Inspectors find ARCH violations
Bedbugs among code infractions found after complaints.
The Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, or ARCH, will boost pest control efforts after city public health officials documented a list of code violations, including bedbugs, in a recent investigation.
City officials were responding to complaints about the facility submitted earlier this year, Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden wrote in a memo to the City Council late Monday. Last week, inspectors found various city code violations that included bedbugs, potential occupancy issues, problems with the water temperature in showers, fire doors that were propped open, a hole in a bathroom wall and a leaking water valve.
The city owns the building at 500 E. Seventh St. that houses the ARCH, but a nonprofit called Front Steps operates the shelter.
Front Steps Director Greg McCormack said Tuesday that bedbugs have been an ongoing issue at the shelter, but that the situation has improved with more frequent mitigation.
“Shelters around the country have issues with bedbugs,” McCormack said. “We treated the
whole (sleeping floor) three months ago . ... We have a pest control company coming out weekly, and we are heat-treating our mats. We are working to keep any bedbug issues to a minimum.”
McCormack added that the shelter stepped up its pest control visits from monthly to weekly when the complaints began earlier this year.
The other issues on the city’s list will be fixed quickly, McCormack said. The shelter’s occupancy limit is still being determined. It was originally built for 100 men and now sleeps 190, McCormack said.
“Some complaints were that it was crowded,” he said. “The city is following up on that. We don’t have an occupancy threshold that we’re aware of.”
The Austin Fire Department is working on determining whether there’s an occupancy limit for the building and what it might be, said Adrienne Sturrup, the city’s interim assistant director for health equity and community engagement.
The complaints arose during community feedback meetings held because Front Steps’ contract to manage the facility is expiring later this year.
Front Steps has managed the ARCH since it opened. Its current contract expires Sept. 30. By early July, the city expec
s to have a request for proposals issued, and officials then will weigh whether to pick a new manager for the facility or agree to a new contract with Front Steps.
The ARCH had no history of code or health violations before this year, Sturrup said, and she is unaware of any previous investigations. Austin Public Health did an initial investigation early this year before its staff turned the matter over to city code enforcement.
“Because bedbugs are not a public health threat, more of a nuisance, we asked code (enforcement) to be part of our investigation,” Sturrup said. “Unfortunately, bedbugs are common in homeless shelters, so we have been working with staff on the most current remediation processes.”