ELKINS — The City of Elkins could begin to advertise the demolition bid for the former Four Seasons Motel next week after receiving a passing grade on an asbestos inspection on Monday, city officials said.

The property, which the city purchased on May 8, was to undergo pest control, asbestos testing and eventual “complete demolition” in six weeks, according to a City of Elkins statement on May 15, more than five weeks ago.

As the sixth week begins, city officials informed The Inter-Mountain Monday that pest extermination has been ongoing, and that the city received word Monday afternoon that the building passed the asbestos inspection.

“We just received word this afternoon that we passed the asbestos inspection — a bid cannot go out until we receive the asbestos report,” Elkins City Communication Manager Leon Kaye told The Inter-Mountain Monday. “I can’t give you an absolute date of when bidding will start, but we should be able to complete the remediation process next week.”

Once the remediation process is complete, Kaye said the city will advertise the bidding in print and online.

Kaye also explained that, despite circulating rumors, there are no plans to tent the building for pest control, as they have been spraying the building “inside and out.” Rat boxes have also been used and a perimeter treatment for the property was also applied, Kaye said.

Purchased for $135,000 from former property owner Don Smith, the acquisition was finalized “following confirmation that all former tenants had permanently vacated the premises,” Kaye told The Inter-Mountain in a previous statement.

On April 22, the building was found “unfit for human habitation” and condemned by Elkins City Code Enforcement, due to the water in the building having been turned off on April 15 at the request of the property manager, Elkins City Clerk Sutton Stokes told The Inter-Mountain in a previous statement.

Stokes said that Code Enforcement notified the property owner on April 16 that water service would have to be reestablished “within 48 hours” to avoid condemnation of the building.

Stokes said that, on April 22, after verifying that water service had not been reestablished, Code Enforcement, supported by the Elkins City Police Department, posted the building with notices of condemnation, and “verified that all occupants had vacated the premises at that time.”

“The property manager stated one of the primary reasons for (the property manager’s) request (to turn off the water) was that piping had been removed from the building,” Stokes told The Inter-Mountain in a previous statement. “By action of condemning it as unfit for human habitation, it’s now illegal for anyone to occupy the building.”

Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco also confirmed that the building had been condemned by the city, and that officials had been informed by the property manager that the water in the building would be turned off due to “pipes being stolen.”

“The property manager came in and told our treasurer (Tracy Judy) some of the pipes had been stolen, so he was going to have the water turned off,” Marco told The Inter-Mountain in May. “I think we waited five days for them to turn it back on. Normally we do two (days), but because of Easter, we waited until the following Monday… and it wasn’t turned back on, so we had to condemn it.”

Marco confirmed with The Inter-Mountain in a previous statement that city council voted to give him the authority to sign a contract for the purchase of the Four Seasons property from Smith, in an executive session during their November 21, 2024 meeting. The contractual agreement was unanimously ratified by the council during their Jan. 9 meeting.

According to a previous press release from City Hall, the city plans to transform the property into a green space or welcome area.

Residents of the Four Seasons Property on Harrison Avenue received eviction notices on Dec. 31, 2024, drafted by Smith’s attorney, Mike Mullens. Notices were served by the Randolph County Sheriff Department with assistance from Elkins City Police Department, Marco told The Inter-Mountain in a previous statement.

Elkins City Hall released a press statement on Dec. 31 in response to rumors and questions about the property and the city’s plan to buy it.

According to the release, Smith had owned the property since 2012 and granted Bruce Howell authority to operate the property to provide residential rental living units, with Howell functioning as a “landlord.”

Marco said in a previous statement that the land contract between Smith and Howell was dissolved in 2024 due to “several violations that were not corrected.”