Officials work to help hotel residents

LEWISTOWN - State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, announced Tuesday that he is working to develop a plan to assist the soon-to-be displaced residents of the Hotel Lewistown.

Residents of the hotel were informed Monday that they would have to vacate the hotel by noon Friday due to a code violation.

Benninghoff said his office is working with Mifflin County and Lewistown Borough to try to arrange transitional housing for people that may be displaced after the hotel shuts down. He said people shouldn't have to stay in a building if it's unsafe, and fire and electrical issues and risks have to take priority.

"I think safety has to trump everything else," he said.

He explained that when a building has a lot of residents, it only takes one person to overload a circuit or cause an accident. A mistake like that can affect many families, he said, so someone has to intervene.

"These drastic measures are a last resort at this point," he said.

An official notice was posted on the door of the hotel Feb. 9 by Richard Hampton, Pennsylvania state certified building code official for the Borough of Lewistown, that states the building is in violation of a code that deals with several inadequacies.

"The hotel has inadequate egress (exiting) of the building, inadequate fire alarm system, inadequate separation between the restaurant and resident living space, and electrical system problems with the structure. All these items are a serious concern to the public safety and welfare of the residents currently living in the structure," the notice states.

The notice also indicates that residents are ordered to immediately cease operations, vacate and secure the structure, which is located at 20 S. Main St. in downtown Lewistown.

Benninghoff said he sympathizes with those who are worried about where to go, and is working to do whatever he can to help people find a place to stay.

Right now, the goal is to get people "somewhere that's warm and safe," even if it's just temporarily, he said.

He added that through collaborative efforts, his office, the county and the borough want to "make (the) transition as smooth as possible."

"None of us want to jeopardize someone's life " by having them stay in an unsafe structure, even if it's inconvenient, he said.

Part of the collaborative effort is finding specific locations for people to stay, Benninghoff said. The Pines Motel in Lewistown may be a site, and there may be some spaces in Juniata County available, but nothing is certain yet, he said.