Still more problems have come to light with the Hotel Holley — this time with the expiration of its rooming house license.
“It expired on Oct. 31,” said Mike Cleveland, building inspector/health director for the City of Bradford. “At this time it is not being renewed. There are violations in the structure that caused it not to be renewed.”
The biggest violation, he said, is a non-working fire alarm system in the five-story building. Cleveland acknowledged that owner Joe Troutman has a contractor working on it. However, it may not be soon enough to prevent the Holley from closing to tenants.
Troutman did not follow the process through which he could have been granted an extension to complete the work, Cleveland explained.
“Technically, he cannot be renting out rooms,” Cleveland said. Troutman was sent a letter in early October reminding him of the Oct. 31 license expiration, and was told what violations were preventing its renewal.
“He had ten days after receipt (of the letter) to appeal it to health officer John Peterson,” Cleveland said. That would have permitted an extension of time in which to complete the work, too. “I advised him to start that process. He did not file that request.”
It has been one week since the license expired, but Cleveland said the property has not yet been posted, and the residents have not yet been told to leave.
“The city has not acted yet because of all the other agencies affected by this,” he said. “The county housing authority is also involved due to the magnitude of this.”
Cleveland explained when the Housing Authority has homeless people, Troutman takes them in at the Holley.
“This is beyond simply saying ‘you’re shutting down.’ It’s going to affect the entire county.”
While Cleveland did not know the number of residents at the Holley currently, he estimated there are about 100 people in the 50 units there.
“If he corrects the violations, there is no reason he cannot apply to receive” the license back, Cleveland said.
There was no immediate word from Troutman or a representative on the matter. Troutman has referred all questions to his attorney, Greg Henry. Attempts to contact Henry have proven unsuccessful.
Dusti Dennis, executive director of the McKean County Redevelopment & Housing Authority, asked the Bradford community to come together to help out.
“While local agencies will spearhead efforts to work with any person or family that may be displaced, our efforts will not be successful without the assistance and support of the community,” Dennis said. “The individuals who reside there, some out of necessity and others by choice, are members of our community and in times of crisis we can always count on the Bradford community to come together to help those in need.”
She added that the agency recently was made aware of the issue with the Hotel Holley, and said she doesn’t know how many may be impacted should the facility be forced to close.
“A team of representatives from local agencies is being assembled to assist families who may be displaced should the building not be brought into compliance,” Dennis said.
“At this time it is too early to say what options will be available to anyone displaced from the Hotel Holly as the needs of each person who currently resides there are different. We will be able to develop a more specific plan as the needs of the current occupants of the building are made known to us,” she added. “We anticipate that some will be able to locate alternative housing on their own while others will need assistance.”
And as of Monday, there was no word on the status of the Holley’s liquor license. It is a hotel license, granted to a facility that rents out rooms and serves alcohol. There was no immediate word as to if or how the loss of the rooming house license might impact the liquor license.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board had failed to renew Troutman’s license for the Holley, citing police reports and numerous violations of the liquor law.
Troutman has appealed the decision; McKean County Judge Chris Hauser has ordered that Troutman can continue to serve alcohol while the matter is under appeal.
According to Troutman’s appeal, filed Wednesday in McKean County Court, the refusal to renew the liquor license for the Holley was “illegal and was an abuse of the Board’s discretion.”
Among the allegations in the appeal were the following: The board erred by “concluding that police incidents established a pattern of illegal activity” sufficient for the refusal to renew; the board erred in concluding that Troutman was aware of the alleged illegal activity; the board erred by “failing to appreciate, relatively speaking, the licensed establishment, the licensed establishment is in a high, or higher, crime area;” and the board failed to appreciate that drug activity is “common in the area irrespective of the operation of the licensed premises.”
The Liquor Control Board had no comment on any of the issues Monday, saying only “Now that this is a pending court matter, we’ll decline further comment.”
