Community Homebuyers Inc., developer of five homes on Woodland Avenue in Wheatland, and the residents of those homes agree something has to be done quickly about problems with the houses.

But the bureaucracy of government and the coordination of the residents and outside companies is making the pace slower than anyone would like.

"I know they're moving as fast as they can, but they've got to move a little faster," said Mark Raymond of 45 Woodland.

CHI, a nonprofit affiliate of Mercer County Housing Authority, has a two-prong plan to alleviate water-drainage and mold problems.

The drainage plan is much further along. Hickory Engineering Inc., Hermitage, is ready to take to the borough a proposal to install catch basins and drain pipe behind the houses.

The plan was presented to residents and their comments were included in a revision, said authority Executive Director L. DeWitt Boosel.

D.J. Stinedurf of 65 Woodland said he did not like the initial plan because the pipe would run down the center his back yard, preventing him from building a deck and swimming pool.

Boosel said he believes Hickory adjusted its plan to move the pipe more to the rear of Stinedurf's property. He added that there will be another opportunity to question the plan when council meets.

Stinedurf is the son of Councilman Don Stinedurf and borough secretary Sharon Stinedurf.

Ron Fraley of 25 Woodland said something has to be done about the drainage problems, which residents blame for causing mold in their homes. He said he didn't agree with Stinedurf's reluctance.

"I'm not going to lose my house just because someone wants to build a swimming pool," he said.

Raymond said he's still waiting for a better explanation of how the plan will solve the problem, and proof that the existing storm-sewer line was tapped into.

Residents also would have to yield a right of way along the pipe path so that the catch basins can be maintained.

Council is next scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. June 3.

"We certainly encourage the borough to do this quickly," Boosel said. "We realize they have certain steps that they have to go through."

Concerning the mold, CHI has hired Microbac Laboratories of Erie to examine the inspection reports done by HomeSure Home Inspections and Environmental Services of Baden, and develop a remediation plan, if the company believes one is warranted.

CHI agreed to pay for the inspections, which were arranged by the residents, as long as the results are shared with CHI.

Boosel said, as of Friday morning, he only knew of two inspections reports that had been given to CHI.

"Everyone has been cooperative up to this point," Boosel said of residents.

Fraley said he turned over his report Thursday, but is not happy with how the test was done.

When Gary Gazda of HomeSure conducted the tests May 13, the Fraley home was done last. Fraley said Gazda did not have enough air-test kits to do as many tests at his house as were done at the others.

"I don't think it was as extensive as everybody's else's was," Fraley said.

Gazda said Fraley's house was sufficiently tested, and he exceeded the standards set by the International Association of Mold Management. Besides air tests, he took swab samples of visible mold, which are a better testing method, he said.

"You can identify it in one area of the house or throughout the house, but the important thing is to know it's there," Gazda said.

The test showed that mold was present in all the houses and that some of it, including aspergillus and penicillus, is potentially harmful to people.

"Their home has been doubly tested," Gazda said of the Fraley house, which he tested in February, and the results were the first official report of a mold problem with the houses.

Air testing is more crucial after remediation, because the spore levels should be much lower than before, Gazda said.

Boosel said he could not comment on the results of the two reports that CHI has received.

"They're technical reports and I don't understand everything that's in there," he said. "We feel Microbac is in a better position to interpret them."

Microbac is waiting to get all five reports before suggesting a remediation plan, Boosel said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at

jpinchot@sharon-herald.com