Monroe Motel could become park

	THE MONROE MOTEL, which has been in on the banks of Woods Creek for decades, has been flooded badly twice in the last three years. Monroe may seek a FEMA grant allowing the city to buy the motel, demolish it, and use the land for open space. PHOTO BY POLLY KEARY

BY POLLY KEARY, EDITOR

The Monroe Motel used to be well on the outskirts of the city, when the first buildings were constructed on the banks of Woods Creek in the 1950s. Since then, the city has crept to its doors.

So, unfortunately, has Woods Creek.

Now, due to repeated flooding of the historic motel, the site could become a Monroe park.

Floods have badly damaged the historic hotel twice in the last three years, making it likely that FEMA would give Monroe the money to buy the motel property outright, then demolish the buildings and use the land for public space, explained city engineer and director of of emergency services Brad Feilberg.

The question is whether the amount of grant money available would be enough to cover the cost of the project, said Feilberg. The FEMA grants are for a maximum of $1 million. It would cost just about that to buy the land and demolish the structures thereon, said Feilberg.

But then there is the cost of relocating the motel's long term residents, some of whom live there full time. "There is a law, there are two payments we have to make; the cost of moving and replacement housing," he said. The maximum the city would have to pay for someone who owns their own mobile home is $25,000. Renters must receive up to $5,000 in relocation money. That means the permanent residents of the Monroe Motel, some who have been there a decade or more, would probably receive about $200,000 in relocation funds from the city.

And that might make the program too expensive for the city, said Feilberg. "When you factor in the $200,000 moving costs, that might push it over the cliff," he said.

The city decided not to pursue the project this year, not because of financial limitiations, but due to time contraints. The applications are due September 15. That doesn't give the city much time, said Feilberg. "We need to do lots of work, appralsals estimates, scope of work," he said.

Feilberg recommended pushing the project out a year. "We can go through it at a later time frame and have our ducks in a row for next year," he said.

"Brad expects next year it will be available too," Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser explained later. "We are competing, so we need to make sure everything is in order."

The timing may be right for motel owner John Ghag. He moved to Monroe from Kent and bought the motel in 1983, raised his children in Monroe, and Thursday a grandson tugged on his knees, playful, seeking attention.

"It's been difficult," he said. "One time we didn't have a flood for 10 years. Then in the last three years we had two. We had to shut down for four months."His insurance payments are high. He doesn't know if the motel could withstand too many more floods. He has been resistant to the idea of selling before. But now, he's willing to consider it, he said. "It's a possibility," he said. "It depends on what is best."

Some of his residents, mostly people on low incomes, might have a hard time finding other homes, he said. But when the floods come, times get tough for everyone there. "When the creek goes up, your blood pressure goes up," he said.

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