By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Days Inn has seen better days in Bowling Green.
Last week, the hotel at 1740 E. Wooster St., was ordered to shut down by Wood County Common Pleas Court Judge Molly Mack.
Bowling Green City Attorney Mike Marsh informed City Council of the action Monday evening.
“There’s a court order posted on the door,” he said.
The Bowling Green Fire Division, State Fire Marshal’s Office and Wood County Building Inspection Office had been trying for two years to get the hotel to fix problems.
“There were really serious safety hazards,” Marsh said.
“It’s not something we’re particularly happy about doing,” he said of the efforts to shut down the hotel.
“Frankly, there was an unwillingness to even clean the place,” Marsh said. “It had to be done.”
After the City Council meeting, Bowling Green Fire Chief Bill Moorman scrolled through his phone, showing countless photos of hazards at the hotel.
“There was imminent danger to residents and workers,” Moorman said.
The photos showed rotted wooden supports on a balcony, straining under weight. Other supports were too short, and didn’t even reach the ground. A second floor walkway was rotted out. A brick facade was separating from the building. Air conditioning units were installed incorrectly so they drained into the hotel rooms and created black mold.
“It was such a hazard, someone was going to get injured or killed,” Moorman said.
Wood County Job and Family Services frequently used the hotel to house people with no homes. By time the case went to court, alternative housing had been found for all those people, Marsh said.
