Photos submitted: The Quality Inn, located in the town of Ellicott.

ELLICOTT – Issues at the Quality Inn in Ellicott have quieted some – but it remains to be seen if that’s due to the bitter cold winter weather or if months of meetings have changed the situation.

After a surge in concern for student safety due to its proximity to the Quality Inn back in October, several officials have been gathering to discuss potential solutions in the months since. The concerns, related to the homeless populations housed at the Quality Inn, grew worse in the fall as Falconer Central School safety officials kept seeing more negative incidents on school grounds.

With the winter season here in full force, and discussions ongoing, the problems seem to have slightly subsided.

Falconer Village Mayor James Jaroszynski was one of the first to comment on the ongoing progress being made through the increased communication. While neither the school or hotel are technically located in the village lines, Jaroszynski has remained involved in the efforts to ensure students from the village are safe. Jaroszynski referred to the progress as an ongoing dialog with the county.

Jaroszynski did mention the hope that, one day, county officials will be able to relieve some of the burden on many local hotels housing the homeless population centralized in the Falconer and Ellicott area. Not only does it consume smaller municipalities’ resources quicker, but issues like the issues raised in the fall create more negative perception around programs to help the homeless as a whole.

Carmelo Hernandez, county director of mental health and social services commissioner, has been a regular attendee in the meetings. Hernandez noted that the meetings have focused on multiple ways to address concerns and make the area safer for everyone involved.

“These discussions have focused on safety, code compliance, operational standards, and expectations for participants housed at the location,” said Hernandez. “Compliance with all applicable codes and regulations is non-negotiable, and any identified issues must be corrected to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Previous code compliance issues had been referenced as being a problem at the motel. One such problem that was noted by Todd Beckerink, Falconer Central School school safety officer, was that guests had removed windows from the motel. Ellicott Town Supervisor Janet Bowman stated that any active code violations are currently being worked to be fixed.

In a meeting in May 2025, county Social Services officials said those staying at the hotel would have to sign a contract promising to stay off of school grounds, and that the motel would hire private security. At the October meeting, both Beckerink and Bowman stated that there had still been no mention of private security being hired. While the Quality Inn declined a request for comment, nobody in attendance at the meetings detailed any private security that had been brought on at the motel. Additionally, there was no mention of new solutions to prevent those at the hotel from coming onto school grounds. This had previously been a large portion of the complaints at the school. While the complaints of what these people did on school grounds ranged from stealing bikes to having intercourse, meeting attendees mentioned very little about further securing the school’s property.

Unfortunately, Beckerink believes this to have more to do with the weather than with the meetings. Beckerink stated that the problems typically decline in the winter, but that he hopes to see this progress continue into the spring. Bowman also noted that concerns have quieted recently, and also attributed this to the severe weather. Bowman stated that efforts to address these safety concerns will continue, with a meeting already scheduled for the end of February.

“At the same time, the county is actively pursuing partnerships with developers to expand supportive and affordable housing across Chautauqua County,” said Hernandez. “Emergency housing is not intended to be a long-term solution, and our focus remains on development so individuals and families have appropriate next steps toward stable housing. We remain committed to continued engagement, transparency, and responsible action as this work moves forward.”