Resident involvement is key to housing progress

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  • By Megan Prather, Staff Writer

The first quarterly town hall of the year was held on Feb. 6 in the Tinker Air Force Base auditorium to provide updates on the repair process for base housing and discuss the addition of a residents’ advocate position.

The town hall was led by 72nd Air Base Wing Commander Col. Paul Filcek and leadership from Balfour Beatty Communities.

“We are making progress, but we have a long way to go,” said Dan Frederick, Tinker project director for BBC. “We’ve made a lot of big changes organizationally that we think ultimately are going to get us to where we all want to be, which is a comfortable and safe community for our Airmen and their families which we can all be proud of.”

Frederick announced that the amount of open backlogged work orders regarding mold and moisture related problems has decreased from 184 in October to 95 as of February. 

“This is just the backlog, these aren’t new work orders that are coming in each day,” Frederick said. “We’re really trying to chip away at that backlog and as we make our way through that backlog of open mold and moisture related work orders, we’re working on the back end to develop enduring solutions to allow us not to get back to this point ever again.”

To stay on top of these moisture concerns, quarterly inspections of mechanical closets will be expanded into the McNarney neighborhood as well as the newly constructed homes. First quarter mechanical closet inspections are currently taking place in the Mitchell Heights, Prairie Land, Twinning Fields and Vandenberg Hills neighborhoods and will take place for the McNarney Manor neighborhood March 2-6.

“It’s been challenging, but we’re trying to improve as each day goes along and get our operation to where it needs to be,” Frederick said.

Frederick also announced that interior firewall repairs are 100% complete and exterior soffit repairs that are being completed in 146 total buildings are estimated to be completed by the end of the month. Additional resident concerns being tracked include replacing street lights throughout housing as well as proper resident notification when work is being performed on a home.

Certain community improvement projects are currently on hold until spring, but so far asphalt, sidewalk and gutter repairs throughout the entire community are 85% complete, with LED light conversion throughout the community also at 85% completion. Tree removal, replacement and erosion management is 17% complete and McNarney Manor neighborhood improvements, including roof replacement, exterior painting/door repair, window replacement, siding repair/replacement and HVAC updates, are at 49% completion.

During the town hall, Filcek also emphasized the importance of the Tinker AFB Resident Council. The council meets with Filcek monthly, or as needed, and with BBC bimonthly to express resident concerns.

“I think the Resident Council does great work at giving the ground truth and point of execution knowledge to BBC and the wing commander,” Filcek said.

Filcek also announced that the hiring process has begun for a residents’ advocate position.

“This position will be a single person position who is basically my right-hand person for privatized housing. They will be your advocate separate from the Military Housing Office and separate from the Civil Engineering Directorate,” Filcek said.

If residents are experiencing any health and safety issues in base housing, they should contact BBC’s local management or maintenance team without delay and should keep all records of communication regarding the issues.

Residents can also contact the MHO, which will follow a step-by-step process to get the issues resolved. If there is still no resolution after contacting MHO, residents should contact the USAF Housing Call Center at 1-800-482-6431.

Residents can also reach out to their chain of command with any concerns they have at any time.