PABLO — Officials with the Salish & Kootenai Housing Authority say tribal members are waiting longer for rental units because the authority must clean up meth contamination in some of them.
Housing authority executive director Jason Adams tells KECI-TV in Missoula that there are 200 people on the waiting list for housing, but 36 vacant units still must be cleaned.
Over the past 18 months, Adams says 110 of the authority’s 500 housing units have been tested, and 62 have tested positive for some level of meth. Cleanup can range from washing the walls to completely gutting the unit at a cost of over $50,000.
The housing authority has spent $325,000 on meth-related cleanup over the past 18 months. It seeks to recoup the costs from the responsible tenants.