Some Greenwood council members want more time to study the issues on the city’s east side before committing to a new rule that would strictly regulate hotels and motels.
The proposed ordinance, which was drafted by city council member and deputy prosecutor Drew Foster, would require that all places of lodging have a city license, and outlines procedures for probation and revoking the license for those that have a high number of calls for police, fire, code and health department violations.
Since January 2018, police have responded to more than 500 incidents at a cluster of hotels and motels near the Interstate 65 and Main Street interchange in Greenwood. That does not include fire and medical emergencies, or health and code violations, city officials said.
City council member Linda Gibson, who represents the targeted area, wants to get to the root of the area’s problems, she said. At her recommendation, the city council unanimously approved forming a committee to study the underlying issues that lead to criminal activity at hotels and motels on the near east side, such as drug addiction and homelessness, and identify ways to curb those issues and make the ordinance more realistic considering those underlying issues.
The committee, dubbed the “Adhoc Committee on Hotel Reform,” would consist of two or three council members, the police and fire chiefs, the city controller, legal counsel and possibly Board of Public Works members, she said.
“I applaud you, Drew, for getting this on the table, but I think there are several things that we need to give more thought and discussion to,” Gibson said.
She hears repeatedly from residents who are concerned about the availability of police and fire for their emergency needs considering the amount of time crews spend at the hotels and in the immediate area, and the resources that are being devoted to it, she said.
The same underlying issues plaguing the hotels are spilling out to area businesses as well, she said.
“I was caught off guard by the seriousness of incidents that have happened in the last five to six weeks that are impacting businesses in the immediate area. It’s apparent that the circumstances causing the increased number of police, fire and EMS calls are not only affecting our police and fire, but (they) are also creating havoc for nearby businesses,” Gibson said.
For example, on Sunday, a man was arrested after he attempted to rob the White Castle on Sheek Road. He was found 260 feet away at the Red Roof Inn.
Gibson also shared some examples of how the criminal activity this proposed ordinance would target extends beyond the walls of the Red Roof Inn, Red Carpet Inn FantaSuites and InTown Suites Extended Stay.
Recently, an employee at Mutual Bank, located at the intersection of Main Street and Emerson Avenue, could not get into the building to open it because a man was passed out in front of the door, a reoccurring incident, Gibson said.
And employees at Puerto Vallarta next door to the bank recently caught a man messing with a utility box outside the restaurant that caused a power outage at the small strip mall. When employees asked what company he was with, he said he was not with a company, she said.
“It’s not just what’s going on at these properties and the agency runs, we’ve got a responsibility to the residents in the area and to the businesses,” Gibson said.
Foster, who lost in the May primary and will be leaving the council at the end of the year, wanted to get the change underway. As a deputy prosecutor for the county, he has been called to hotels in that area on multiple occasions, he said.
But, he said, the goal is not to target any particular hotel or area of the city. It is to encourage all hotels to operate under the same conditions and have stricter guest protocols, including better screening potential guests.
Mayor Mark Myers supports the proposed ordinance. Having cleaner, less crime-ridden places to stay is going to increase travel and lodging in Greenwood, and attract higher-end hotels to the city, he said.
But he agrees some issues need to be worked out. He has concerns about how the ordinance would be enforced, he said.
Myers supports the formation of a committee, and said Tuesday the ordinance needs more direction. A committee can work with hotel employees and the various city and county departments involved to create an ordinance that is enforceable, he said.
“I have two concerns with it,” he said. “The police department is already overburdened as it is, and there are other entities that need to be involved as well,” Myers said.
That includes the county health department, and city fire and code enforcement departments.
He is concerned the police department does not have the manpower to actively enforce it, but at the same time, better regulating the hotels could cut down on public safety’s run loads, he said.
As it stands, the proposed ordinance says the police chief will carry much of the power, because the police department has the tools to track the crime and calls for service to specific locations in the city.
Calls for service include: 911 calls that result in police or fire being dispatched to the hotel, an arrest, charge or citation; alleged evidence of criminal activity; or findings of an imminent threat to the safety of people or property, according to a draft of the ordinance.
Calls for service do not include: calls to law enforcement made by employees of the hotel; calls initiated by off-duty security officers; traffic citations in which the hotel’s address is used; or anything initiated by the Greenwood Police Department itself, the ordinance says.
If the ordinance is approved as is, Greenwood Police Chief John Laut will be responsible for reviewing all applications for licenses and license renewals and deciding whether to approve them. He can also choose to place a hotel on probation.
If, at any time, a hotel has twice the number of calls for service as it does rooms within a one-year period, it will be placed on probation. An example would be if there are 224 calls for service to Red Carpet Inn FantaSuites, which has 112 rooms, or 140 calls to Red Roof Inn, which has 70 rooms.
During that probationary period, hotel management would be required to participate in regular meetings with police, fire, health and zoning officials to discuss issues related to the hotel guests contributing to criminal activity and actions that may be taken to mitigate those issues, and hire additional security, the ordinance says.
The proposed license would cost $25 and expire in five years.
“A lot can happen in one year, much less providing a license for five years,” Gibson said.
Council member Bob Dine, Greenwood’s former police chief, said he will support the ordinance once it is studied further.
“If we can get this ordinance fine-tuned where it’s enforceable and spells out regulations and everything, I think it would be a great asset for the city,” Dine said.
He would like to see the committee and various departments work with hotel employees to come up with solutions that clean up the area, but don’t put the businesses at risk.
The council voted unanimously to approve the first reading of the ordinance and to form a committee, but will need to vote on the ordinance again once it is reconfigured.
