The day after a small fire in one of the suites at the closed Slumber Lodge Motel in downtown Williams Lake the owners began remedial action to block access to the site.
Over the last few months people had been breaking into the motel to party or sleep there and the RCMP had been called in by concerned citizens several times.
As a result, the city served the owners a notice for remedial action requiring them to secure the building and/or hire security by July 12.
After the fire, the city hired security to watch the site over the weekend, but those services have been discontinued now that the remedial work has been completed.
At the end of Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting, acting chief administrative officer Geoff Goodall and fire chief Randy Isfeld told council the owners have put up plywood throughout the motel, blocking all access points.
“We met with the owners on Friday. They wanted more time to carry out the remedial action, but we didn’t budge and tried to emphasize the seriousness of the situation and the liability,” Goodall said, adding a few hours later the owners were at the motel and spent the weekend putting up plywood.
Isfeld did an inspection on Sunday, followed up by a second inspection by city staff on Monday.
“We’re going to keep an eye on it and take it day by day, but for now we’re satisfied with the work,” Goodall said, adding they feel the owners have met the remedial requirements.
A final report about the remedial work will be coming to council at a future meeting.