ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Judd Hollifield has a pending mechanic’s lien he filed against the owners of the Mountaineer Inn for over $28,000. He doesn’t expect to recoup the amount the company owes him and his security company, Dominion XP. But he feels compelled to share what his trained security officers and staff found while working at the Mountaineer Inn last fall.
“There’s broken windows,” said Hollifield. “The walls are knocked out on the inside. There’s needles everywhere.”
He said it was clear there was drug use going on, along with small cookers, which he believes were in the property to cook meth.
ASHEVILLE CODE ENFORCEMENT TO VISIT MOUNTAINEER INN AFTER OWNERS IGNORE COURT ORDER
“Last August, we were hired to provide security services to secure the perimeter of the property,” Hollifield said.
He said his guards were constantly walking homeless trespassers off the property.
“There’s human excrement all over the place. It’s absolutely disgusting,” Hollifield said.
Hollifield’s biggest concern, months after his company stopped working the site due to non-payment, is community safety, including the inn being a fire hazard, in his opinion.
BUNCOMBE COUNTY HIRES OUTSIDE ATTORNEYS TO PURSUE MOUNTAINEER INN’S OVERDUE PROPERTY TAXES
“We found where the building had been rigged with electricity, even though the electricity had been cut off by the owner, which is a terrible hazard to the property,” Hollifield said.
The Asheville Police Department confirmed that officers conduct regular patrols in and out of the property to address community safety concerns. News 13 obtained a run report with 30 runs, including regular patrol driving by the property since December.
“Every day we were having to remove members of the transient community, that had broken in and were living in there. The property was littered with drug paraphernalia,” Hollifield said.
Hollifield spoke with News 13 on the day Asheville City code enforcement staff were permitted to go on the site after a judge’s injunction giving the city the right to do so.
JUDGE ORDERS MOUNTAINEER INN OWNERS CLEAN UP PROPERTIES, OWNER OWES NEARLY $30K IN TAXES
Asheville City Attorney, Brad Branham, said code enforcement staff are expected to visit the property on Monday, March 9. The judge’s injunction gave the owners 30 days to go and clean up the site, which the owners haven’t.
“Certainly, if I owned a commercial business or retail on this street, I would be looking to city leadership. It’s personal to me because I’m an Asheville native. And my father, who is in his mid-70s, tells me stories about this property. It’s very disappointing that a property that’s iconic like this in Asheville has gotten to this point,” said Hollifield.
MOUNTAINEER INN FACES $28K TAX DEBT, LAWSUIT FROM CITY OVER NEGLECTED PROPERTY CLEANUP
News 13 emailed City of Asheville spokesperson Kim Miller requesting a statement from the City Manager. Miller emailed the following statement to News 13 on Friday:
The City views the current condition of the property as a threat to public safety. As such, our legal team has taken action to obtain legal authorization to address the code violations directly rather than simply issuing notices to the property owner. Staff members, including compliance, police, and sanitation, have actively monitored and/or responded to this property to minimize the threat to public safety. City staff acted in accordance with the court’s order and allowed the property owner time to address the violations. The court’s deadline has now expired. Code enforcement staff will visit the property to determine final abatement needs. Decisions on actions city staff take after this inspection will depend on the circumstances at the property and available resources. Our diligence across departments regarding public safety at this property will continue as we coordinate these efforts.
Click Here For The Original Source
