Homeless issues in Ellicott hotel not subsiding

Issues involving the homeless being housed at an Ellicott Hotel aren’t letting up.

The issue was discussed by Ellicott Town Board members during their regular meeting earlier this month. Police Chief Dan Ingrao said police responses to the hotel were the same in July as it had been in the past five months.

Brandon Shelters, town code officer, said he is inspecting the hotel every Monday and had been called there once or twice a day for the prior two weeks. The county Social Services Department is putting office space in the building, with Shelters saying that may mean he isn’t responding to the hotel as often. But, Shelters said, he doesn’t think the Social Services Department is following the contract that is in place.

The county has initiated a three-offense ticket system, but the hotel owners have told Shelters they would like to see those who violate their contract to be removed after one offense. Shelters asked the board to discuss the issue again at its September meeting.

Shelters also said he has been going on calls related to the homeless several times a week at a local business, usually trying to take an Ellicott police officer with him. Board members told Shelters to start referring the cases to the police, who can then refer the call to Shelters if it ends up being a code issue.

“The hotel staff is doing a wonderful job giving the residents information regarding jobs, apartments, volunteer opportunities and giving them goals,” Shelters said, according to minutes of the August Ellicott Town Board meeting. “The board would like to commend them for all their efforts.”

Shelters said town residents will see a new sign at the entrance after receiving a sign permit from the town. The sign on the highway will be painted black, Shelters said.

Code violations prompted the town to close part of the Clarion Pointe hotel on Route 60 in Ellicott earlier this year, 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 former 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.