GREENFIELD — Health inspectors are requesting the assistance of the Board of Health as they deal with ongoing concerns from tenants about rodents at Greenfield Gardens.

“It seems like there is some type of tenant request for Health Department needs weekly,” said Health Inspector Jess Maenzo-Tanner. “I don’t think we’ve visited an apartment that didn’t show evidence of rodents. …Whether it’s the cleanest person or [someone with] not as great hygiene doesn’t seem to have much of an effect, other than volume of rodent evidence.”

Caroline Murray, who manages Homesavers Council of Greenfield Gardens — the nonprofit entity that took over the property on Pray Drive in 2022 — acknowledged the presence of mice and said the management team has been “working diligently and aggressively” to address the issue. Murray shared documentation of completed work orders for rodent control.

Property Manager Dedra Lewis previously said when tenants have complaints, maintenance visits the site and offers traps. That apartment is then added to the list for the exterminator, who is on-site every other week.

“We exterminate weekly, on demand,” she said in a statement. “We are completing regular inspections and providing services to residents who need help with housekeeping.”

Maenzo-Tanner acknowledged that the management team has addressed complaints and has a regular extermination schedule. Still, she expressed concern to Board of Health members this week that the current approaches don’t appear to be working as a long-term solution.

“I think most of the time, Greenfield Gardens has tried to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, I’m not an exterminator, nor is my expertise in rodent control,” Maenzo-Tanner said. “I don’t know if they can maintain that with the current form of eradication. … I feel lost as to continuing to write orders to correct that are going to continue to have the same method of curing the problem. That doesn’t seem to be a long-term solution.”

An increasing problem

The concern on behalf of public health officials stems in part from the disease carried by mice. In particular, hantaviruses are a family of viruses that are spread mainly by rodents through urine, feces and saliva. Humans can breathe in the virus or become infected by touching their mouth or nose after handling contaminated materials.

Maenzo-Tanner explained in an email that when the Health Department receives a call from a tenant, inspectors ask a series of questions to gain context of the situation and use that to determine next steps — whether that involves an immediate inspection or following up with management. In some cases, tenants aren’t home at the time of a scheduled inspection, meaning a tenant is expected to contact the department again to reschedule.

“There are many factors we consider when deciding how to proceed forward with complaints,” she wrote, “which includes guidance and suggestions to tenants which may not always be an immediate Health Department order to correct.”

According to the Health Department, about a dozen properties in the last 10 years have had repeat violations, with at least one current active order to correct. Former Health Director Jennifer Hoffman, who took part in a conversation with the Board of Health this week to provide context, noted the problem appears to have gotten worse in the last two years.

Murray previously explained that in February 2022, the 202-unit low-income housing complex on Pray Drive “jump-started urgently needed construction” that began under the previous management company. In a $9 million project expected to take another 18 months, each apartment will be fully renovated for the first time since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The rehabilitation project will also increase the number of fully accessible apartments from four to 12, Murray said. It will also require updating the fire detectors and ensuring asbestos is covered. The work means moving families from one apartment into another as renovations happen. To date, renovations have been completed in 51 apartments.

Hoffman described the rodent infestation as a “multifaceted” problem, given ongoing construction and the property’s proximity to wetlands.

“It’s still no excuse,” she said. “I think it’s multifaceted, but it shouldn’t be where the people that are complaining to the Health Department feel it’s falling on deaf ears.”

She added that there appears to be a fear of retribution for some tenants. Greenfield Gardens, which supports a variety of income levels, offers Section 8 housing, as well as subsidized market-rate apartments.

“Where are they going to go? We have no housing,” Hoffman said.

Next steps

Ultimately, Board of Health members on Wednesday agreed to review the necessary documentation — complaints, orders to correct and other relevant material — before their next meeting, during which they plan to invite someone from management or the Homesavers Council of Greenfield Gardens’ board of directors. Members considered potential avenues to mitigate the problem but opted to wait until they had more information before proceeding with any recommendations.

In a statement, Murray said she was “very surprised” the housing complex was a topic of discussion at this week’s Board of Health meeting, given that, from her perspective, Health Department staff “have not been in regular communication” and “have not responded to our many emails, inquiries and requests to meet.”

Prior to the Homesavers Council of Greenfield Gardens, the property was managed by Mount Holyoke Management LLC of Holyoke, which started the renovation project in fall 2019. In 2021, the company was fined $35,670. The violations were discovered in February of 2020 after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection received a tenant’s complaint describing renovations and disturbances of asbestos-containing materials in several apartments. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development removed the general contractors on the project, according to Murray.

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.