ADRIAN — Adrian city commissioners expressed concerns this week about how much time city employees have been spending at Adrian Inn since the city bought the motel in August.
The city bought the motel at 1575 W. Maumee St. for $800,000 to serve as a temporary housing for the displaced tenants of the Riverview Terrace apartment building, 400 College Ave. The motel had been for sale and was last summer deemed a public nuisance by the city because of repeated complaints of illegal activity happening there.
More:Riverview Terrace residents occupy Adrian Inn
There are at least 70 Riverview Terrace tenants living at the Adrian Inn, according to a report from Adrian City Administrator Greg Elliott during the Adrian City Commission’s premeeting study session Sept. 19. A handful more will be able to relocate there within the coming days once door locks and keycard readers on second-floor rooms are replaced.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Eric Kelley and Engineering Services Director Matt Tomaszewski are nearly working out of the Adrian Inn daily, Elliott said.
“Eric and Matt spend a great deal of time over at the motel since we acquired it,” Elliott said. “Matt is pretty much working from over there.”
Commission members said they understand a lot of attention was needed to prepare the motel for its new occupants. However, they were concerned that additional city work is being missed while so much attention is being given to the Adrian Inn.
“I see a lot of our presence there every day,” Mayor Angie Sword Heath said. “…We need to make sure city employees are able to be city employees for what they were determined to be doing, instead of being at the Adrian Inn all the time and full-time. That is concerning. It makes me wonder where the lag is on the opposite end since they have been there so much.”
With the winter months soon approaching, Heath said city employees will have much of their time taken up with winter city maintenance and won’t be able to handle things happening at the Adrian Inn.
When it gets to that point, Elliott said, he expects the Adrian Inn will be able to function on its own, with little to no maintenance needed.
“Pretty shortly here it won't operate like a motel anymore. And it will stabilize,” he said. “It won’t be as much work as it’s been up to this point once things are fully operational.”
Commissioner Mary Roberts said the city needs to be looking for an exit strategy quickly from owning and operating the Adrian Inn.
“I understand this was a crisis,” she said. “We, as a city, have gone way above and beyond than what I would think any other city would have done. But we need to be looking at an exit strategy quickly.”
For commissioner Allen Heldt, management of the motel is his biggest concern. Housing agencies are being gauged by the city as potential partners or sole owners of the establishment, which could create a transitional housing facility for Lenawee County, one that is not operated by the city of Adrian.
“If there comes to a point where we don’t know who's going to come to the table and help assist run the day-to-day stuff, then we’ll have to hire a management company to run it. Simple as that," he said. "If the rents need to be adjusted a little bit to make up for it so that we can afford to, then we need to adjust the rents accordingly.”
Currently, rent at the Adrian Inn is $300 per month, which Heldt said is substantially less than what residents have been paying at other places. The rent at Riverview Terrace was $600 per month.
Based on operational expenses, Elliott said positive cashflow from the Adrian Inn can happen if at least 50 rooms are in use at $300 per month.
While he, too, did not have the answers for a possible exit strategy from owning the motel, Heldt said the city needs to continue its efforts of bringing agencies and other entities to the table as possible partners or owners of the Adrian Inn.
“In the now, I think we have to understand that it's our building regardless. But we need to figure out who is going to manage it,” he said.
Riverview Terrace was condemned and its 175 tenants were evacuated July 25 when a crack was discovered between the floor and the wall in a third-floor apartment while carpet was being removed. Inspections since then have found more instances of the same cracking pattern throughout the 12-story structure.
Tenants of the high-rise apartments have not been able to return to their homes since then, except for retrieving personal belongings still there. Some have been living in area hotels and motels, while others have moved in with family members, found other places to live or have relocated out of the area.
The commission on Monday accepted a quote of $22,500 from Brown & Sons Roofing & Siding Co. of Adrian to repair the roof above the motel’s office, manager’s apartment and the former nightclub near the front of the building. Work on the roof is expected to commence in October.
In addition to the cost of repairing the roof, the city had conducted deep cleaning throughout the motel. Renovations have been made, and the city also has two individual contractors it is working with at the Adrian Inn who are being provided room and an hourly rate of pay while handling daily routine work, such as housekeeping and front desk work.
The city has a system of cleaning at the motel, Elliott said, which involves cleaning each of the occupied rooms once a week, including a laundry service of bed linens and towels. Elliott said this cleaning process is a bit of “self-protection” for the city, as it one day hopes to pass along ownership and operation of the motel to someone else.
“This is supposed to be an independent living facility and so we do expect people to keep their own room up,” Elliott said to the commission on Monday.
Each tenant living at the motel has a mini fridge and a microwave in their room. Some of the appliances have needed to be replaced as they have been used, Kelley said. The city has purchased extra fridges to keep in storage in case others need to be replaced. Many of the microwaves have been donated by the community.