Soldier, others testify of "alarming" conditions of Fort Gordon housing in Ossoff-led hearing

Mold, pests and sewage continue to cause issues at privatized on-base housing, according to military service members, spouses and advocates who testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Several testified that they had been unable to get the management company, Balfour Beatty Communities, to acknowledge or fix these issues.

Sen. Jon Ossoff on Tuesday chaired a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing into housing at Fort Gordon and Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.

"When I visited Fort Gordon in the first few months of my term in the Senate, I asked command if I could sit down with families on post," Ossoff said in his opening statement. "The stories I heard shocked me.”

Privatized military housing has been under scrutiny for years. In December 2021, Balfour pleaded guilty to fraud against the the United States from 2013 to 2019 following a Department of Justice investigation. The subcommittee alleged in a report released prior to the hearing that since the 2019 investigation Balfour has continued many of the behaviors that first brought scrutiny even after the guilty plea. Balfour disputes that allegation.

Fort Gordon news: Goats at Fort Gordon's Community Garden

News at Fort Gordon: Goats on loan to let Fort Gordon experiment with weed control

Among the witnesses at the hearing was U.S. Army Capt. Samuel Choe, who lived on base at Fort Gordon. Choe, his wife and children moved to Fort Gordon in 2019, and within two months his 8-year-old daughter developed severe skin rashes. Choe also testified that they found mold in the house. In June 2020 his daughter was diagnosed with "severe atopic dermatitis," with eczema on her face, arms and legs.

“There are numerous times she would wake up in the middle of the night with her hand covered in blood, because she was scratching in her sleep," Choe said. "How do you explain something like that to an 8-year-old?"

Choe said that Balfour refused to adequality test for or deal with the mold, so they sought to terminate their lease. Balfour refused until Choe involved his chain of command.

Jana Wanner also testified as a military spouse who lives at Fort Gordon. Her family moved there for a second time in 2019. She helped begin a private Facebook group for people experiencing housing issues at the fort.

"On average, each month, we help dozens of families with the ongoing problems of Balfour's mismanagement of the homes on the installation," she said. "Sewage leaks, pest issues, these are just a few of the things we frequently hear about from families."

According to the subcommittee's report, Balfour runs more than 43,000 residences on 55 military bases, including 1,000 at Fort Gordon and 700 at Sheppard. At Fort Gordon, the report notes that investigators found mold, carpets covered with pet hair, broken appliances, and significant water leaks that went unrepaired for months. Many instances of suspected mold were entered into Balfour's database as other kinds of work, such as routine maintenance.

"These ongoing management failures by Balfour are deeply concerning because they are entirely contrary to the pledges that Balfour publicly made in late 2019 about providing housing services at a level that military families deserve," the report concludes. "They also are troubling because there are striking similarities between key aspects of Balfour’s misconduct from 2013 to 2019 that led to its guilty plea and fine in December 2021 and the behavior that the Subcommittee found Balfour exhibited in 2020 and 2021, when it was under active DOJ investigation."

Balfour executives strongly disputed the claims in the report and testimony from witnesses at the hearing.

“Our performance metrics indicate the overwhelming numbers of our residents are satisfied," said Richard C. Taylor, president of Facility Operations, Renovation and Construction for Balfour Beatty Communities.

When asked, he also disputed Choe's assertions about mold.

"To my knowledge we have never seen any photographic evidence of any mold existing in the home," Taylor said. “When I look at the fact pattern (in Choe's narrative), I think that there’s just holes.”

Ossoff pushed back on Taylor, including reading a number of emailed complaints from residents which he called evidence of systemic failure.

“I reject the suggestion that it’s a systemic failure," Taylor said. "You just shared in that statement 12 emails, 11 emails."

Taylor said issues that came up during the plea had been resolved.

"What’s important for us is that we understand where our shortcomings are and work to overcome those deficiencies," he said. “The results we are seeing are showing that we are taking ... this very seriously.”

Georgia election news: Who are the candidates for Georgia governor in the 2022 primary and general election?

Jon Ossoff:talks federal Medicaid expansion, addressing Fort Gordon housing at his latest visit

Ossoff also walked Taylor through the behavior Balfour admitted to in its plea deal.

“It is your position, Mr. Taylor, that despite engaging in this six-year scheme to defraud the United States, major criminal fraud, that your company should remain in a position of trust housing America’s military families?” Ossoff asked.

“Yes, yes I do," Taylor replied.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fort Gordon Housing: Ossoff chairs hearing on on-base home hazards