard what changes are going to happen.
For any questions, please contact the Housing Management Office at 654-3498.