Fox Lake's Marina Motel shut down by village officials
The troubled Marina Motel in Fox Lake will close by Monday, officials said, but tenants can remain there temporarily.
Fox Lake Mayor Ed Bender decided Friday to indefinitely revoke the business license of the Route 12 motel due numerous violations of the village's nuisance ordinance.
Officially, revocation of the motel's business license goes into effect April 30, Bender said, but tenants living there will have until May 15 to find a new place to live.
“The owner of the Marina Motel admitted during a hearing that he cannot control the criminal activity that takes place inside the motel,” Bender said Friday. “We've had police officers there more than 290 times in last 28 months, and we don't want to be continuing this.”
The move comes after Bender held a business license hearing Thursday to decide the motel's fate.
Police Chief Mike Behan said numerous police officers testified about the time they spend policing the drug problems at the motel, and the lack of leadership at the motel that has allowed the crimes to continue.
“It's upsetting that we would have to shut down any business in town, but the problems at the motel forced our hand in this matter,” Behan said after the ruling was announced Friday.
Earlier this week, he said it was a priority to shutter the motel due to excessive crime and nuisance calls that often put officers in danger.
The problems started in October 2009 when police discovered a disabled man living in squalor in the motel. The motel was closed for six months between October 2009 and March 2010 while owner Joe Wulf cleaned up the property.
But, Behan said the police department received 169 emergency calls at the motel between July 2010 and July 2011, and 292 calls between July 2009 and March 2012 — far more than any bar, restaurant, or motel in town.
In 2011, Behan forced Wulf to sign the village's “Crime Free Act,” which states caretakers of the business must work with police to keep the property crime and nuisance free. Although the problem eased somewhat, there was still a high number of emergency calls to the motel, he said.