In a split vote, the Pevely Board of Aldermen decided on Nov. 21 to revoke the business license for Pevely Hospitality Group Inc., which owns and operates the Super 8 hotel, 1711 Hwy. Z.
On Oct. 18, Pevely city officials shut down the hotel’s second and third floors, as well as the pool and workout area, citing structural problems and other public safety concerns.
However, the hotel has not closed, and most of the rooms on the second and third floors reopened after Jefferson County Div. 6 Circuit Judge Troy Cardona issued a restraining order that said they could be rented out if joists were shored up, Pevely city attorney Allison Sweeney said.
“We issued a letter shutting down the second and third floors because a joist was coming through the ceiling of the pool and (workout) room,” Sweeney said. “They then filed for a restraining order. The judge ordered that they could reopen the second and third floors if they had the joist engineered for temporary shoring. This was on Nov. 1.”
The Pevely Hospitality Group, owned and operated by the hotel’s general manager Shaiq Amir and his family, took some steps on Nov. 22 to address the structural problems with the second and third floors, and reopened most of the rooms, Sweeney said.
“Now they can (rent out) the top two floors, with the exception of approximately 10 rooms, which have issues that still need to be resolved,” she said.
Sweeney said the company’s business license revocation could still take effect because of other concerns about the property, but the hotel may remain open at least until Dec. 12, when a hearing on the matter will be held at the Jefferson County Courthouse in front of Cardona.
“We had a revocation hearing to shut down the entire hotel. The board voted to do that. That decision will be reviewed Dec. 12 (by Cardona),” Sweeney said.
The hotel has a total of 62 guest rooms.
After a public hearing about the hotel on Nov. 21, the Pevely board voted 4-3 to revoke its business license, with Larry Coulson of Ward 1, Ryan Tucker of Ward 2, Tyler Leeder of Ward 3 and William Brooks of Ward 4 voting in favor of the revocation and Steve Markus of Ward 1, Rick Yount of Ward 2 and Don Menkhus of Ward 3 voting against it. Ward 4 Alderman Bryan Eckles was absent from the meeting.
Markus said he has concerns about the hotel, but voted against revoking the business license because he feels the owners are working to correct the problems.
“I agree we ought to shut them down (he said Nov. 21, referring to the joist situation),” he said. “But, they’ve got an engineer and seem to be moving forward. They’ve got to continue to move forward.”
Brooks said he voted for the business license revocation because he is concerned about the safety of those who stay at the hotel.
“I just can not compromise the safety of any citizen that patronizes that establishment,” he said.
During the hearing, which Mayor Stephanie Haas presided over, Sweeney and city employees said there were many other problems at the hotel, including bed bugs; mold; a room with a door that has a malfunctioning lock that traps people inside; pool water with unsatisfactorily high chorine readings; and a variety of damage to various rooms.
Sweeney also presented a video showing an employee’s alleged unsanitary handling of food offered to patrons.
In addition, Pevely Police Chief Mark Glenn said his department receives an inordinate number of calls for service from people at the hotel.
The calls frequently involve drug use, he added.
“Two of the most recent calls I went on involved drug overdoses,” Glenn said.
One of Amir’s sons, Sermad Amir, spoke at the hearing on behalf of the family, as did the family’s attorney, Jay Kanzler.
Sermad Amir said the family has made many improvements to the hotel since they bought it in 2018.
“If you think it’s bad now, you should have seen it then,” he said. “From where it was to today is night and day.”
He asked board members to consider the amount of work and money his family has put into the hotel.
“It’s not perfect,” he said. “It’s better than it was in 2018.
“It takes time. Work with us.”
After the hearing, Haas said city officials have been worried about the hotel for quite some time, but she hopes the owners make the improvements needed to make it a safe and viable enterprise.
“I hate to see a Pevely business fail,” she said. “I would prefer that they have a hotel in our community we could be proud of. I wish them the best of luck in making the necessary changes and repairs.”
Shaiq Amir of St. Louis said on Nov. 23 that the city has treated his family’s business unfairly, but he believes the situation can be improved.
“We always work with everybody,” he said. “Sometimes, the city of Pevely does not work with others.
“But, I am very optimistic. We have agreed to do the construction.”
He said the family had a meeting set for Nov. 30, after the Leader deadline, to discuss progress being made to improve the hotel.