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Elkins releases statement about motel purchase

ELKINS — The City of Elkins put out a press statement on New Year’s Eve afternoon regarding the City’s intention to buy the Four Seasons Motel, and about recent rumors circulating about evictions of residents of the motel.

The following was released at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday:

“In response to rumors and questions circulating in the community, the City of Elkins would like to provide an update concerning the Four Seasons property on Harrison Avenue.

“City of Elkins, in partnership with state and federal agencies and in response to years of complaints from owners of neighboring properties, has since 2023 been actively working with the owners and operators of the Four Seasons to find solutions for extensive building code violations, nuisance behavior, and criminal activity. 

“Although everyone is eager to find a solution, this is a situation that must be approached with careful attention to constitutional guarantees of due process, the right to be secure in one’s residence, and state laws governing the landlord/tenant relationship. The City is working with all deliberate speed to balance the competing desire for urgency with the need to find a legal and permanent solution.

“The following is a timeline of events related to this property so far:

* Since 2012, this property has been owned by Don Smith. Most recently, under a land contract, Mr. Smith granted Bruce Howell authority to operate this property to provide residential rental living units. Under authority of this agreement, Mr. Howell functioned as the “landlord” for tenants renting rooms at this property.

* In 2023, the Elkins Common Council authorized Mayor Jerry Marco to negotiate the purchase of this property from Mr. Smith. 

* On Nov. 21, 2024, the Elkins Common Council authorized Mayor Marco to sign an intent to purchase the property once all current residents have vacated the property and related conditions are met. The City also advised the Randolph County Housing Authority and other agencies of residents’ potential need to transition into other housing.

“The City of Elkins has not yet made any payment to Mr. Smith and has no intention of doing so until the property is empty. Once Mr. Smith certifies, to the City’s satisfaction, that any current tenancies have been legally and ethically terminated, the City stands ready to proceed through the usual process of a real estate purchase to finally take ownership of the property.

“If and when the City of Elkins is able to take ownership of this property, the City plans to:

* Erect temporary fencing

* Have an exterminator treat the property for pests and vermin

* Demolish the structure

* Transform the property into a greenspace or welcome area

“We will continue to provide updates as the situation continues to develop.”

In January 2023, State Auditor JB McCuskey told the Randolph County Commission that he and Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco were working on eliminating a “dangerous” dilapidated building in Elkins.

“The reason that I was actually meeting with the mayor earlier is, you guys know the big apartment complex that’s on the way into town,” The Inter-Mountain reported McCuskey saying at the time.

“My office, last year, completed a piece of legislation called Senate Bill 552, that made the elimination of blighted, dilapidated and dangerous buildings a real priority,” he noted.

“There’s been significant funding put behind it already, and we’re asking for another significant appropriation. The mayor and I are working on a plan to take that building and turn it into something that is both useable as well as something that isn’t a detraction and danger to the people of Elkins and to this county.”

“The mayor and I are working on that project, and I’ve made it actually my singular, No. 1 priority out of this project. We had about $10 million put into that fund last year, and we’re hoping to get a little bit more this year. We think that’s a perfect example of the kind of building this project is designed to eliminate.

“The taxpayers of Randolph County can say, ‘You know what, those guys told us what they were gonna do with our money, and now we have a beautiful space with a sign welcoming people to Elkins, and not a giant building where drug and criminal activity are occurring.”

Speaking to The Inter-Mountain after the 2023 meeting, Marco declined to identify exactly where the structure in question was located.

“It’s an issue that we’re trying to address, but we’re just trying to make sure that we do it legally,” Marco said. “We are working with the owner to try to work out an agreement, and the auditor is trying to help us with that as well.”

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