ELKINS — Elkins City Council unanimously voted to ratify an agreement to purchase the Four Seasons Motel property during its first meeting of the year Thursday night.

The ratification comes after residents of the Four Seasons property on Harrison Avenue received eviction notices on Jan. 31 drafted by property owner Don Smith’s attorney, Mike Mullens. Notices were served by the Randolph County Sheriff Department with assistance from Elkins City Police Department, Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco said.

Marco confirmed with The Inter-Mountain in a previous statement that the city council voted to give him the authority to sign the contract for the purchase in an executive session during their Nov. 21 meeting. Marco also stressed that the city will be buying the property from Smith once all the tenants have vacated.

According to the agreement, released in the council meeting’s agenda packet, the city will be purchasing the property for $135,000.

During Thursday night’s meeting, Renee Hernandez, an Elkins resident, spoke out during public comment against the city’s handling of the purchase.

“Rapidly, and rather cruel, eviction notices given out on New Year’s Eve, and I will say it’s cruel,” she said.

Hernandez spoke about her time as someone who was once unhoused, calling it “very scary,” and asked city officials to care more about those who are going to be affected by the evictions.

“I think, as a community, we’re better than this,” Hernandez said. “We care about people, but maybe not. I would hope so. I care about people and I would like to see something better happen.”

In a previous statement to The Inter-Mountain, Marco said that the city was working with partner agencies to help house individuals who cannot find living arrangements after the eviction notice. 

He also stated that the city had “nothing to do with the evictions” and that the date of the eviction notice was based on attorney Mike Mullens’ timeline.

“The evictions were based on the timeline from Don Smith’s attorney,” Marco said. “We were trying to get eviction notices out earlier, to be honest with you, but we were waiting for them… So we’ve been in those negotiations, so that time frame wasn’t ours.”

City Clerk Sutton Stokes reiterated Marco’s previous comments in an email to The Inter-Mountain Friday morning, stressing that the city had no involvement with the eviction process.

“The city cannot force the sale of a property, nor has it in this case imposed a deadline for evictions,” Stokes said. “To be clear, because the city does not yet own the property, it cannot evict anyone. The presence of city and/or county law-enforcement officers is always an option for any landlord serving lawful eviction notices. That is the full extent of the city’s involvement with the eviction process.”

According to a statement released by City Hall on Dec. 31, “if and when” the city takes ownership of the property from Smith, the city plans to erect temporary fencing, have an exterminator treat the property for pests and vermin, demolish the structure, and transform the property into a greenspace or welcome area.

During the public comment section, Hernandez brought up the plan to transform the property, questioning if the city will be putting another welcome center on the property.

“Here we have a town of 7,000, we have a welcome center,” Hernandez said. “There’s a defunct welcome center out at 33 and 250 that’s empty and could be renovated. Open that again if you want a second welcome center. You know, it makes no sense to waste that amount of money to build a building.”

Stokes spoke on the rumor surrounding a second welcome center in the email to The Inter-Mountain.

“Regarding the perception that there are plans to build ‘a welcome center,’ this is incorrect,” Stokes said. “First, there are no definite plans for the property after the purchase is completed. Any plans would need to be discussed in public and approved by city council at a public meeting.”

Stokes said one tentative plan that has been mentioned was creating a green space that might feature a sign welcoming people to Elkins.

However, Stokes said, city council will wait until the purchase is completed before deciding what to do with the property.

Council will meet again on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Phil Gainer Community Center.