Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510160052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia lawmakers have tried to outguess Mother Nature by requiring that heat be available to residents from Oct. 1 to May 15 so that room temperature is at least 65 degrees during the day and at least 60 degrees at night.
For many older apartment buildings, that means shutting off the air conditioning, draining the cooling tower and preparing the boilers for chilly weather. The conversion process is complicated and can take days.
And as Murphy's Law would have it, as soon as the heat is turned on, the weather turns hot.
``It's been like an oven,'' said Joan Fields, a retired secretary who lives on the 15th floor of Alexandria's 18-floor Park Center building. ``I stay in my car as much as I can just to stay out of the heat.''
According to the National Weather Service, the average daily temperature this month has been six degrees above the normal average of 71 degrees. The hottest day of the month was Oct. 6, when the mercury hit 85 degrees.
``This is a difficult time of year,'' said Jack Fegely, Park Center building manager. ``There will be residents on the shady side on the lower level who will be chilly, and somebody on the sunny side on the top will be fairly warm.''
Fields, who has lived in Park Center for two years, thinks the state law is ludicrous.
``I would like for the state to change the code to make it more realistic,'' she said. ``You really don't need the heat until Nov.1.''
But state officials said there are no plans to change the law, saying ``it's a guideline. It's just saying if it falls below that temperature, and if it's Oct. 1, you have to turn the heat on,'' said Janet Bruce, spokeswoman for the Virginia housing department. ``You have to make it available for people.''
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.