Updates for all Hill House Residents
August 8, 2008
Per the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the A, B, and C floors were placed under containment on August 6, 2008. As before, only Asbestos Containing Material certified personnel may enter the building. This means only companies and individuals with the proper documentation of completion of the 2 hour training course, medical monitoring, respirator fit test, and the required PPE in writing can have access. If you have not retrieved your personal belongings by now, you will have to hire an asbestos abatement company to do so. You may hire our contractor, Disaster Restoration, Inc. or choose another company. If you choose another contractor, they will have to schedule entry with DRI. Please call Justin Blackburn at 1-800/475-FIRE(3473).
If you have retrieved all of the items you intend to get, we need you to sign a waiver if you want us to dispose of the rest of your abandoned property. You will not be charged for this service. You can access that form by clicking on the button below. Thereafter, you either fax it to 303/543-9807 or drop it off to Jen at 949½ Marine Street. Jen has copies of the form as well.
There are still many of you that have not given a forwarding address. Please be sure we can send your security deposit refund to the proper address by clicking on the “Enter Contact Info” button below as soon as possible.
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August 1, 2008
It is urgent you let us know if you cannot remove all the items you wish to keep by Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. Today it was necessary to close off some rooms/bathrooms due to drywall falling.
If you are planning to get your remaining personal belongings out Saturday, August 2, you may do so without an appointment. The hours the building will be open are 8am-5pm.
If you need to arrange a time after Saturday, please contact Jen as soon as possible at (303) 440-3736, to set up an appointment.
If you live on the D-Floor, please call Bonnie Cole or Carol Long at (303) 494-1551 immediately, or Justin Blackburn 1-800-475-FIRE on Monday, August 4th, 2008.
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July 30,2008
Access to the A, B & C levels at 949 Marine Street will be extended this week until Saturday, August 2, 2008. Please come by anytime from 8:00am to 5:00pm to remove ALL of your personal property.
Target stores have graciously donated “goody bags” filled with some helpful items. Please stop by Jennifer’s House to pick-up the bags.
We are currently working on the security deposit refunds and rent rebates. It is important that we have your correct forwarding address. The best way to get this information to us is by entering it in the contact information page by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, if we don’t hear from you we will send it to your Hill House apartment address. The post office will forward your mail if you have placed a forwarding address change on file.
All D-floor residents need to arrange to have their personal items abated and removed by a certified asbestos abatement company as soon as possible. Please contact Justin Blackburn at DRI (1-800-475-3473) to setup an appointment.
If you have anything in storage, these items are accessible and please remove them by Saturday, August 2, 2008.------------------------
07/26/08
Disaster Restoration, Inc. is now scheduling appointments for the residents of the A, B, & C levels only to have limited access to the building in order to obtain their personal property this Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday (July 28th – July 30th). DRI will first conduct an inspection on Monday morning before anyone is allowed to enter the building. Please call Justin Blackburn at 1-800/475-FIRE(3473).
The D level is still under the asbestos abatement process per the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.
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07/25/08
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has allowed limited access to the residents of the A, B, & C levels only until 5:00 p.m. today. The purpose is to allow those residents to obtain their emergency list items. This will be coordinated by Justin Blackburn at Disaster Restoration, Inc. 1-800/475-FIRE(3473)
If you cannot be there during this time, we will be scheduling another time as soon as possible. Please check this website on Monday, July 28th, 2008 for more information.------------------------
07/24/08
Attention:
Please contact Jennifer immediately for pressing information.
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07/22/08
Below is a letter that we received from DRI:
Dear Tenant,
I am sorry that this is the first opportunity I have had to communicate with you directly. My name is Justin Blackburn, and I am the Project Manager for DRI; the company that has been contracted by your property manager, United Professional Management to regulate the asbestos spill that has taken place at Hill House.
First, let me say I know there are concerns and misinformation being exchanged regarding the asbestos issues at the site. Let me confirm we have followed the letter of the regulation when dealing with the building to ensure everyone's safety and to minimize future issues.
With that said, I have received lists from several of you, and it has become apparent that the magnitude of the items are great, and the associated costs of removing them as asbestos containing would be great. Therefore, after much discussion, United Professional Management has agreed to have each unit individually sampled using a micro-vac methodology to determine if any asbestos fibers are on surfaces in each unit. United Professional Management has found a way to do this in a budget neutral manner to the tenant, therefore, these sample results will be provided directly to you, the tenant, by tomorrow afternoon. We have already begun the sampling process, and will completed it yesterday afternoon. I will email each of you individually with your results.Once each unit has been sampled, the discussion surrounding the removal of your contents and the associated costs will be clear, and we can illuminate the obscure nature we are currently operating under.
If you unit is determined to not have asbestos contamination, you will be able to have your items removed and returned to you, rather quickly, at a very reasonable cost, and you can hire any contractor you like to do so. Please keep in mind however, that if the hallways are contaminated, the contents will have to be placed in bags in the unit, and carried through the hallways by a Licensed Abatement Contractor.
If your unit is determined to be asbestos contaminated, it will be up you to decide how you wish to proceed. As always, you can choose any contractor you like to work with, provided they are a Licensed Abatement Contractor, and you may also have our results confirmed by any Licensed Asbestos Building Inspector you like.
Only after all of the contents are removed can we proceed with the abatement of Hill House, and the subsequent repairs that are necessary.
I realize this seems like a daunting process; I am sensitive to this. Once all the results are back tomorrow, we will each have clear information as to how to proceed, and we are working to make this process as expeditious as possible. If anyone would like to personally meet to discuss this, I am leaving my entire Thursday and Friday open to do so.
Please feel free to call me directly with any questions you may have, my contact information is listed below.
Justin
Justin Blackburn, CR
DRI
4275 Forest St, Denver, CO 80215
Phone: 1-800-475-FIRE Office: 303-657-1400 Cell: 303-525-2595
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07/17/2008
The Fire Department released the building on Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
The independent environmental consulting firm released the north parking lot area and it was cleared for access on July 15, 2008. You can now remove your vehicles. Also, you may have access to the bicycle racks and the adjacent dumpster and grass areas to the east.
The “containment” phase is almost complete. UPM is currently working with our insurance, the state, and the city officials to hire an asbestos abatement company for the next phase. Once this process is completed, you and your insurance agents will work with the asbestos abatement company of your choice, along with the company we hire, to retrieve and abate your personal items. We will announce on this website which asbestos abatement company we hire. Also, we will send out a general e-mail announcement as well. If you want to be on that list, please send an e-mail to Jennifer at jennifergisner@upmcole.com. If you choose, you can hire the same company we hire. If you choose another company, we must have their proper documentation of completion of the 2 hour training course, medical monitoring, respirator fit test, and the required PPE in writing before they access the building. Your asbestos abatement company will have to schedule entry with the company we hire.
United Professional Management, Inc. is addressing the issue of security deposits and pro-rated rent. We will be updating this site regularly – please check back often. Also, be sure to click on the “Enter Contact Info” button below and fill in the fields with your most current information so we can reach you.------------------------
07/14/2008
We have been in contact with the postal carrier. All mail is at the post office under your name.
The post office is located at:
1905 15th Street, Boulder, CO 80302 Phone: (800) ASK-USPS
They will hold your mail for up to 30 days. If possible, please try to bring ID with you when you pick up your mail. The mail that was in your box before the fire is now decontaminated and the mail carrier will pull it out and forward it (if you have a change of address form on file) or hold it at the station.
IMPORTANT: Please put in a forwarding change of address form with the United States Postal Service. You can pick up a form at any post office or can submit it on-line at http://www.usps.com.
Be sure to call X-cel and confirm the electric has been taken out of your name(s). Their number is 1-800-895-4999.
About housing, the Boulder County Housing Assoc. is working with the Off-Campus Student Services to get a list of all available apartments. They want to help you as much as possible. The web address for Off Campus Services is www.colorado.edu.oss. Also, Tom Orlando with Housing Helpers is available to help you. Housing Helpers phone number is (303) 545-6000. These are free services they are providing for you.
In addition, Cort Furniture has contacted us regarding furniture rental. Cort's number is (303) 344-5114.
Lastly we would like to remind you all to get your emergency lists turned into the resident manager Jennifer Gisner at the Hill House office as soon as you can. This is very important! If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer at 303-587-8730 or email her at jennifergisner@upmcole.com.
