The Towne Manor motel in Johnstown has been condemned by city officials for what they call poor living conditions.
The legal notice was posted on the motel doors Monday afternoon and now residents have just forty-eight hours to leave.
About a dozen people have been staying in The Towne Manor motel – just off route 56 in downtown Johnstown.
“Almost everybody in here is homeless”
“I moved in here on July the 3rd of 1991”
Now Jeff Crowder, Gary Barni and the other residents have to leave the premises after the bright yellow legal notice was posted on the door of The Towne Manor motel by Johnstown city officials.
“My disabled stepdaughter, she’s always calling the authorities for this and that. She inadvertently called the fire company, saying she was trapped but she wasn’t”.
“The initial call was not the big problem, It was after the fact when we saw the condition of the building. Basically, the way it was inside. That kind of set things initially in motion and as we started to look around more, we found more damage to the building. Garbage laying all over the place; just garbage and food out laying around and stuff and just bad living conditions”.
The city’s Building Code Official Dave Williams went to the property where he says he discovered “falling down dry wall, water leaking through the roof into the second floor and down into the first floor, exiting restrictions on all the exits really, just garbage everywhere”.
The residents say they agree that the motel is in poor condition but say they’re still upset with how quickly they’re being forced out.
“Its pretty, its pretty amazing to see something like that with no notice,”
“The only problem I have with the city is that, is that they only gave us forty-eight hours. I understand it needs to be condemned, but they only gave us forty-eight hours which I think is cruel and heartless.”
As for the future of the motel, officials say they’ll meet with the owner to discuss whether the building can be brought back up to code.
And for the people affected, city officials say the county does have some avenues to help them find a place to stay.