HOLLAND, Mich.– It’s been a long road for the Wooden Shoe Motel in Holland and after a city council meeting Wednesday night, the hopes of getting its license back are gone for now.
Phil Meyer, the Director of Community and Neighborhood Services, says the chance for the owner to get his license back was pulled off the agenda Wednesday by the city manager. The building needs to be cleared leaving some people without a place to stay.
Meyer said Wednesday afternoon the city did an inspection and found more issues, including the roof, which was something the owner says he was told wasn’t in violation.
“It remains a concern on the city’s part that they’ll be able to correct these problems in a way they will stay corrected,” Meyer said.
The city didn’t renew the hotel’s license in April when it expired, citing a long list of violations from back in November. Since then, the city has conducted repeated inspections and decided last month the property had to be evacuated in 30 days because things still weren’t up to code.
“Even before June things were being corrected, but we would also discover new problems,” Meyer said. “They made a lot of improvements to the property but there are still outstanding conditions.”
The owner says he has fixed everything on the list, including the water heater and improvements to the parking lot. He says it’s upsetting and he’s been working hard to do what the city has asked.
“Nobody is trying to put him out of business. We would like to see it repaired and we would like to be assured it’s going to stay repaired and in good condition. A positive aspect of visiting Holland is stopping at our hotels and motels and we want this to be a positive experience,” Meyer said.
The owner will be going back in front of council next week, and has until August to improve the property before a final decision will be made about his license.
