Fairfield church that houses homeless red-tagged by city over safety concerns
FAIRFIELD — A Fairfield house of worship is now red-tagged over safety concerns. That move is forcing dozens of homeless who live in the building as their shelter out on the streets.
City Church Pastor Scott Mulvey's mission to serve the homeless is in crisis.
"This is probably the worst day of my life," Mulvey said. "Code enforcement came with eight armed policemen to serve us papers and tag the building."
The City of Fairfield is calling his church building a danger zone. The red tags reading the second floor of the building, where his shelter beds are located, have been deemed unsafe with extensive leaks, mold and threats of a ceiling collapse.
Pastor Mulvey took me upstairs for a look.
"That's the roof damage, which is the leak," Mulvey said.
Mulvey denied the problems rise to the level of closing the building down.
"As long as we're going to treat it, I think we're OK," Mulvey said.
His clients are now packing their belongings up.
Monte Loll has lived here for a year. He has an interview with another shelter he hopes to move to.
"I really don't know what I'm going to do with all this stuff," Loll said.
Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy says the city decision is difficult but necessary.
And that the church has kept inspectors out of the building at times, preventing them from doing their work.
"It breaks my heart," Mayor Moy said. "I know Pastor Mulvey, I've worked with him, and I consider him a friend.
"Communication broke down and it ultimately ends up [that] if he can't get everything resolved, people are going to be forced to leave city church."
Besides the building, the church has tents the fire department calls a fire hazard, and the city said the church's Park 'n Sleep program is not permitted.
"Come on man, we've been pastoring for 50 years, 17 here in this town," Mulvey said.
As of now, all the homeless who live and sleep at City Church will be forced out by noon on Friday unless an 11th-hour solution can be reached.
The mayor said she would be willing to come to the church on Thursday with inspectors to see if something can be resolved.