Selectmen did not mince words on Tuesday as they spoke with Hillside Motel owner Sonal Patel about potentially revoking her inn holder’s license.

“Quite frankly, I’m disgusted,” Selectmen Chair Jordan Collyer said at the public hearing.

Even so, Selectmen voted 2-1 to allow Patel to continue operating for the time being, though her license has not been renewed.

The Route 6 motel has drawn negative attention this year with numerous public safety and building violations as well as tenants arrested for drug possession, prostitution, possession of illegal firearms and domestic abuse.

According to Police Chief Mary Lyons, there have been more than 100 visits from the police, EMS and fire departments, including more than 28 ambulance visits since Jan. 1.

“She doesn’t run the business in a safe way for this community,” said Lyons. “This year has been the year that’s required the most attention from us.”

Patel, who runs the motel with her husband, Jayesh Patel, said she wasn’t sure how to keep out the rougher clientele.

“This is the first time this many violations happened at Hillside Motel,” said Patel. She questioned how she could know who was safe and who would cause problems when someone arrives looking for a room.

“How can I judge the people?” she said.

But the message to Patel was that management needed to tighten up – a lot.

The police chief, fire chief, building inspector and health inspector each spoke about problems they encountered on the property.

Chief Lyons said she spoke with Patel months ago, recommending that she require every new guest to fill out a detailed form and that she make a copy of a driver’s license or other identification to email to the police department. That never happened, said Lyons.

“Actions speak louder than words,” she said.

At the meeting, Patel said she had started taking identification and that she could fax the forms to the police department, though she did not say why the information hadn’t already been emailed to police.

Next up, Fire Chief Andrew Murray spoke to Patel and Selectmen. His department conducts quarterly inspections of the motel, which has 18 rooms, and each time there have been broken or missing fire alarms.

In April, the department found 15 such alarms and required Patel to replace the whole system within 24 hours, which she did.

When asked, Patel said she does conduct weekly reviews of the rooms, which are not cleaned unless a tenant leaves, but that she did not check the smoke detectors. Patel said she would add that to her list.

Murray also said he has seen missing fire extinguishers, absent electrical covers and overloaded outlets in the rooms. While the issues are resolved quickly, they shouldn’t exist at all, said the chief.

“We shouldn't be going up there every three months to say what you should have been doing already,” said Murray.

Building Inspector Andy Bobola conducted a review of the premises on Dec. 1 and said he found broken smoke detectors, a kitchen with exposed wiring, and a unit with a rotted subfloor in the bathroom and a room with a hole that looked down into the basement. Additionally, there was a grill so close to the building that it had melted the vinyl siding.

The problems are “common sense issues,” Bobola said. “These are things that just can’t take place. It could be disastrous for people living in those units.”

Two rooms had heaters that didn’t work.

“These people are paying for a room, for a service, and they need heat,” he said. “That’s something that needs to be done.”

Furthermore, one room housing for four people was found to have clothes stacked up around a heater.

Health inspector Robert Athier said most of the motel met the state’s minimum standards, but the room with four people was “in a state of deplorable condition” and did violate health codes.

“They can’t stay there,” Athier said, suggesting social services be brought in.

Town Administrator Mike Gagne met with Patel in September to discuss many of the issues town officials and the public raised. He gave Patel a list of conditions, which he said weren’t followed.

“I think some of your allowances and indulgences have resulted in a number of the problems that the police department has identified there,” said Gagne.

Selectmen also made it clear that the town is not responsible for who Patel admits to the establishment or for the safety of the premises.

“It seems there is a tremendous lack of common sense,” said Collyer. “I don’t think we should be spending more time and labor hours to keep your business open.”

Selectmen did not vote to shut down the motel, however. Collyer proposed giving Patel until Jan. 12 to complete a list of improvements, that includes repairs and inspections plus sending each new customer’s information to police.

If that list is not resolved by Jan. 12 or if another violation happens in the meantime, Selectman Tyler Macallister said the board would take action.

Selectman Paul Silva was the only one who voted against the proposal, instead preferring to revoke Patel’s license.

“I hope more than anything that you prove that I was wrong,” he said.