Hutchinson Mayor Greg Fast and City Manager Enrico Villegas entered the Atrium Hotel and Conference Center with the Hutchinson Fire Department June 21 and presented their findings Tuesday morning at the Hutchinson City Council meeting.
The presentation was during the consideration to set a time and date for a public hearing to condemn and demolish the building.
Fast and Villegas entered the building in full hazmat attire, as black mold and asbestos were found to be present in the hotel.
“It is important that prior to us entering the building, we were briefed on in the event we find a deceased body what to do or a meth lab what to do, and also to be conscientious of what is called a dead load,” Villegas said. “That was our mentality as we were entering here. Everything was kind of ripped apart.”
According to Villegas, 81% of the rooms inspected by the group were found to have black mold. The group also inspected what appeared to be a camping ground for an unhoused person in the building.
Fast said he drives past the Atrium frequently and said the interior of the building was worse than he expected.
“I’ve been driving by that place for years and it’s just a boarded-up building,” Fast said. “It’s not what it is at all. I was shocked. I don’t know what more there is to say. It’s just flat dangerous.”
“There’s no water to the place, the sprinkler system is non-existent,” Hutchinson Fire Department Chief Steven Beer said. “Unless we actually see somebody, we are not going to enter that building. It’s a suicide mission. My men and women will be defense operations only.”
The building has not had a proper alarm system for at least three years.
Villegas also clarified a few misconceptions some may have about the hotel.
“The city does not own the Atrium Hotel,” Villegas said. “There were attempts but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful due to the finding of asbestos. There is another misconception that the city can just demolish a building. The first step is to issue a resolution and the second step is to have a public hearing with all the evidence.”
Chris Shank, the owner of Hutch Putt and Ad Astra Radio, brought employees and representatives from the miniature golf course and said people “will be cheering” when the building is demolished.
“I’m very passionate about this,” Shank said. “We have people come in out of town and ask what’s going on over there. This is something that means a ton to us because I drive by it on my way to work every day and it’s right next to Hutch Putt.”
The mini golf course is located at 1500 North Lorraine St., just northeast of the Atrium.
The council passed the resolution unanimously, selecting Aug. 20, 2024, as the date.
In public comment, Councilman Jon Richardson said he wants to get the ball rolling on the issue.
“I’m pushing pretty hard on this and I really want to see us get more aggressive not just in code enforcement but how we’re treating nonresidential buildings in the first place,” Richardson said.
Vice Mayor Stacy Goss said she is looking forward to seeing how the owner or representatives of the building explain the situation and potentially condemn and demolish the building.