Signs of habitation such as a tissue box, empty beer can, full water bottle and toiletries are around this room seen during a Jan. 5 inspection of the Red Carpet Inn and Fanta Suites. An employee was living here prior to the hotel’s ordered closure.
Leeann Doerflein | Daily Journal
The city of Greenwood rescinded a stop work order issued to the Red Carpet Inn and Fanta Suites as the final report for the hotel’s latest inspection is pending.
Officials from Greenwood’s building and fire departments, along with the Johnson County Health Department, toured the hotel for an all-building inspection Thursday morning. It was the first inspection since November and the first since the city issued a stop work order resulting from allegations that hotel owner Ahmed Mubarak denied officials’ request to inspect the hotel last month.
The stop work order was removed following Thursday’s inspection, Building Commissioner Kenneth Seal confirmed Friday. The removal of the order was dependent on whether inspectors would be granted access for Thursday’s inspection, and since they were, the order was rescinded.
Mubarak, through his attorneys, had previously notified the city’s plan commission of his intent to appeal the stop work order, and the request was scheduled to be on the commission’s agenda on Monday. However, with the order rescinded, the appeal was withdrawn on Friday.
Under the terms of a building permit issued in November 2021 for repairs, city officials were supposed to be granted access for inspections. However, during an attempt to schedule an inspection in December, Mubarak allegedly denied Seal access, telling him to speak with his attorney, officials testified in a court hearing last month.
Seal did not speak with Mubarak’s attorney on this matter, he testified. He subsequently issued a stop work order ordering all repair work at the hotel to stop immediately, as this was a violation of the work permit for repairs, court documents said.
The stop work order had been a point of contention as attorneys for the hotel and city continued their legal battle over the city’s attempts to force compliance with an agreement and orders to vacate the property to make repairs. A Johnson County judge ruled on Dec. 29 that the hotel had to be vacated for repairs and ruled inspectors must have access to the property.
However, in court filings on Dec. 30, Mubarak’s attorneys alleged the city was enforcing both the agreement and the stop work order at the same time, despite conflicting terms. The hotel was ordered to make repairs, yet could not make them due to the stop work order, court documents show.
Following Thursday’s inspection, Seal and Johnson County Health Department Director Betsy Swearingen said the inspectors would meet soon to discuss their findings and determine what the next steps are for the hotel. As of Friday afternoon, the final report was not yet ready, Swearingen said.
Swearingen believes progress has been made at the hotel, however, a lot of work is still needed before it gets to the point officials would consider changing the occupancy status, she said.
“Building A would be the only building at this point we would consider for habitation in the near future,” she said. The building does have still some fire code and safety issues to be addressed as of right now, she said.
Building B suffered major water damage because of a pipe bursting during the extreme cold snap in late December. No one was in the building at the time it happened due to the stop work order, Mubarak told officials.
Officials were unaware the major water leak happened until after they showed up for Thursday’s inspection, Swearingen said. If they had known prior, Swearingen would’ve brought additional personal protective equipment for her staff.
“The water leak in Building B completely shocked me because they had not let anyone know there had been a flood in there,” she said.
This building also houses the hotel’s laundry services, which will need to be available again before allowing occupation of any building, Swearingen said.
Based on some of the evidence she has seen at the hotel, Swearingen suspects employees are likely still living there. For example, officials found relatively fresh yogurt in a hotel fridge during the inspection. Mubarak attributed this to a past employee who was making repairs prior to the stop work order.
“I have not witnessed it, but there is evidence to support people staying there,” Swearingen said.
Swearingen also believes it’s not safe for anyone to stay there until everything is brought up to code, she said.
“I care about their safety as much as any other person that goes into the building,” Swearingen said.
Once things are worked out as part of the report, officials will forward it to both the city’s and the hotel’s attorneys for them to address, she said.
In an interview with the Daily Journal Thursday, Mubarak said the hotel is working to fix the issues raised. He is doing all he can to deal with the hotel’s problems, including eliminating cash payments and removing extended stays, he said.
“This shows how genuine we are in getting the place up,” Mubarak said.
The hotel is working closely with the city to fix any issues, said Josh Lowry, one of Mubarak’s attorneys. Lowry toured the hotel with inspectors Thursday and took notes on their areas of concern.
“My takeaway is I feel like there is a cooperative effort between us, the city, the commission and the health department,” he said.
Swearingen believes the Red Carpet Inn will continue to be a work in progress for the foreseeable future. She’s worked for the health department for over 20 years and has never had to conduct this many large-scale inspections at the level that has been needed for this hotel, she said.
With each inspection, her staff is taken away from their regular duties under her department’s jurisdiction, she said.
“I think it’s always taxing when it takes your entire staff out of commission for half a day to inspect them,” Swearingen said.
Both guests and employees need a safe place to stay, especially those who have been using the hotel as a residence, she said. The health department’s goal is to protect public health by getting the building up to code, she said.
“If that’s going to be affordable housing for residents of Johnson County, like long-term stays, then we want (the hotel) to be of the condition that it’s safe and healthy for them to live in,” Swearingen said.
