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®CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK <br /> someone calls in a complaint. It has to be to that standard. The public nuisances and property <br /> nuisances are things that are not under our purview. On the second page it discusses dwellings <br /> unfit for human habitation. And, by law, a dwelling is unfit for habitation when it is dangerous or <br /> detrimental to life or health for one(1)of repair,defects in drainage,plumbing,lighting,ventilation <br /> or construction infected with contagious disease or has upon its premises an unsanitary condition <br /> that is likely to cause sickness among dwelling occupants. Those are the conditions for dwellings <br /> unfit. The next page is Indiana Code sixteen-forty-one-twenty(16-40-20). It is Health, Sanitation, <br /> Safety, and Dwellings Unfit. Again, it talks about one (1) of repair, defects, infectious diseases <br /> and the existence of unsanitary conditions. This is the Code where that comes from. The Power of <br /> Local Inspectors of Buildings is highlighted as well. Inspectors of buildings in the City or town <br /> may exercise all powers granted the Inspector in the following and that is a City or town ordinance <br /> dealing with housing, and as this Chapter applies to Board of Health,they can exercise all of those <br /> powers. <br /> Ms. Mauller continued, On the second page I want to point out that if there is an issue that we <br /> believe to be unfit, we can order a vacation of the dwelling within no less than five (5) days and <br /> no more than fifteen (15). Those are our limitations. We do have to give people time but we can <br /> also extend that time with good reason. If someone is working on it and they are trying to <br /> accomplish the repairs, we can revoke the order completely. Now, let's talk about bed bugs. With <br /> the elimination of DDT, bed bugs have resurged. They used to use that for cockroaches and that <br /> worked very well and it also hit bed bugs. We can't use that anymore. They are found across the <br /> globe. They are not known to spread disease. A bed bug bite affects each person differently. Some <br /> people barely see anything and others get very large red welts and can have serious allergic <br /> reactions.They are not considered dangerous,however,several bites with a severe allergic reaction <br /> may require an individual to seek medical attention. The reason bed bugs are such a problem is the <br /> way they live their lives. They inject an anesthetic, an anti-coagulant that prevents a person from <br /> realizing they are being bitten. They come out at night and their peak activity is around 4 a.m. to <br /> 5 a.m. You are asleep and you don't know you are being bitten. It could also be fourteen(14)days <br /> before you have any type of welt so you don't even know for sure where you got bitten. If you <br /> aren't checking hotel rooms, I would. <br /> Ms. Mauller went on, Mold was another topic I was asked to address. The handout about mold is <br /> from the Center for Disease Control(CDC)website. There is always some mold around. Mold can <br /> look like many different things.It has many colors and odors.If you have mold,you should remove <br /> it. If it is growing in your home,clean it up and fix the moisture problem. Sometimes that moisture <br /> problem might be from someone who takes half hour showers. Mold can come from a leak in the <br /> roof or plumbing, or even through the things you do in your home as part of your ordinary living <br /> process. What our standard has been in the Department is if you can have a physician that will <br /> state any health effect coming from mold in the home, that is what we would take on because we <br /> could prove a health effect through that physician. The CDC on the back page does not recommend <br /> mold testing.No matter what type of mold is present, it needs to be removed. <br /> Ms.Mauller continued,What we do when we have a site is we go out and perform an investigation. <br /> If it has met the standard of a level we can order they abate a situation. They are given a time <br /> frame. Sometimes it is reasonable and it depends on what the issue is. If they have a whole <br /> backyard and garage of garbage, it will take a lot of work to fix that. We might tell them within <br /> two (2) weeks we will come back out to see some sort of improvement. If it is some other type of <br /> issue and is near being uninhabitable, that standard really is case by case. We look at it and we <br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT <br /> 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.9221 If 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov <br /> 4 <br />