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14A-THE SEA COAST ECHO—SUNDAY, JULY 11, 1999
Fire — site seems prone to disaster
Continued from Pag
contain the blaze Thursday, including the Clermont Harbor, Bay St. Louis, Waveland, East Hancock, Kiln, Fenton and Bay-side Park fire departments, along with Post 58 Volunteer
Fire Department.
After one agency ran out of water, firefighters from the Bay St. Louis Fire Department drew water from Clermont Harbor to aim at the flames.
Hancock County Fire Marshal Richard Pate, the state fire marshal and representatives from the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms were investigating the fire Friday.
Parking — controversy deepens
Continued from Page 1A
Now facing liability insurance costs and note payments for the parking facility, the Murphys announced plans to operate it as a commercial enterprise until, at least, their feasibility study of a downtown development is complete. In the interim, they offered last week to lease the lot back to the city, for $5,000 a month.
City Council rejected that proposal Tuesday, but wished the Murphy family good luck in operating the lot. In a later move, council agreed to pay consultants up to $12,000 to study all downtown area parking slots now available and potential parking facilities.
Ray Murphy said a parking lot attendant’s booth was under construction on Thursday, preparatory to opening the lot commercially that evening. But during the day, he couldn’t procure a license to operate the facility. Murphy quoted a cleik as telling him: “They just told me not to give you a license.” He said when he asked for a reason, she added: “They didn’t tell me.”
The clerk and Mayor Eddie Favre later confirmed that the Murphy’s license had been held up. But Favre said it was just a temporary snag, while city officials checked to be sure everything was in order to issue the permanent license.
Favre said the city building official, municipal cleric and city attorney wanted to review to make sure that the operation meets all city codes.
Earlier this month, however, Municipal Clerk Robert Parker said in a letter to Murphy that a conditional privilege license to operate Beach Parking, between Chessy’s Antiques and the Fire Dog Saloon, “is being issued contingent upon your parking lot meeting all requirements as set out
a durable and dustless surface so as to dispose of all surface water accumulation. Lights so used to illuminate the parking area will be so arranged as to reflect away from any adjacent premises.”
Ironically, it rained Thursday. Murphy said the only water he could find anywhere near the lot was in the city’s right-of way outside the parking lot. As for the paving requirement, Murphy added: “We know it’s paved. They paved it and we appreciate it” He added that the paving was illegal, however, since the city didn’t have ownership of the property when it occurred.
Murphy questions how the city could have left the lot open for public use if it didn’t meet the zoning code requirements.
He told city Council last week he would not spend any money to bring the lot into compliance if it isn’t already, since the city had been operating it as a parking lot for years as-is.
Favre said Friday that while the lot has been open for public parking for years, there have been new regulations enacted that may need to be addressed, such as a site plan review. The change in ownership of the lot, said Favre, may have triggered some additional regulations covering the lot.
After further study of the matter, however, the city determined a license was in order, he said.
Favre also said the city did pave the parking lot, but Hancock Bank was paying property taxes on the lot at the time.
Pate said Thursday that the fire apparently began on the top floor of the facility, but said the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.The investigation should be complete by tomorrow, he said.
Despite losing most of their personal belongings, Pate said, motel residents were lucky to have escaped.
“With the way the winds were blowing and all, it took the smoke up in the air, so it didn’t go back down and suffocate people ...” Pate said. “If this had happened at night, we’d have probably been in a very bad situation.”
The local chapter of the American Red Cross has arranged temporary housing for most of the fire victims.
“All I can say is, thank God everybody got out of there,” Bobbi Terry, one of the residents of the 18-room motel/ apartment complex said Thursday as rescue workers from several area fire companies battled the flames.
“In 55 years, this is the first time I’ve ever been a victim,” Boney said. “And to top it all off,
the firemen wouldn’t eve me go back and rescue mama cat and her nine blind babies. She was frica and they were burnt up. At there was no loss of humai ... I’m just kind of numt dumb-founded right now.
Paddle Wheel owner No W. “Butsy” Kohnke was available for comment.
The Paddle Wheel i stranger to disaster.
The motel’s restauram lounge — once located on at ing property - burned in tember 1996 after the bui was struck by lightning.
The Paddle Wheel pro was once the site of the mont Harbor Hotel, which opened for business in and almost destroyed by a ricane the same year. Ri Guerin, son of the Clern last owner, wrote in a Hai Historical Society-publi booklet that “after an expe attempt at restoration, il wrecked financially by Great Depression of 192!
“When a similar attemp made in 1946, an early mo: fire totally razed the stru on June 2; the grand reopi had been on June 1.”