DENVER – The management group for a subsidized building in southern Denver is asking residents to consider lowering the temperature this weekend to help the building owner save some money.
Archdiocesan Housing, an affiliate of Catholic Charities, posted the following letter outside Golden Spike Apartments’ residents on Friday:
Dear residents:
We hope that you stay warm during these cold temperatures.
The country is experiencing frozen oil wells that are increasing the cost of gas on our properties.
Our owner is asking you to consider reducing your thermostat by 4 degrees to help us mitigate these increased costs over the next 4 days.
We really appreciate your consideration and residence!
Thanks,
Housing Management Services Team on behalf of Archdiocesan Housing
To say that resident Janet McKenzie is upset is an understatement. She contacted Denver7 to express her concern.
“I offered to do this interview to let other people know that someone is getting someone’s attention,” she said.
McKenzie doesn’t mind helping, but she said she doesn’t have the heat to ease.
“I thought, ‘How can we decrease the heating when we don’t have heating?'”, She said. “It is an insult to injury.”
She claims that she has not had heating to run in her apartment for some time, despite attempts to resolve the problem, so she had to buy her own heaters to keep herself warm.
“We don’t have heating, but we all turn on our heaters and that’s fine. We had to do that for years and years,” said McKenzie.
She wants Archdiocesan Housing to repair the building’s heating and possibly not ask residents to consider reducing the temperature on one of the coldest weekends in recent years.
Denver7 contacted Archdiocesan Housing, Catholic Charities and Archdiocese of Denver to comment on this story, but no one returned any calls or emails until Saturday afternoon.
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