ALTOONA -- Archway Ministries in Altoona is closed this week with a "condemned" sign on the door.
The church's food bank serves more than 100 people monthly, but pastor and building owner Louis Grillo said that service is put on hold.
During an inspection, officers found evidence of rats and mice throughout the building and food pantry, according to City Code Enforcement Director Rebecca Brown. "There is an infestation problem," she said.
Brown said that the officers found electrical hazards and fire hazards, and found that the furnace did not work.
She said they also found out that someone had been living there, which is against code.
"The building is not designed for that," Brown said.
Grillo said he thinks people are perceiving the "condemned" status to be worse than it is.
"It's all kind of minor stuff that can be resolved quickly," he said.
Brown said that Grillo has cooperated and has been working to resolve the violations.
Grillo said that he's contacted an exterminator to rid the church of any rats or mice, and he's reached out to electricians and vo-tech programs to resolve the electrical issues.
"There are a lot of people who want to help and want to do things. (The church) is a community project, and we're going to reach out to the community to get involved and help work on it," he said.
The code enforcement re-inspection is scheduled for the end of next week, and Grillo said he's confident they will have these issues resolved by then.
Brown said she doesn't like to stop the church from helping people, but said that it's code enforcement's responsibility to protect the public while inside.
"It just wasn't safe in there," she said.
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