Senior residential community in Middletown has no AC as temperatures increase

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WXIX) - As residents across the Tri-State Area feel the brutal temperatures increase throughout the week, a community of senior residents says they have been living without air conditioning.

According to residents at Mayfield Village in Middletown, the facility has not had working AC since Monday morning.

Some of the seniors are going outside in the shade to offset the heat, while others believe it is colder in the lobby.

“I have a small fan but now, I have a sister who lives a mile away, and I called her and I’m going to be going over to her house because I can’t take this heat and they say it’ll be a week before we get it on,” said Audrey Stayrook, a resident at the facility.

One resident told FOX19 NOW’s Mike Schell that the building has had an issue with the central air system in the past and that it needs to be replaced. She claims the building manager has ordered repair work, but she says that it is just a “band-aid” for the problem.

“The senior citizens should come first when anything is out - the senior’s apartments should come first,” said resident Jimmie Hendricks.

Mayfield Village is owned and operated by the nonprofit Christian organization, National Church Residences. It is also a HUD-subsidized building where residents pay 30% of their income to live here.

A spokesperson for the nonprofit released a statement on the issue.

“We are all concerned about the lack of air conditioning for our residents at Mayfield Village. Currently, we have staff from three nearby communities helping the Mayfield Village property team to ensure any resident concerns are addressed,” it partially reads.

Earlier Tuesday, a Butler County Emergency Management truck stopped by the community to drop off a pallet of water, a trailer-mounted generator and three industrial air conditioners.

Around 6 p.m., the nonprofit Christian organization told FOX19 NOW that their regional management team said an HVAC company has been “mobilized to inspect the chiller tonight and begin work.”

They continued, “A representative from the HVAC company believes they know what’s causing the issue with the chiller and he already began searching for the parts from local vendors earlier this afternoon.”

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