Two people have been charged by Ellicott police after incidents at the Quality Inn in Falconer over the past week – though town officials said the hotel is still passing weekly code enforcement inspections.

Caleb E Dellahoy, 18, of Falconer was charged with second-degree harassment, second-degree obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct on July 13 at 12:50 p.m. after officers responded to a reported fight. Dellahoy was allegedly outside of the Falconer hotel punching a person outside of the hotel’s entrance. Dellahoy will be in Ellicott Town Court later.

On July 9, Johnathan D. Sipes, 34, of Jamestown, was charged with second-degree harassment and resisting arrest after officers responded to the hotel at 12:20 p.m. for a report of an unwanted subject at the hotel. Sipes allegedly threatened staff on site. Sipes was advised by officers on scene that he was under arrest and Sipes then allegedly physically resisted officers. After a brief struggle officers were able to place Sipes into custody without any further incidents. Sipes was taken to Chautauqua County Jail for Centralized Arraignment. Sipes is due to appear in the Ellicott Town Court later.

Brandon Shelters, town code officer, said he is inspecting the hotel every week and, for the most part, the hotel is in compliance. During the board’s June meeting, Dan Ingrao, Ellicott police chief, said responses to the Quality Inn in Ellicott had increased by 22 from April to May. There was no update on call volumes to the hotel according to the minutes from the Ellicott Town Board’s July 7 meeting.

Code violations prompted the town to close part of the Clarion Pointe hotel on Route 60 in Ellicott, with the closure shifting some of the homeless who had been staying at the North Main Street hotel into other hotels in the Ellicott/Falconer area, including the Quality Inn and the Budget Inn.

In addition to closing a portion of the Clarion Pointe Hotel, the former Econo Lodge on Route 60 in Fredonia, which was also a contracted location the county was using to house some of its homeless, was shut down. County Social Services Department staff members are required to inspect properties where the homeless are being housed every six months. Local code enforcement officers can check them more frequently – as has been the case in Ellicott.

Closing rooms the county had been using for homeless housing has forced the county to move some homeless county residents to Buffalo, Hamburg and Cuba, N.Y., where the county also has contracts. County officials ideally want to move the individuals back to Chautauqua County when rooms become available, in part because of the cost to house individuals elsewhere. The county has to pay to transport those staying out-of-county back and forth to various appointments.