Tenants at the Mansfield Inn on 880 Laver Road haven’t had running water at the motel for over a week.
“I have a bucket. There’s water coming out of the sink and shower, but it’s very little. The shower is actually giving me enough water to pour down the toilet,” said Charity Hopson, who spoke to the News Journal the morning of Feb. 4.
Hopson, whose boyfriend lives at the Inn as she lives elsewhere with her young daughter, said the hotel may be condemned as early as Wednesday because of living conditions.
Wednesday morning, Hopson talked to the News Journal as she picked up her DoorDash order from Burger King outside. She asked the News Journal reporter to help her push open her door, which barely opened.
“They’re trying to condemn it because there are new owners who want it,” Hopson said, who stepped outside barefoot so her cat wouldn’t sneak out. “So my boyfriend talked to the owner yesterday and the owner said there is a court date to try to stop it from getting it condemned.”
She said her boyfriend pays $500 every two weeks for the apartment.
“It’s cheap. It’s not that expensive … He likes it here. Says it’s private,” she said.
Peter Patel, manager of the Mansfield Inn for about a month, said the water problem is due to a frozen well, but spoke Feb. 3 to Jacob Stalter, an environmental specialist at the Ohio EPA, who said someone will come by Feb. 5 to fix the problem.
“He came yesterday and looked. He’s coming today or tomorrow,” Patel said.
He said the well is not going to be fixed and the motel must go another route with water service.
Patel said about 10 people live at the motel.
He confirmed a group of Richland County officials visited the motel Feb. 2 and said he has provided water to tenants to help in the meantime.
Tenant Jackson Rose said he has been without water.
“They are planning to fix it,” he said. He, his wife and his chihuahua have lived in one of the rooms which are now rented as apartments for about a year.
He said they don’t cook in the room and they go to the laundromat to clean their clothes.
“The community is coming together to help people in Richland County,” said Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero, speaking as a representative of the Richland County Homeless Response Team. “Right now, the priority is addressing the needs of those people living in that building.”
He said the people living out there have been without water for two weeks.
“There is an out-of-town landlord,” Vero said, and added that the landlord is taking advantage of people, furnishing a room with no running water.
He said the motel building is falling apart and is not structurally safe. Richland County Building and Codes Manager Steve Risser, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Ohio EPA are dealing with issues at the motel.
Vero estimated 10-15 people live at the Inn, along with 40 cats.
The State Fire Marshal is revoking their license and Risser has issued an order to vacate the building, Vero said.
Vero confirmed the tenants pay $1,083 a month.
The Richland County Building Department has ordered the structure be vacated within 14 calendar days “until such time the serious hazards are eliminated and the structure is restored to a safe and sanitary condition,” a letter dated Jan. 30 to Patel from Richland County Chief Building Official Kenneth A. Arthur said.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: The Mansfield Inn on Laver Road operating without water for a week
Reporting by Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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