When money talks, everyone listens.

The village of Park Forest recently filed a complaint in Will County demanding Red Oak Management, the owners of the dilapidated Autumn Ridge Apartments, be forced through receivership to turn over the property to a third party and lose all assets it has in the units, as well as jeopardizing its corporate life.

According to new Village Manager Jon Kindseth, although the complaint was filed “we had not yet begun the full serving process other than to the owner. This is what caused them to come to town this (past) week.”

The action was a shot over the financial bow of Red Oak and may have been the reason real estate investor Joseph Bialostozky flew in from New Jersey and met village officials including Mayor Joe Woods and Kindseth to work on a game plan to set things right.

According to those in attendance, Bialostozky is expected to return soon with a potential buyer who would then assume control of Autumn Ridge through a basic ownership sale, make all needed repairs and improvements including elevators that work, new heating and cooling systems for all units and paying the nearly $500,000 water bill owed to the village.

On its web site, Red Oak Management claims a portfolio of 24 assets in five states. It is hoped none has the problems that beset the apartments on Sycamore Drive.

In recent weeks, with temperatures often hovering above 90 degrees, and with little or no air-conditioning units working in the complex, Village Trustee Randall White began taking donations of window fans and air conditioning units for the tenants. According to White, some of those units needed makeshift adjustment to fit in apartment windows.

One anonymous source donated 40 units, but since then, White said, there have been few, if any, such offerings. As of last week, at least one of the four apartment buildings in the complex had its air-conditioning system restored.

If Bialostozky listened when threatened with a lawsuit, it might be well if he or his financial successor heard some of the voices who live under difficult conditions.

Carmel Davis might tell him that in her two years as a tenant at Autumn Ridge, she dealt with mold, black water from her water pipes and some flooding. Of her 88 neighbors, she says that about 15 to 20 form a tight-knit support group to help each other.Wayne Anderson, living in one of the decaying Autumn Ridge apartments, stood next to his car parked and uttered the unsaid words of other residents. “I’m out of here.”

For the last six months, Anderson has lived with his mother in one of the apartment units, but said he was in the process of leaving as soon as he could get his car repaired.

“I can’t take it anymore,” Anderson said, and then ticked off some reasons for his departure.

“There is mold everywhere,” he said. “Everything smells bad. Elevators are stuck. Packages get stolen and there is no air conditioning. Nothing works.”

In a written statement, Woods says he will take a wait-and-see attitude and claims the village will pursue legal action if things do not improve.

“I’m reserving my judgment until I see something actually done,” he said, adding no one should live in conditions that are contrary to the village’s building codes.

In recalling the village’s history as a haven for returning veterans after World War II, Woods wrote “many have fought for and given their lives for fair housing. Today, no one should live in such unfair conditions.”

No splish! No splash!

This year’s hot summer in Park Forest was made more oppressive without access by residents to the Aqua Center, which, for the first time in its 71 years, was closed for essential repairs.

The facility was in bad shape. Repairs, including new pool liners and gutters, would stem the constant leaks. Trims and pool markings had been replaced in all four pools and the old west pool would become the new Splash Pad.

It would cost $3.5 million, with money from a terminated debt service agreement earmarked for the project.

When Recreation and Parks Director Kevin Adams presented the plan to the Village Board in March, he said all that was needed was an OK from the Illinois Department of Public Health, but Adams warned the board that if more changes were needed that could “influence” the total cost.

You guessed it. Citing needed additional needs, the state wants more work to be done before it signs off on the project.

Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.