By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Residents and guests at the Florence Inn on Dream Street had until noon Monday to vacate the premises and by early afternoon most had either already moved out or were making preparations to do so.
The Florence motel was shut down by the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department after its permit to operate was suspended for ongoing critical violations.
Representatives from several social service agencies were at the hotel Monday to help those displaced by the shutdown find at least temporary accommodations.
Boone County Administrator Jeff Earlywine said the county will provide reimbursement to agencies that provide temporary housing assistance to those in need.
“Anyone staying in this facility who asks for help will get help,” Earlywine said. “We want to make sure everyone has a place to sleep tonight.”
Some residents, however, say the help is too little and too late. Residents were informed Wednesday that they would have to move and those interviewed said they had not been contacted by any service agencies prior to the Monday deadline.
“We have a place to stay for the next few days,” said Ashley Ware, who has been living at the motel since March with her mother, Eva Ware, and her two young children, ages one and two. They say they can help us, (find permanent housing), but we’re not sure.”
Most monthly residents pay about $700 a month, which seems high considering the living conditions. But that includes utilities, and the owner does not require the background checks and income standards that keep many residents from finding more suitable accommodations.
Eva Ware said the Florence Inn was the only place the family could afford that would take them.
“The (children’s) father is not really in the picture, so it’s just us,” she said. “All we have is our Social Security checks and by the time we pay everything and buy some food and diapers, there is nothing left.”
The Florence Inn has been on notice since April that failure to make the necessary repairs would result in the loss of its permit.
Steve Divine, director of environmental health and safety for the Health Department, said it began notifying service agencies that the motel would likely be shut down about a month ago.”
“(We have reached out to ) organizations that we either thought would be affected by it, such as the school district, or could help out, such as service agencies,” Divine said “We’ve had those discussions and that’s beyond the scope of our responsibility.”
Sridar Kadaba, owner of the Florence Inn, said there were about 101 rooms in use when the order to vacate was issued Wednesday. Of those, he estimated 15 were occupied by overnight guests and another 15 by monthly tenants. The remaining guests paid weekly.
Kadaba said one of the challenges in making the necessary repairs is that he could not get long-term residents out of the rooms to fix the problems.
“This is the owner’s responsibility, it’s not the city’s or the county’s or the health department’s or even the people who have been staying there. The owner has an obligation, if he wants to run a business to make it safe, and it has gotten to the point where it is not.”
Steve Divine, NKY Health Department.
“I asked them to go to (another) motel for a few days, and I would pay for it, since they already paid me, but they wouldn’t go,” Kadaba said. “If they are not leaving, I can’t get in to fix things.”
Divine said the business was intended to be run as a hotel, not as apartments and the long list of violations did not occur overnight.
“The shame of it is that you had a piece of property that got to that condition. This is the owner’s responsibility, it’s not the city’s or the county’s or the health department’s or even the people who have been staying there,” Divine said. “The owner has an obligation, if he wants to run a business to make it safe, and it has gotten to the point where it is not.”
The Health Department routinely inspects hotels about once a year, more often if there are specific complaints or if violations require follow-up visits.
Conditions at the Florence Inn had been deteriorating for some time, but Divine said the tipping point came during the April inspection.
Following that visit, Divine said health department officials notified code enforcement and fire department personnel from the City of Florence, as well as the Boone County Building Inspector.
“The main things that got him shut down were the findings of the fire marshal and the building inspectors – the structural and safety issues – which gets incorporated into our inspection process,” Divine said.
The report from the April inspection indicates a long list of critical violations, including rodent droppings in unoccupied rooms, bedbugs, exposed wiring throughout unoccupied rooms and floors sagging and unable to support weight.
Other violations included mold observed on walls, ceilings and behind wallpapers throughout the facility and windows broken to multiple rooms.
A follow up inspection in May indicated no significant repairs had been completed and following a conference in late June, Kadaba was given two months to bring the property into compliance.
When the property failed to meet compliance during the Sept. 9 inspection, the health department took action.
“With no significant improvement having been done, we gave him the notice that his permit had been suspended,” Divine said.
Kadaba could apply to have the permit reinstated and there is no time limit on that process. The property, however, must come into compliance not just with health department regulations, but with the issues identified by city and county agencies.
Kadaba responded, “I don’t know,” when asked if he had the financial resources to make the needed repairs.
Meanwhile, service providers are scrambling to provide housing for what could be as many as 85 individuals and families displaced by the shutdown.
The Brighton Center, Erlanger-based United Ministries and the Boone County Assisted Housing Department were among the agencies on hand to provide relocation help Monday.
Ruth Tanner, who manages the Boone County Assisted Housing Department Section 8 program, said the agency can help those who meet the qualification standards.
“We don’t have any help on an emergency basis, but if they are victims of displacement due to a governmental action, which this qualifies as, then we can move them to the top of the waiting list,” Tanner said. “If they have had a felony conviction or a drug conviction in the last five years, they are not eligible for Section 8 assistance.”
Tanner said she had spoken with about eight individuals or families by Monday afternoon and Melissa Wordeman of United Ministries said she had interviewed a similar number.
Divine said the most difficult part of his job is enforcing regulations that ultimately serve the community, but negatively impact some of its residents.
He points out that if officials didn’t enforce the regulations and someone got hurt or there was a fire, or other issue related to a violation, the department is potentially liable for that as well.
“In two months, not much changed, so it’s really up to (Kadaba) what gets done,” Divine said. “We’re not focused on what it would take to get to that point and what resources it would take to fix it, we’re just concerned that right now it’s not up to the standards that it needs to be.”
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com