LINCOLN — Prime Properties Management, the company that oversees operations at Lincoln Manor, is hitting back at claims they have allowed a bed bug infestation in the apartments.

In a letter to The News, Prime Properties Chief Operating Officer Barb Carona says the company has a contract with Rose Pest Control to check the apartment building regularly and to address any evidence of bed bugs that they find.

Besides treating specific units, canine crews have gone through the entire complex, including every unit and the laundry rooms and common areas, she wrote.

“A number of senior citizens live independently in the Lincoln Manor Apartment complex, but we do not provide assisted living facilities,” Corona said in the letter. “Tenants who live there must be able to maintain their own households, including house cleaning and cooking. Bed bug treatment requires everyone involved to follow specific instructions set forth by the pest control company. If the tenant fails to follow these instructions to the letter, it will not matter how many treatments we provide to that unit.”

An undated letter addressed to Carona from Rose Pest Solutions, which Carona shared with The News, said it has conventionally treated five apartments, some multiple times, over the past 10 months. The pest control company said its most recent inspection with a bed bug sniffing dog revealed two units will need to be treated.

The Alcona County Commission on Aging, saying it can’t provide services to infested homes, has suspended some services to seniors living at Lincoln Manor for several weeks. The Commission on Aging has also filed complaints about the bed bugs with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.

Corona said the apartment managers have notified residents that, if requested, managers would provide documents to the Commission on Aging so the residents could prove their unit was bed bug-free.

“To date, not one single tenant has requested that document,” Corona said in the letter.

Prime Properties Management Letter by Crystal Nelson on Scribd