Northern Village attorney makes pledges as St. Louis County Council pushes for answers

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The attorney for Northern Village Apartments made several commitments to the St. Louis County Council during a meeting Wednesday that lasted more than two and a half hours.

The property in north St. Louis County has had issues for years, including mold, sewage and no heat or hot water. It also has a number of overdue bills, including the gas bill, half of which was paid earlier this month, avoiding condemnation of the whole property.

“The tenants at Northern Village are living with severe, dangerous health and safety issues,” said Brenda Flagg, a Northern Village tenant.

St. Louis County told Flagg on Wednesday that she needs to leave her unit.

“I got a 60-day vacate notice today, because they will not fix the issues in my building,” Flagg said.

Flagg lives at Northern Village and deals with sewage inside and outside her unit because of a collapsed line behind her building. The county said that is why she needs to be relocated.

Flagg said the line is behind her bedroom window.

“I cannot open my bedroom windows because of that, but you can smell it all through the hallway because it’s in my basement as well,” Flagg said. “So it’s ongoing issues, ongoing problems.”

Nick Meador, the attorney for the Northern Village ownership group, told the council Flagg is one of the tenants who will be moved to another unit. It is one of the pledges made.

“The ownership group is willing to make a number of commitments to this council,” Meador said. “We’ve already talked about no more evictions. We’ve talked about the hot water and the heat will stay on for the occupied units. If it goes out, we will transfer those tenants.”

He said there are also five buildings that have been identified where repairs can be made to bring the buildings up to standard in short order.

Meador added, “Within 14 days, we intend to provide this council with a permit, contractors, completion days and estimated steps along the way. Every two weeks, we’ll provide you with an update as it relates to this five-building development at Lucas and Hunt.”

Meador pointed to 150 complete unit restorations in the last year. He said 25 have been applied for inspection and need some additional work and reinspection before they’ll be usable.

This all has left the county council with a lot of questions.

Council Member Mark Harder said, “Would you put your grandmother in the property?”

“There are units in this property that, yes, I would,” Meador said.

“Which one?” Harder asked.

“There are a number of units that have been depicted in the media and we have allowed access, that I would have no issue,” Meador said. “They are habitable units.”

The attorney said there are currently 120 units occupied. However, a county official said at this time there are 96 tenants.

Council Member Shalonda Webb said owner Mendel Fischer needs to appear to answer questions. Fischer has owned the property since February 2024. She questioned how much more time should be allowed to fix the problems.

“Not another two years. I’m really disheartened about the kind of carelessness that’s been approached and handled with this. Not for TV purposes, but this is a business meeting for this council to address a property with over 100 units that are in disarray. From sewage, mold, air quality issues, lead issues. I believe that deserves the respect to these tenants to have your client be here in person,” Webb said.

County officials provided an overview of their efforts and time, including violation history. Between October 2025 and 2026, there have been 43 notices of violation, and eight have been abated, with 13 orders to vacate issued and four sent to legal. Between October 2024 and 2025, 15 notices of violation were issued, and one has been abated, with seven orders to vacate issued.

A chief inspector also details some of the new issues found, including sewage building up in a boiler room.

Flagg said she also wants the owner to show up. She is a member of the newly formed tenants’ union and said she has a hard time believing the pledges from the apartment ownership.

“This is his problem. This is his negligence. He needs to stand up for the tenants and make it right,” Flagg said.

The tenants’ union presented a list of demands Wednesday. Flagg said they want to meet with Fischer to negotiate an agreement and be allowed to organize.

“A majority of Northern Village tenants have signed our petition demanding three things,” Flagg said.

According to Flagg, the demands are:

• Fischer must recognize the union and negotiate an agreement for all Northern Village tenants. Flagg said Fischer has until Nov. 4 to respond with a plan to meet “or we escalate.”
• Fischer, his company and all parties must respect tenants’ right to organize without intimidation, retaliation or harassment.
• The county council must approve emergency relocation funds for tenants immediately and fully support the union’s other demands.

Council members are looking at legislative changes that could come from the situation, including inspections when apartment units are sold.

On Tuesday night, a proposal for a crisis prevention and emergency response fund that could be used for a situation like this was referred to the county’s budget committee.

The council said it is looking at another meeting on Northern Village. Council members said they want the owner at this next meeting.