Incidents at Reynoldsburg Days Inn do not appear to violate deal with city - The Columbus Dispatch
A Reynoldsburg motel that was closed by court order in September 2021 has reopened after meeting several restrictions included in a negotiated agreement with the city.
However, on the same day City Attorney Chris Shook and the motel's attorneys appeared before Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Stephanie Mingo for a status update, police investigated a fatal drug overdose and Truro Township firefighters responded to a fire in one of the rooms at the Days Inn, 2100 Brice Road.
While the Feb. 24 incidents do not appear to violate the negotiated agreement, Shook said, "We are not seeing these problems at other motels in the city."
"It tells me that there's no way to run a motel in that corridor and not have problems," he said. "Economically, (the area) obviously is in worse shape than it was 20-30 years ago. Columbus motels there have similar problems, and they're driving away legitimate customers. They're left with bad actors."
Before the Feb. 24 hearing, Joe Piccin, an attorney representing motel owners First Hotel Management LLC, said he learned about the fatal drug overdose on premises during the early-morning hours.
"Initial reports are that the motel followed proper protocol," he said. "We discussed that briefly at the hearing."
Mingo set another hearing for March 25; however, Shook indicated the two sides could meet sooner if the incidents were found to have violated the court order.
The Days Inn began hosting customers again at the end of January.
Mingo closed the motel in November 2021 when she granted a permanent injunction prohibiting it from operating because it was considered a public nuisance.
As part of the negotiated regulations, the Days Inn no longer allows cash transactions; has installed enhanced security measures, including having a security officer on premises 12 hours a day; added more cameras and outdoor LED lighting and requires guests to show a government-issued IDs.
Shook said the motel should be doing even more.
"My two first reactions are that they need to be charging more per room and charging out these people who are the bad actors," he said. "Also, it would be in their best interest to not rent rooms to local people."
The court agreement lasts for four years and includes quarterly status updates with Mingo.
The Days Inn was closed after it was damaged in an August 2018 fire. Reynoldsburg police noticed an uptick in calls to the property when the motel reopened in October 2020.
A month later, police met with motel management and made several recommendations to mitigate criminal activity on the property, Shook has said.
However, between October 2020 and May 2021, police responded to more than 700 calls to the motel and counted more than 80 narcotics offenses, 13 weapon/firearm charges, nine arrests for soliciting prostitution, nine drug overdoses, eight assaults and six domestic-violence complaints, according to the city.
"I told City Council we were going to watch them like a hawk, and I think we've done that and then some," Shook said. "Our police are doing regular daily patrols. I get a copy of all run reports so I can monitor what's going on."
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Incidents at Reynoldsburg Days Inn do not appear to violate deal with city - The Columbus Dispatch
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