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Yorktown family moves out of Lincoln Housing, fed up with mold problems

Posted at 3:36 PM, Dec 13, 2011
and last updated 2012-04-09 17:27:37-04

After a recent town hall meeting with several Virginia leaders, the management at Lincoln Military Housing promised to try to win back the trust of every resident who had issues with mold. One Yorktown family shared their recent experience with NewsChannel 3.

George and Meaghan Sulligan drove down from Yorktown on Sunday to get Lincoln’s attention during Senator Mark Warner's town hall meeting.

Two days later, the company's vice president for the Mid-Atlantic region drove up to their home, as promised, to see things first-hand.

“We showed him all the mold--where it was, pieces of wall that still aren't completed, still don't have a toilet,” says Meaghan.

She showed NewsChannel 3 several pictures including images of their floor torn up, showing clear water damage. Others displayed their drywall that had been taken down and not properly patched back up and wood surrounding their AC intake filter was covered in black growth.

Lincoln simply put in a new floor and spray painted over visible mold.

Jeff Franzen says the problems in the Sulligan's home are the result of water damage, and he is confident that Lincoln’s maintenance teams have it all under control.

But he won't acknowledge any of the mold the Sulligan's say they have documented in pictures.

This family is even one of the few that paid for a mold test themselves.

Their certified and licensed Virginia inspector found heavy levels of stachybotrys in tape samples taken from their air handler and on the bathroom floor.

Some mold levels were even elevated in air samples.

The inspector told them they had a source of contamination in the home causing active mold growth.

The Sulligan family is now moving out of Lincoln Housing. They say they just can't risk the family's health any longer.

But the worry simply waits for the next family who moves in after them.