DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – Dozens of people living at a Decatur apartment complex are approaching one month without power after a storm moved through Macon County in late July.
"I have been kind of inconvenienced,” Sandra Walker, a resident at Edgewood Apartments said. “I'm not home. I'm having to eat out every day.”
The July storm knocked over a tree and ripped the meter boxes off the building. In pictures Walker provided to WAND News, you can see significant damage to the side of the building. Walker said since the storm, she has had to find a new place to stay.
"I am frustrated,” Walker said. “I am trying to be understanding but it has been 90-degrees. It is hot. I'm irritable."
The property is owned by Swartz Properties. A spokesperson for the property said unforeseen issues on their end held up the repairs.
"Our electricians responded and found out we couldn't get the parts,” Matt Minder with the property company said.
The building is 40 years old and as Minder said, finding the right parts to make the repair was hard. Minder said the parts had to be ordered by Mexico, and the shipment was delayed because of COVID-19 and when they finally arrived, the parts were the wrong ones.
"It took longer than we would have liked for it to, but at the same time, we have gone above and beyond to make the residents as comfortable as possible,” Minder said.
Minder tells WAND News that the company is giving tenants one month free and reimbursing tenants for their hotel stays. Tenants must pay for housing accommodations upfront.
For residents who have renter’s insurance, Swartz is paying their deductible, allowing them to get housing paid for upfront. Walker does not have renter’s insurance, something Minder said the lease requires.
"We are supposed to prepare ourselves for things like this,” another resident, Tantannia Collins said. “This is what renters’ insurance is for. It is important to have."
For Collins, having renter’s insurance made all the difference the last three weeks.
"It was kind of hard, but I do think having the renter’s insurance made up for a lot,” Swartz said.
Swartz expects the power to be back on Friday. In a statement to WAND News, Ameren Illinois said crews could not restore power to the building until the property owner made repairs and that crews were "continuing to monitor this situation and will reconnect service to the building as soon as the repairs have been made and the building is deemed safe. "
The company said Thursday it is looking at new policies about renters’ insurance to make sure all tenants have it.
