Residents of the Crossroads Motel were left in the dark, both literally and figuratively, Thursday afternoon when the electricity was shut off with just 18 hours’ notice given.
Jessica Wright, Doug Brown and Dennis Aquino were searching for answers while city crews worked to shut down the power. Wright, who has converted her motel room into a full-time home, has been living at the motel since she moved from Salt Lake City in November.
“We have nowhere to go,” she said.
Brown has lived at the motel for seven weeks now, and Aquino, who is known as “New York” by the residents at Crossroads, has been living there since July 27 of last year.
“I don’t have the cash to live somewhere else,” Brown said. “I’m destitute. I do odd jobs off the Trading Post,” a program on the local radio station. Monthly rent at the motel averages $400.
As for Aquino, who is a Vietnam veteran, he said he is nearly $2,000 in debt to the owner, Kiran Ghandi, for his rent.
Power to the motel was turned back on Friday morning after Ghandi made a payment to the city of Iola for his utilities.
“It’s really scary,” Wright said said of the experience of facing eviction.
Brown pointed to the woman sitting on her bed.
“She has made this one room into a home,” he said.
More than 30 families make their permanent home in the motel, and Thursday afternoon was a reminder to them of how quickly it can be taken away.
Sam Ruis stood outside of his room Thursday afternoon, waiting to see if he could remain at the motel.
“We don’t have a place to stay, we have no place to go,” he said.
he thought concerns were sufficient for the motel’s closure. Legal concerns at the state level delayed action, though.
Mrs. Gandhi said there were issues in some rooms and that people living there were expected to have a role in keeping them clean. Often, she added, housekeepers were turned away when they went to rooms early in the morning and then occupants would want them to return in the afternoon, after they had left for the day.
She said occupants were told they needed to clean their rooms, but “who listens. It’s their responsibility,” when they refuse the motel’s service.
“We’re here to give service,” she said.
Slaugh did not elaborate on what concerns the state inspectors had, because of privacy issues, but said “a number had been identified,” both by the state inspector during visits by city officials.
