Racine housing program creating lead hazard, city employee says; Stimulus project may violate lead-safe practices

Bill Bielefeldt, a housing technician for the city of Racine, stands with an award he received from the Wisconsin Rental Housing Legislative Council for his work on lead-safe practices. Bielefeldt alerted the state Department of Health Services about unsafe lead practices on city-owned homes.


A city program meant to improve neighborhoods may be endangering children.

Racine's Neighborhood Stabilization Program is under investigation by the State Department of Health Services after a city employee flagged dozens of potential lead paint violations on city-owned homes.

The NSP, funded by $3.4 million in federal stimulus, is designed to renovate and sell rundown homes in foreclosure. The city bought 23 homes with federal money over the summer and is renovating 17 homes. Work is underway to renovate the homes, but contractors may be violating several regulations in the process, according to Housing Technician Bill Bielefeldt and local contractors.

Toxic lead paint chips were found on sidewalks and in yards next door to city-owned homes. Lead paint can lead to brain damage in children. There are stringent city and state guidelines to safely remove and dispose of lead paint from homes. The city isn't following its own rules, said Bielefeldt, who has turned whistleblower last week in hopes that the city will enforce its lead-safety guidelines.

"Those rules are in place for the children," Bielefeldt said. "They have enough disadvantages. They don't need an unhealthy environment."

Bielefeldt stepped forward after being suspended without pay by City Development Director Brian O'Connell. Bielefeldt, who has worked for the city for 12 years, said city officials suspended him for "gross negligence" on Sept. 10 for his work on the NSP. He said the real problem is an ongoing personality conflict with his bosses, who have made repeated attempts to undermine him and his work, and a department that's overworked with too many programs going on at once.

After being suspended, Bielefeldt turned whistleblower. He sent 76 photos to the Department of Health Services on Sept. 16 documenting potential lead paint violations. They include photos of lead paint chips scattered around the exterior of a city-owned home at 1124 Irving Place. Lead paint chips were also found outside of 1841 Villa St., 1706 Maple St., 1537 Thurston Ave., and 1435 Blaine Ave. RacinePost confirmed paint chips outside of all four homes on Sept. 17, and witnessed lead paint tests on chips recovered from each of the houses.

Photos submitted by Racine Housing Technician Bill Bielefeldt to the state Department of Health Services alleging unsafe lead practices at homes owned by the City of Racine.

O'Connell confirmed Monday the state was investigating some properties, but said he had not seen a complaint. He was not aware of the homes in question until notified by RacinePost.

O'Connell said all contractors hired by the city were required to be lead-safe contractors and work in lead-safe manner. The city checked all contractors to ensure they were lead-safe certified.

"It's what we require," he said about lead-safe practices. "I do not expect the state to have a problem with this department."

During a tour of homes on Sept. 17, RacinePost also witnessed investigators from the state Department of Health Services investigating the home at 1435 Blaine Ave. The investigator declined comment on the investigation.

Shelley Bruce, supervisor of the DHS' Asbestos and Lead Program, confirmed in an email that the state is investigating the city-owned properties. She wrote to Bielefeldt on Sept. 17:  

Bill,

I've tried to contact you a couple of times by phone this morning but you don't
answer and your phone does not take voicemails.  So, I'm just writing to let you
know that I got all the photos with the street addresses.  Thank you.

We are pursuing an investigation of these properties and I appreciate your
information.

Shelley Bruce
Supervisor, Asbestos & Lead Program
Bureau of Environmental & Occupational Health

An investigator from the state Department of Health Services at 1435 Blaine Ave. on Sept. 17.

Bielefeldt and other local contractors who follow lead-safe rules said some contractors working on the homes are violating safety policies. Rules require contractors working on homes built before 1978 to assume the home has lead paint. They have to lay down plastic 10 feet from the edge of the home and then create another buffer zone around the plastic when removing paint and siding from homes. They then have to use a special vacuum to clean the plastic after each use. Contractors are also required to wear plastic suits and masks while working and dispose of them after each use. There are similar rules for work inside of houses.

Not all contractors violated the rules. During RacinePost's tour on Sept. 17, a contractor at 1706 Maple St. had plastic down along the side of the house he was working on. However, the contractor was not wearing plastic protective gear and paint chips were found around the home.

A contractor with plastic down alongside 1706 Maple St.   

Paint chips around the exterior of homes, including at least five that tested positive for lead, shows contractors were not following rules, Bielefeldt said. The shoddy work exposes neighborhoods to lead paint hazards that is particularly harmful to children 6 and under, he said. At one home RacinePost visited last week five children were playing in a front yard next door to 1435 Blaine Ave. where paint chips were found on the sidewalk.

City of Racine officials, particularly in the Health Department, take lead paint threats seriously. They have a local program to remove lead paint from homes, and doctors routinely report cases of lead poisoning to health officials for investigation.

(Above) 1124 Irving Place.

It's embarrassing that the city isn't following its own rules and concerns, Bielefeldt said.

"I would be just as much at fault as they are if I didn't report that," he said. "I didn't just go blindside them. I told them about this, and they chose not to do anything."

Bielefeldt is one of the city's chief advocates for lead-safe practices. Along with a local advisory group, he serves on a state committee for the Department of Health Services and received an award from the Realtors association for working to make homes lead free.

Despite his credentials, Bielefeldt's concerns went unanswered in his own department. The city suspended Bielefeldt without pay after he started to raise questions about lead-safe practices at the city owned properties. City Development officials, including Director of Development Brian O'Connell, acused him of "gross negligence" in working with the NSP. Bielefeldt said he expects to be fired.

After being suspended, Bielefeldt documented what he says are a series of major contractor violations on city-run projects, including lead-paint contamination. Using his contacts with the state, he notified the Department of Health Services and investigators are now reviewing the program.

Sign on the door at
1124 Irving Place.

O'Connell said his department, and the City of Racine, are leaders in removing lead from homes and following lead-safe practices.

"Contractors are required to be lead-safe contractors and work in a lead-safe manner," he said. "That's in our specs."
The state investigation is potentially disastrous for one of Mayor John Dickert's signature programs. The idea was to create a revolving fund of money with the city buying up homes in foreclosure, renovating them, selling them and then using the money to buy more homes. Dickert, a former Realtor, has said he hoped the program would improve the city's housing stock.

Now, the city is facing major violations for creating potentially hazardous conditions. The city's response to Bielefeldt?

It sent two uniformed police officers to Bielefeldt's Mount Pleasant home just before midnight on Sept. 17 to deliver a letter saying Bielefeldt was prohibited from all of the city's NSP sites.

Bielefeldt said it's clear the city was trying to intimidate him.

"What are they doing pulling officers off the street to be mailmen?" he said.

Here's the letter the city delivered to Bielefeldt just before midnight:

Mr. Bielefeldt;                                               
    It has come to my attention that you have been on city-owned property
without authorization.  Pursuant to your suspension of emploment beginning
September 10, 2010, you have been relieved of your duties as a Housing
Technician as of that date.  Be advised that You are not to enter any city-owned
property under the control of this department, including but certainly not
limited to any homes that are now or are in the future in the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program.
    Further, you are not to contact any property owners participating in the
city's loan program or any related programs, such as downpayment assistance, and
you shall not represent yourself as a current City of Racine employee during the
course of your suspension and/or upon termination.  As was said to you on
September 10, 2010, any requests for information from this department must be
made directly to me for response.
    Failure to comply will result in the city seeking all civil and criminal
remedies available to it..
                                                                                                                                            
 Signed,

                                                                                                                                                           
 Brian F. O'Connell
                                                                                                                                                           
 Director of City Development
c:      Scott Letteney, Deputy City Attorney
         File

O'Connell declined comment on the letter, saying it was a personnel matter. He said he did not instruct police to deliver the letter in the middle of the night.

Five positive lead tests of paint chips collected outside of five homes owned by the City of Racine.

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