JACKSONVILLE, Ark. — A new face will be joining the fight for better living conditions in Jacksonville after tenants at the Windgate Square and Park Place apartments voiced several concerns about their water and trash just one week ago.
"We have no hot water, so it makes it hard to do your dishes and take daily baths," said Brenda Fisk. "Then, the trash is overflowing."
Kip Beaudry, at RGB Realty of Cabot, was recently appointed by the Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge to be the new overseer of the apartments.
He will now be working to restore hope to people at four apartments in Jacksonville that have fallen apart due to the out-of-state owners.
"They've been mistreated for so long, and they've kind of just fallen off the wayside well, we're not gonna let that happen," Beaudry added.
He said they began to relocate tenants living on the southside to give him and his crews time to renovate the apartments to make them safer and cleaner for tenants.
"We're still in the process of relocating all the tenants to the north side, [on] hospital, or to south road. We gave them a choice, you go pick the apartment, and your rent is not going up. We're not doing anything other than try to create a safer environment," he said.
He also explained how this week, his crews have been inside the apartments fixing air conditioning units, roofs, and more. They will continue this process until the needs of the tenants are met.
"We will do our part to keep it clean, we'll mow the grass on the outside, and we'll keep the trash picked up. I had a crew there yesterday, all day long, just fixing holes in roofs," Beaudry said.
Arianna Smith who lives at the apartments said she hopes Beaudry can restore the apartments to their former glory.
"It's not like this is a bad neighborhood. It's just not being cared for and it's just forgotten, and it deserves more than that," Smith said.
Beaudry said he plans to have all the renovations done by the end of the year and also said the water has been turned back on for tenants at Windgate Square and Park Place.