HOT SPRINGS -- City Manager David Frasher said Friday the city is contemplating seeking a court order to compel the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa to release a copy of an engineering report that the city says supports its position that the hotel is unsafe.
Arlington General Manager Bob Martorana said Friday that the city has access to the report.
"They can come over and look at it whenever they want," Martorana said. "We're not trying to hide anything. We're not going to give them a copy. It's something we paid for. We shared it with [chief building official] Mike Scott for several months. It's what he referred to in outlining the repairs that need to be made."
The report was commissioned by the hotel at the city's directive following the notice of unsafe conditions the city issued in June 2016 and is the basis of the enforcement letter the hotel received earlier this month. The letter said the city will close the hotel if exterior problems identified in the report aren't repaired by Nov. 8.
The concern about water infiltration causing brick or plaster to fall on the ground after a freeze-and-thaw cycle comes directly from the report, Frasher said.
He said the city has been allowed to review the report the hotel contracted Mid-South Engineering Co. to prepare last year, but the hotel has refused to provide the city with a copy. He said the city needs its own copy in case it chooses to pursue an independent report.
"We're contemplating getting a court order," Frasher said. "We've asked them for a copy, but they've refused to release it to us. Our chief building official has examined it at length, but we'd like to have a copy for our files.
"The city can commission an independent report under the building code if it wanted to. [The Arlington] hired a contractor to give them a report. If you're paying someone to audit you, they're likely to give you a favorable answer."
Frasher said the repairs listed in the enforcement letter are entirely based on the report. A city-commissioned report might prescribe more extensive action, he said.
Frasher and Planning and Development Director Kathy Sellman stressed Friday that the city will close the hotel if it's not in compliance with the building code by the November deadline, explaining that only full compliance will be accepted.
Frasher said the city has yet to detail what code sections the hotel is violating. He said specific violations won't be put in writing until citations are issued.
"Right now there's an enforcement letter to correct things listed in their own report," he said. "They could have multiple code sections that they're applied to."
Frasher said the city may provide the hotel an assessment on its progress a few weeks before the deadline.
"I think we're going to communicate with the hotel a few weeks in advance and suggest that they use caution about booking rooms if it doesn't look like they're going to be in compliance," he said.
Metro on 08/28/2017