Water restored at Atlanta area apartments after complex pays nearly $69K of $97K bill

A Clayton County Water Authority representative confirmed told Channel 2 Action News that water at Tara Woods Apartments in Jonesboro was restored Monday afternoon after it was shut off due to nonpayment.

According to the county, the complex failed to pay a past-due balance of close to $100,000.

The Water Authority shut off the water Monday morning, creating a chaotic scene starting around 10 a.m.

The Water Authority said later Monday that they struck a deal with the complex’s owner, Red Apple Investments, to pay back $68,675.57, which the company has since paid via wire transfer.

The payment is part of the past due balance of $97,973.01, which brings Red Apple’s new outstanding balance to $29,355.44.

“We are glad Red Apple Investments made the payment needed to bring water service back for their residents,” says Clayton County Water Authority CEO H. Bernard Franks. “We hope they will continue working to get caught up on their balance.”

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Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes reported on the issue last week and spoke to several tenants Thursday who said their water is included in their rent price, and they’ve been paying every month.

A spokesperson for the Clayton Water Authority told Channel 2 Action News that the complex is on a master water meter, which means the complete has one bill, and it’s supposed to pay for everyone’s water.

According to records, the complex goes months without paying anything. Over the last 12 months, they made only five payments. Some tenants believe someone in management is stealing the money.

A manager for the complex told Channel 2 Action News that’s not true.

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Michelle Matich is a property manager at Tara Woods who works for Red Apple Investments. She agreed to speak exclusively to Fernandes on Monday though she wasn’t pleased with how the county handled the situation.

“I thought there would be a more agreeable plan than this, but if this is what I have to incur to get the bill handled, that’s fine too,” Matich said.

Matich said the complex got behind on the water bill when many of the tenants stopped paying rent and water during the pandemic. She said 85% of the 60 residents living at the complex are still delinquent.

They’re also dealing with the consequences from busted pipes over the holidays.

“We had busted pipes in all the apartments,” Matich said. “Several of them the county won’t turn the water on, and so, therefore, there’s no insurance claim.”

Matich said there was a huge leak that became a huge bill that the company had every intention to pay.

“I deal with mental health and its hard to even get my job done,” Matich said. “But this obviously shows our tenants how much we do need to make sure their rent is paid”

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Residents told Fernandes they were happy the water was back on, but nervous that the same issued might happen again next week.

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