Warehouse owner looks to donate 20 truckloads of sanitizer

By Jillian Parks Social Media Manager

When a tenant abandoned his inventory back in November, Hillsdale warehouse owner Drew Homovec found himself housing 27 truckloads of sanitizing supplies.

“The tenant went back to Houston, and nothing ever happened,” said Homovec, whose warehouse is on Industrial Drive. “All we can do now is give it away.”

“There’s the lack of routine and the fact that they’ll have to make up these days at some point,” Spratt said. “Practices were canceled, and we had to try and figure out schedules, so it’s been inconvenient.”

Bertram said that although the closures have been difficult, she thinks school officials did the best they could.

“It's hard for me to be unsatisfied with the handling of the situation,” she said.

“I know that the staff would rather have children in the classrooms and not risk making up days in the summertime.”

Antiseptic hand rub, hand sanitizer gel, and gallon buckets of sanitizer occupy 17,000 square feet of Homovec’s warehouse space. Homovec, owner of Corecoyle Composites LLC, has since reduced the inventory to about 20 truckloads after donating supplies to charities and businesses in southern Michigan.

Homovec said the tenant did not call him or find a way to dispose of the supplies, so he found himself with a surplus of sanitary materials.

“He didn’t call me, didn’t try to sell it, ship it, repurpose it, whatever. The month of October rolls around, and he was due for rent,” Homovec said. “I started communicating with him and he said, ‘Hey, you can’t sell it? You can’t find anybody that wants it?’”

Homovec said he is not only losing out on potential rent money from October and November, but he is also holding thousands of gallons of highly flammable sanitizer containing 80% alcohol. The tenant met with Hillsdale Fire Department Deputy Chief Mark Hawkins within one week of the lease term agreement. Hawkins said he told the tenant the pallets cannot be stacked over five feet, due to the amount of alcohol they contain.

Homovec said he agreed with Hawkins that despite the warehouse’s advanced sprinkler system, a fire could be highly dangerous.

“This is not a three alarm fire,” Homovec said. “We’re talking about a three state fire.”

After failing to comply with National Fire Protection Association Code, city code, and stated specific guidelines, Homovec said the tenant was informed verbally and via email that this breach of lease agreement meant no further inventory was allowed into the warehouse as of Sept. 8.

The tenant allowed Homovec to give the sanitizer away rather than disposing of it, and Homovec thought it would be valuable to the community.

“I had read the product labels, and you can’t pour it into a retention pond or anything. It’ll kill fish or any other wildlife, so we want to properly dispose of it,” Homovec said. “That doesn't help the community, and that doesn’t help those that need it.”

Homovec said he wanted to use the leftover supplies to give back to the local community.

“Hillsdale has been pretty good to me,” he said. “I’ve done everything in my power to aid the community and will continue to help those in need.”

Homovec said he ran into issues giving the supplies away at first, until Detroit’s Local 4 News reported the story.

David Gealer, director of operations at UniversalMacomb Ambulance Service, said he got six pallets of the product: two pallets of gallon hand sanitizer, two pallets of 32 oz bottles of hand sanitizer, and two pallets of disinfectant.

“He definitely has a lot, and I could see why he wanted to do something with it,” Gealer said. “The ambulances run 24/7, and we cover Macomb County, Oakland County, and Detroit East. Our units cover a large footprint of southeastern Michigan, so it helps to be able to have a donation of these products so that we don't have to worry about restocking.”

Gealer said he thinks anyone involved in medical care should pick up the supplies.

“Come get some, so it gets used and doesn’t just get destroyed,” he said. Other groups have also taken advantage of the offer. Livonia-based company USA Labs, which distributes to labs and healthcare centers around the country, spent the day repackaging the product and loading semi trailers on Nov. 11.

Andrew Schultz, manager of the Brooklyn branch of Solid Rock Church, and Fathom Waters, church member of the Clinton branch involved with outreach ministry, obtained pallets of hand sanitizer and tuberculosis-fighting sanitizer to distribute to groups that can use it.

“We work with a lady in Jackson that helps the homeless, '' Schultz said. “She’s very well known in Jackson, and so we’re gonna reach out to her and donate this to her, too.”

They also distributed sanitizer to businesses and organizations in the area.

“The stuff that fights tuberculosis we’ll take to restaurants and the Community Action Center,” Waters said. “I would assume they would be happy because they deal with a large group of people.”

There are still thousands of gallons waiting to be claimed. Anyone interested in obtaining the sanitizer can reach Homovec at hillsdalehandsanitizer@ gmail.com.

“Those who need it are reaching out and coming to get what they need,” Homovec said. “I’m happy to support the Hillsdale community and all those interested in these products while the supply lasts.”