All tenants moved from Hotis Motel, demolition planned

TOWN OF PAMELIA, New York (WWNY) - The condemned Hotis Motel in the town of Pamelia is now closed and will be demolished.

Jefferson County officials say all remaining tenants were moved out on Wednesday and relocated with the help of five different agencies, plus county personnel.

On Thursday, the motel was being boarded up and the town will begin a review process that county Administrator Bob Hagemann says will lead to the demolition of the motel portion of the structure.

He says a new inspection on Wednesday revealed that the place has deteriorated even more than when it was condemned on September 27.

The motel was cited for seven major code violations in August. The county gave the owners, Empire Assets Group, 30 days to fix the problems.

Read Hagemann’s full news release below:

On behalf of a dedicated team of local human services providers and Jefferson County staff, I am pleased to advise that yesterday a coordinated assistance program was undertaken at the Hotis Motel to he]p relocate all tenants previously residing there to other locations. This action, in turn, enabled the Town of Pamela to also assist in this endeavor by hiring a local contractor to close up that

condemned facility due to substantial building code deficiencies. Boarding up the motel, along with picking up remaining debris, should be completed by the end of the day. The Town will then undertake a required review process that will eventually lead to the demolition of the motel portion of that structure.

This was an all day exercise that went extremely well with appropriate support personnel being incredibly helpful and compassionate with the individuals that were moving on to other places to reside. Among the local agencies lending support were the Crisis Response & Care Coordination Team with the Children’s Home of Jefferson County, Transitional Living Service’s Care Coordination Team, Anchor Recovery Center (PIVOT), Alliance for Better Communities and the Watertown Urban Mission. County staff on the scene included DSS, Community Services, Public

preparation of this exercise was also the District Attorney’s Office and County Attorney’s Office.

In preparation for yesterday’s relocation activities, the human service agencies referenced above, along with DSS staff, have been on the scene lending support to those tenants over the course of the past 30 days following official posting and notification of the condemnation order that expired last Thursday. As a courtesy to remaining tenants, this past Friday a final note as to a need to vacate was delivered to all residents at the Hots Motel. In the intervening days those same dedicated agency staff were also on the scene, which clearly helped set the stage yesterday for a smooth transition of those tenants to new locations.

An informal follow up inspection of that former residential structure late yesterday revealed that the structural condition of the former motel has deteriorated even more than when the first inspection was done.