Remington Ranch residents detail months without hot water as city considers nuisance action

Stillwater residents testified before City Council Monday about months without hot water, flooding and pest problems at Remington Ranch apartments, as city officials moved forward with efforts to address deteriorating conditions at the 55-year-old complex.

The council voted 4-0 to table a public nuisance hearing until Feb. 9, giving property management company Vesta Realty more time to install individual hot water heaters in all 301 units at the complex located at 1815 N. Boomer Road. Installation began Monday with Building A, and 16 water heaters were delivered to the property Tuesday.

"The copper lines and the other water lines that are surrounding the Remington Ranch addition, their lines are in terrible shape," Beth Anne Childs, the city's contract prosecutor, told the council. "It's almost like as soon as they fix one line, another line breaks."

The multifamily complex, built in 1969, has operated with an antiquated boiler system to supply hot water through 12 buildings. The property is owned by Auerbach Funds, a real estate investment firm that acquired the complex in 2024, according to company announcements. The failing infrastructure has left residents without hot water for extended periods, prompting the city to threaten nuisance abatement action in November.

Three residents spoke during public comment, describing conditions that they say have persisted for months or years.

Abby Charland, who lives in the apartment complex, said she reported having no hot water Jan. 2 but received no response until she contacted code enforcement.

"I am a 65-years-old woman," Charland said. "This is the third time I've been for an extensive period of time without hot water."

To bathe, Charland said she carries hot water from her kitchen down the hall to the bathtub.

"I understand that they want to fix it now and all that, but I don't have a lot of confidence in people who really didn't care about the people," she said. "It's unacceptable to expect people to live like this while they figure it out."

Desirae Pierce, who also lives in an affected unit, said over the past two months she has had hot water only three times, each lasting four or five days before going out again.

Pierce, a single mother who works 50 to 55 hours per week, said she has to travel 15 to 20 minutes to family members' homes to bathe herself and her child.

"It's been extremely stressful, and I feel like it's not something we should have to worry about," Pierce said. "I feel like they don't think it's a big deal because they don't have to deal with it."

Pierce also detailed flooding issues when she first moved to the complex in March 2023. Her apartment building flooded four times over six months, requiring removal of sheetrock with mold and carpet padding while she had a toddler in the home.

Ronald Balderson, who's unit does have hot water , said his upstairs neighbor's bathtub has flooded his bathroom since he moved in May 2025, despite multiple reports to management.

"I could be sitting on my toilet, and when they take a bath or a shower, I get rained on," Balderson said.

He also said residents pay for pest control as part of their rent but have not received the service in months.

James Moore, code enforcement supervisor, said the city has been visiting the property daily since complaints escalated in November.

"They're 50-year-old copper lines," Moore said. "They fix one hole. The weak spot comes up."

Moore said approximately 200 of the complex's 301 units are currently occupied, with about 100 offline and not available for rent. He said plumbers can install at least four water heaters per day, with the pace expected to increase as work progresses.

The city expedited permits and building inspections to support the installation process, Moore said.

Childs said the city initiated formal action Nov. 11 after code enforcement reported ongoing problems at the complex. The city sent a legal letter to Remington Ranchs Best Living LLC, the registered property owner, around Thanksgiving, declaring the conditions a public nuisance and demanding a detailed plan of action.

The city is pursuing nuisance abatement under 11 OS section 22-121, which allows municipalities to address property conditions that constitute a public nuisance. The complex has failed to meet requirements under the International Property Maintenance Code, which mandates that water heating facilities must provide hot water at a temperature of not less than 110 degrees Fahrenheit to every required sink, lavatory, bathtub, shower and laundry facility.

The city code defines such failures as hazards to the health, safety and welfare of occupants.

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Vesta Realty, which operates the complex, responded quickly and has provided regular updates, Childs said. The company determined that continuing to repair the boiler system and underground water lines was not sustainable and opted to install individual water heaters in each unit.

If the property remains out of compliance, Childs said the city can make repairs and file a lien against the property.

"We believe that the law allows the city of Stillwater to go in to make the repairs and then file a lien against the property," Childs said. "We have done that fairly aggressively and we have communicated that to them."

The city used similar nuisance abatement procedures to address stormwater runoff issues at another property a few years ago, foreclosing on the lien and collecting the money invested in repairs, Childs said.

Code enforcement officers will continue daily visits to the property and work with residents to address ongoing complaints, Childs said. She provided residents with her email address to ensure all complaints are documented and addressed.

The public hearing will resume at the Feb. 9 City Council meeting. If conditions are not resolved by that date, the council could approve a resolution declaring the property a nuisance and set a timeline for compliance, potentially as short as 10 to 15 days.

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